| The world’s largest medical fair MEDICA plus ComPaMED, leading international trade fair for upstream supplies in medical production, have impressively confirmed their position as the global hub in the medical sector. During fair runtime the organisers registered a total of 137,500 trade visitors. Many Innovations with a “Dual Effect” for both Improving Treatment and Keeping Costs Down
The world’s largest medical fair MEDICA plus ComPaMED, the leading international trade fair for upstream supplies in medical production, have impressively confirmed their position as the global hub in the medical sector. Over the four days of the fair (ComPaMED three) organisers registered a total of 137,500 trade visitors including those attending the accompanying MEDICA Congress and the German Hospital Conference “Deutscher Krankenhaustag” (2005: 137,100). Around 40% of visitors came from abroad with a rise in trade visitors particularly from the new EU states.
The 38th World Forum for Medicine showcased the entire spectrum of new products, services and procedures for use in doctors’ surgeries and clinics. Alongside the traditionally very popular fields of medical technology and electro medicine, this time physiotherapeutic procedures and medical IT were also in greater demand. MEDICA also once again justified its reputation as a sectoral event for decision-makers. Almost 90% of trade visitors have at least a consultative say in relevant investment decisions and around 70 play a determining or co-determining role in decision-making. And reflecting this, many exhibitors reported encountering a generally investment-friendly trade audience.
“Many of the innovations presented at MEDICA and ComPaMED improve patient care, tighten up treatment procedures and thereby help to relieve the burden of costs. It is clear the industry is being pushed to attain a truly high level of performance by the challenges set by government health policies,” commented Wilhelm Niedergöker, Managing Director at Messe Düsseldorf, stressing the quality of the range on offer at the fair. This view is also confirmed by a study published to coincide with MEDICA by the Technical University of Berlin, corporate consultants Droege & Comp. and the industrial association SPECTARIS. According to the study, the use of progressive technology in the German healthcare system could save almost one billion euros.
Performance-related insights – specifically also from German research and development in the field of medical technology – were already conveyed in MEDICA’s opening event during which German Federal Minister for Research Dr. Annette Schaven awarded this year’s prize-winners of the “Innovation Competition for the Promotion of Medical Technology”. Winners, for instance, included projects from Duisburg-Essen University (high-resolution full-body scans), Bochum University (photo-acoustic imaging for the early diagnosis of breast cancer), the Medical Clinic Berlin (a special filter system for removing antibodies from the blood) and TemplaTech GmbH Darmstadt (treatment of bladder infections with silver ion implants). MEDICA’s Special Show MEDICA VISION held in Hall 3 hosted all winning projects and gave visitors the chance to exchange ideas with the researchers involved in the developments Patients get Involved – New Products for Greater Demands
As for other areas presented by exhibitors, products for self-diagnosis – i.e. ones which can be used and paid for by patients themselves – are becoming increasingly popular. Featured at MEDICA was, for instance, the “Everyman’s Health Manager”, a combination of different diagnosis apparatus (blood pressure, blood sugar, weight, heart rate variability) and specialist software. All devices can be connected via radio technology and a USB stick to the home computer where the data is then assessed. The system is not intended to replace visits to the doctor but provide information on general health and, where necessary, alert patients of a need to consult a doctor.
Increased health awareness as well as altered demands from patients largely explain the boom at MEDICA in the field of physiotherapy and orthopaedic technology (over 450 exhibitors). With innovative devices for physiotherapeutic treatment the focus of attention here is now increasingly not just on rehabilitation (for instance after accidents of operations) but also on prevention. Sport centres are, for instance, now progressively extending their range of services to include medical consultation and treatments with the help of relevant experts so they can offer their customers wholistic solutions for a healthy lifestyle and improved mobility.
