Prof. Dr. Zaleha Abdullah Mahdy, Group leader
Health Technology Innovation Laboratory (HTIL), HCTM UKM

Zaleha obtained membership of the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists (RCOG) in London, Masters in Ob-Gyn (UKM), and a Doctorate in Medicine from Newcastle University, UK. Her Ob-Gyn special interest area is maternal-fetal medicine, specifically in preeclampsia research. She is currently Professor and Senior Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at UKM Medical Centre in Kuala Lumpur, having finished her three-year term as Dean of the UKM Faculty of Medicine in February 2019. Between February 2016 and November 2017, she was also the Director of UKM’s teaching hospital. She was elected as a Senate member of UKM in 2020. Presently she heads the Health Technology Innovation Lab in UKM (HTIL@UKM) and her current research interests include medical virtual reality (m-VR), 3D animation for medical and health education, medical drone development, and mobile app design for antenatal care.

Rajifah Ramli, i-Connect Health & Wellness programme

Rajifah is the Co-Founder & CEO of Data8 Sdn Bhd. A HealthTech startup building personalized health records on blockchain technology. She is also the Chairperson of the Founding Members for Health & Wellness, i-Connect Programme, under the stewardship of the Collaborative Research in Engineering, Science & Technology (CREST). This is a flagship initiative by the Academy of Sciences Malaysia in its efforts to enhance the national innovation ecosystem towards wealth creation and societal well-being. She is also a Committee Member of Access (Malaysia) Blockchain Association and a Council Member of NEF (Persatuan Usahawan & Industri ICT Bumiputera Malaysia).

Melody International Ltd.

Melody International Ltd. is a Japanese startup company that developed a new kind of medical device. They were established in 2015 and now they would like to introduce their product “Mobile Fetal Monitor iCTG” which is composed of two lightweight devices in the shape of a heart and a tablet. It basically serves to assess the fetal heart rate and uterine contractions of the pregnant woman. Its main feature is that it could be used remotely since it directly sends the data to the tablet devices and doctors’ computers in the hospitals via the internet. As such, this improves the convenience of pregnant women since the device could be used in the safety of their homes. They are striving to make the device usable worldwide starting from South-East Asian countries such as Malaysia where they could also solve the local issues in logistics and medical care.

AMI Inc.

AMI Inc. develops a super stethoscope for telemedicine that assists heart disease diagnosis to detect heart disease at the early stage. The stethoscope is one of the well-known medical devices, but diagnosis with it has been depending on the experience and individual hearing sensitivity of medical professionals without major technological innovation for more than 200 years. AMI is aiming to implement a function that assists in the diagnosis of heart disease by using AI. They are developing the hardware that acquires electro-cardio and heart sounds simultaneously and software that analyzes heart sounds with the trigger of the timing of myocardial activity potential occurrence. They also have been conducting clinical research collaborating with multiple medical institutions nationwide. They are proceeding with the product development to be approved and launch the super stethoscope as an AI medical device. And they also will promote social implementation in the field of telemedicine by combining it with a video chat system that supports remote auscultation

Ashirase, Inc.

Ashirase, Inc. was founded in 2021 with the mission to create life enrichment with WALK. They are striving to realize a society that expands the potential of the people by discovering the opportunities that enrich life through walking. Their product, Ashirase, is a walking navigation system for the visually impaired. The simple device is attached to the shoes of the visually impaired, and it guides them by the vibration in the shoes without disturbing their hearing. With the guidance information generated specifically for the visually impaired and unique vibration interface, the user can intuitively grasp the route information, and it makes it possible to walk safely and with a margin. Ashirase, Inc. will continue to provide new walking experiences by updating the software of smartphones and devices.

On the day of the conference, tune in to our live broadcast to listen to the exciting presentations of our researchers, as well as discussions by representatives from the government, startup scene, and academia.

Prof. Dato’ Dr. Azhar Mat Easa, School of Industrial Technology, USM

Prof. Dato’ Dr. Azhar Mat Easa is a nutrastrategist and a professor in the School of Industrial Technology, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM). He received his bachelor degree and doctoral degree in Food Sciences both from The University of Nottingham, England. His interest is in the research about functional food and further on its design and development.

Apart from teaching and supervising students, he has been serving as a consultant, speaker and a Governing Board Member of an international certification body. He has also been a program advisory committee for the Ministry of Plantation Industries and Commodities, a grant evaluator for the Ministry of Higher Education and visiting scholar for an international university.

His research theme “Sustainability-Led-Innovative- Manufacturing”, or SLIM has led to a commercialization of the research product called “Slimmee”.

Ms. Hasimah Hafiz Ahmad, Immediate Past President
Malaysian Institute of Food Technology (MIFT)

Ms. Hasimah has more than 36 years of experience in food research, research management, technology transfer and consultancy. She was formerly the Deputy Director-General (Research) at the Malaysian Agricultural Research and Development Institute (MARDI). Her area of expertise is in thermal processing, low temperature preservation as well as development and auditing of Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) food safety assurance systems.

She has chaired several important committees under Malaysia government agencies such as the Ministry of Health and SIRIM and member of various national committees. She was also the Malaysia Focal Point for the ASEAN Sub-Committee on Food Science and Technology under the ASEAN Committee on Science & Technology and was elected as Malaysian Institute of Food Technology (MIFT) President from 2015-2018.

Ezaki Glico Co. Ltd.

Glico was established in 1922 with the introduction of nutritious “Glico Caramel” into the marketplace and set the objective of “Enhance Health Through Food.” Along the way, the Glico group constantly strives to inspire “A Wholesome Life in the Best of Taste” – a dedication in keeping with the determination of its founder, Mr. Ri-chi Ezaki, to contribute to people’s health through the food business. Glico manufactures not only confectionery and ice cream, but also a wide range of food categories such as beverages, dairy products, processed foods, and baby milk powder.

IRA NOAH Plt

Established in 2013, IRA NOAH aims to provide a better alternative to the highly processed fast food out there on the market, fostering a whole new approach in consuming ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat food that is not only rich in taste but also brings health benefits and guilt-free. The increasing awareness in keeping a good diet expands the market for healthier food and IRA NOAH wants to be at the forefront. Their brand, Nanka, is offering 100% vegan jackfruit patty along with two “blended” products. Will it take off or just simply confuse consumers? The expert team at IRA NOAH is fully committed to revolutionalizing the current food industry with their product range that features a lot of fiber and can be enjoyed by anyone at any time.

Halnex Sdn. Bhd.

Halnex Sdn. Bhd. was founded in 2019. This company is a multi-disciplinary service provider and the pioneer in the Halal Robo-advisory consulting system backed by 19 years of experience in the Halal and Quality Assurance industry. Halnex aims to be a one-stop centre that focuses on supporting and building companies to be a robust and scalable player in the Islamic Economy sphere via its coordinated professional services. As a technology-based company, Halnex and its brand collaborators, innovate new digital solutions with the streamlined purpose of achieving the “NextGen Islamic Economy”. They provide an extensive range of services that are curated by industry experts to cater to the industry needs for various professional, strategic, business, and Quality compliance.