Nov 10, 2025

HeartFusion Conference Bridges Medicine and Engineering

Co-organized by KFUPM and Johns Hopkins Aramco Healthcare (JHAH), in collaboration with Dhahran Techno Valley Company (DTVC), the HeartFusion conference marked a new phase of scientific collaboration under a recently signed MoU between the two institutions. The agreement encompasses several strategic areas, including knowledge exchange, research projects, data sharing, infrastructure use, and joint conference organization.

Held over three days starting on November 6th 2025, the event had more than 1,400 registered participants, including doctors, engineers, researchers, and health professionals from Saudi Arabia and abroad. With over 70 speakers from Saudi Arabia, the United States, Sweden, Brazil, Denmark, and the Netherlands, HeartFusion served as a platform for cross-disciplinary learning and international exchange. The conference was also accredited with 24 Continuing Medical Education (CME) credits, recognizing its educational and scientific value. Dr Suhaib Ahmed, cardiovascular surgeon at JHAH affirmed the event’s significance by stating: “This conference is unique as it’s bringing together healthcare providers together with innovators and bioengineering researchers in KFUPM.”

HeartFusion explored how engineering and life sciences intersect to address cardiovascular disease, a condition affecting 640 million people worldwide. In Saudi Arabia, nearly 45% of cases are reported locally, highlighting the urgency of advancing both prevention and treatment. The opening day focused on prevention, setting the tone for a series of sessions addressing technology-driven approaches to cardiovascular care. One of the opening day’s highlights was a town hall hosted by KFUPM President Dr. Muhammad Al-Saggaf, who spoke about the university’s rapid transformation over the past five years, particularly its expanding research ecosystem. Some of the points he emphasized were KFUPM’s growing curriculum and inclusion, noting that between 40% and 50% of its engineering students are women.

The conference agenda was both extensive and specialized, covering topics such as hyperlipidemia management, the latest developments in congestive heart disease technologies, and applications of robotic cardiac surgery. Workshops, panel discussions, speaker presentations, and poster sessions gave attendees the opportunity to share knowledge and explore new collaborations. Around 60–65% of the agenda focused on bioengineering, reflecting the significance of KFUPM’s recently opened Bioengineering Department. This new department has already led to partnerships with hospitals across Saudi Arabia, positioning KFUPM as a collaborator in applied medical innovation.

Dr. Faleh Al-Thiyabi, KFUPM researcher, cardiologist and one of the event’s Steering Committee senior members, described how the conference aligned with KFUPM’s mission of creating innovation that addresses critical healthcare challenges. He outlined three pillars guiding the university’s biotechnology initiatives: personalized medicine to predict and prevent diseases such as cardiovascular conditions, diabetes, and cancer; advanced medical device labs developing technology solutions for cardiac and organ-related conditions; and a national bio-data platform to support research, education, and biotechnology applications. In his own words, “KFUPM is taking the lead to create the first ecosystem for health and biotech innovations that can support the Vision 2030 implementation.” He also added, “The most important message now is that this initiative is sustainable; it needs to continue annually.”

His sentiment was shared by other participants. According to Dr. Abdulrazaq Amir, Chief of the Office of Academic Affairs at Saudi Aramco Medical Services, Heartfusion aims to be only the beginning in a series of conferences with rotating medical specialties such as brain, lung, or kidney themes.

The conference’s success was particularly attributed to the collaborative efforts of KFUPM’s Institute for Knowledge Exchange (KIKX) and the Interdisciplinary Research Center for Biosystems & Machines (IRC-BM), which helped organize the event within a tight three-month timeframe. “We’re driving innovation not only in the field of engineering but also in healthcare,” said Dr. Fahad Alzahrani, Director of KIKX.

Reflecting on the experience, international speaker Dr. Thorsten Leucker, who traveled from Maryland-USA, remarked that he was inspired by the region’s progress and the parallels between global medical practices. For him, raising awareness about controllable cardiovascular risk factors was one of the conference’s greatest achievements.

Heartfusion concluded with a shared commitment to continuity, establishing itself as a new benchmark for scientific cooperation between engineering and medicine.