Further trend themes at MEDICA 2006 include innovations in the field of pacemaker technology, with, for instance, a new pacemaker with an in-built water-level sensor that acts as a warning system for life-threatening water blockages in the lungs caused by cardiac insufficiency as well as new generation devices for medical imaging. A example of the latter is modern ultrasound equipment which make it possible to see even the most intricate inner structure of organs like changes in the interventricular septum of the heart. This also makes it easier to diagnose tumours more precisely. Also at the centre of interest: compact laboratory equipment and diagnostics for immediate diagnosis right at the patient’s bed or in the doctor’s surgery Trendsetting MEDICA – over 38,000 Visitors interested in ITOnce again, MEDICA was also able to confirm its role as a trendsetter in the field of medical information and communication technology (420 exhibitors offered ranges in this area). Over 38,000 trade visitors were interested in this segment. Top themes include so-called “Enterprise Resource Planning” software to control and link administrative and medical procedures in clinics. Information was also provided on numerous new telemedicine applications for the efficient remote monitoring of chronically ill patients, as well as on soft and hardware to link up clinics and out-patient care units. Another IT topic – and one also picked upon in the forums MEDICA meet.IT and MEDICA MEDIA – was the soft and hardware required for the forthcoming introduction of electronic health cards. Comprehensive Congress Programme with many Highlights
The MEDICA Congress programme once again offered a wide range of topics tailored to the many areas of interest of the individual medical professions. Gerd G. Fischer, General Secretary of MEDICA – German Society for the Promotion of Medical Diagnostics (MEDICA – Deutsche Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Medizinischen Diagnostik e. V.), was able to report on some of the highlights generating particularly great interest amongst the trade audience: “Topics like oncology, geriatrics as well as rare diseases were in great demand. And it seems medics now also have their own health more in mind. Burn-out prevention for physicians was also very popular!”
Around 1,400 congress delegates from all fields of the health sector were informed at the 29th German Hospital Conference on topics ranging from the general “Competition and Performance Results – What the Future holds for Hospitals” to strategic and health policy issues. “Greater performance results require optimisation of resources and procedures in hospitals. The Hospital Conference offered practical, hands-on seminars on this,” said conference President Prof. Dr. Hans-Fred Weiser pointing out how clinics are now working both more economically and more efficiently despite continued increases in costs and expenditure. While clinics treat an average of 17 million patients on an in-patient basis year on year, the number of clinic beds, he said, has been cut since the start of the 1990s by 20% (160,000 beds). ComPaMED 2006: 9,500 Trade Visitors came to Hall 8
Running concurrently with MEDICA, ComPaMED in Hall 8 of the exhibition centre was able to sharpen its profile as the leading international trade fair for upstream supplies in medical production. The stands of the approximately 320 exhibitors were busy with trade visitors right from the start (9,500 of the 137,500 in total). No wonder, as the audience primarily consisting of managers, product developers and buyers from the medical technology industry as well as retailers were given impressive proof of the great development potential of their suppliers featured at ComPaMED. Forming a particular focus of the fair were new approaches and solutions from the field of nano technology and micro systems and the “Hightech for Medical Devices” forum coordinated by the Retail Association for Microtechnology (Fachverband für Mikrotechnik e. V. IVAM.) From high-precision sensors and new surface structures for medical implants to skin-compatible materials for use in medical products - ComPaMED exhibitors had the relevant solution to hand. Dates of the next MEDICA in Düsseldorf: 14 – 17/11/2007
(ComPaMED until 16/11/2007).
