New episode of HOP'VOICES: 40 years of reinventing paediatric medicine

Forty years ago, some diseases that can now be treated were still synonymous with severe disabilities, particularly difficult treatments or, in some cases, a very limited life expectancy.

Since 1986, paediatric medicine has changed profoundly. New diagnostic tools, advances in surgery, neonatal resuscitation and care, treatments for cancer and rare diseases, genetic medicine… Over the years, innovations have gradually transformed the way children are treated and, above all, what they can hope for after their illness.

To mark the 40th anniversary of the Queen Fabiola Children’s University Hospital (HUDERF), Professor Pierre SMEESTERS, a recognised expert in paediatrics and infectious diseases, head of the microbiology laboratory at the Plotkin Institute of Vaccinology at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, professor of paediatrics and microbiology at ULB and Deputy Medical Director for the Family-Child sector at HUDERF, looks back at four decades of medical developments in paediatrics.

Rather than presenting a chronology, however, he addresses an essential question: what have these advances really changed in the lives of children and their families?

Behind every innovation are doctors, researchers, healthcare professionals, teams working together… and parents supporting their child through sometimes difficult times.

And what about tomorrow? The challenges facing paediatrics will be different again. Personalised medicine, innovative therapies, artificial intelligence, new diagnostic and therapeutic approaches: research continues to open up new possibilities.

🎧 Listen to the first part of this episode dedicated to 40 years of paediatric innovation.