For updated information go to:
http://www.medica.de/ and http://www.compamed.de/
| MEDICA y ComPaMED 2005: la punta de lanza de sector de la medicina y centros neurálgicos de la innovación y el desarrollo Más de 137.000 profesionales acudieron a Dusseldorf para visitar la feria de medicina más grande del mundo El sector de la medicina es uno de los principales indicadores de innovación y desarrollo. MEDICA, la mayor Feria de Medicina del mundo, junto a ComPaMED, la Feria Internacional líder de la Industria Auxiliar de Material Médico han vuelto a erigirse como centros neurálgicos del sector médico. Durante los cuatro días de feria, más de 137.000 visitantes de 100 países visitaron las instalaciones de la feria (136.152 el año pasado). La oferta -perfectamente diferenciada por segmentos-, presentaba un amplio abanico de nuevos productos, dispositivos, sistemas y servicios para la asistencia clínica y hospitalaria. "Este sector, dotado de un considerable poder innovador, ha sabido responder al debate sobre los costes sanitarios. Los visitantes mostraron un enorme interés por conocer los procedimientos para diagnósticos y los tratamientos más eficaces y de máxima calidad, y eso hizo que los expositores se mostraran muy optimistas", informa Wilhelm Niedergöker, Director General de la Feria de Dusseldorf, tras conversar exhaustivamente con los expositores. Dada la internacionalidad del evento, MEDICA y ComPaMED 2005 se convirtieron en una magnífica plataforma de negocios para las compañías que desean penetrar en nuevos mercados. Casi el 40% de los visitantes eran extranjeros, y entre ellos un porcentaje muy elevador provenía de mercados fuera de Europa como Estados Unidos, China, Taiwán y también de algunos países árabes. En total, profesionales de más de 100 países visitaron MEDICA, una feria que se consolida con Foro Mundial de la Medicina. Uno de los temas que más interés suscitó en MEDICA 2005 fue el de las aplicaciones y las infraestructuras telemáticas dada la inminente introducción de la tarjeta sanitaria electrónica en Alemania y la Tarjeta Médica Profesional. De esta forma, el evento especial MEDICA MEDIA celebrado en el Pabellón 17 se convirtió en el punto de salida de un circuito dedicado a la "tarjeta sanitaria electrónica". A lo largo de este circuito, los visitantes podían ir "conectando" con expositores que abarcan el tema de la tarjeta. Los visitantes interesados podían seguir las "señales" que les conducían a varias compañías de gran relevancia para conocer las funciones y los procedimientos relacionados con esta tarjeta: desde los procedimientos de funcionamiento de la tarjeta hasta las recetas electrónicas, pasando por cuestiones como la protección de datos y el uso de la firma digital del médico. De esta forma, la inminente introducción de la tarjeta sanitaria electrónica va a servir de catalizador para la aplicación de nuevos programas informáticos y también equipos de hardware. Los expositores del sector de las tecnologías de la información presentes en MEDICA han mantenido interesantes conversaciones y han respondido a un sinfín de preguntas procedentes en su mayoría de responsables de hospitales y consultas médicas. Entre otras novedades presentadas en MEDICA 2005, se encuentra un implante de corazón con un transmisor incorporado que envía automáticamente información cardiaca a un centro médico; dispositivos ultrasónicos que obtienen imágenes mejoradas en 3D, así como equipos compactos de laboratorio compacto para realizar pruebas rápidas a bajo coste en las consultas médicas. Programa del Congreso: extensa variedad de temas y una excelente respuesta Un año más, el Congreso de MEDICA volvió a abordar una extensa variedad de temas: desde la prevención de enfermedades y lo último en diagnósticos, hasta la telemedicina y la medicina de urgencias sin olvidar la problemática legal. Uno de los puntos fuertes de este Congreso, que contó con más de 500 ponentes y 170 seminarios y simposios, fueron las conferencias sobre varios tipos de cáncer, enfermedades infecciosas, terapias del dolor y enfermedades de personas de edades avanzadas. Además de estos temas relacionados con la medicina cotidiana, las aportaciones de científicos e investigadores suscitaron un enorme interés en los asistentes. "La presentación de las últimas investigaciones sobre terapias con células madre que han llevado a cabo especialistas de la Universidad Heinrich-Heine de Dusseldorf tuvo una excelente acogida. Los argumentos a favor y en contra ya se habían debatido con anterioridad. Así que en la conferencia se intercambiaron ideas sobre las alternativas existentes", declara Gerd Fischer, Secretario General de MEDICA Deutsche Gesellschaft für medizinische Diagnostik (Sociedad Alemana de Diagnósticos Médicos), que se mostró muy satisfecho de una respuesta tan positiva. Los InfoForos gratuitos también acapararon la atención de un numeroso públicos. Estos foros están destinados a pacientes afectados por cuadros clínicos como cáncer de mama o infarto cardiaco. En el marco de los procesos de reestructuración del sistema hospitalario alemán, se celebró el 28º Deutsche Krankenhaustag (Congreso de Hospitales Alemanes), bajo el lema "Hospital 2006 - ¿Cierre o futuro?" Más de 1.500 participantes obtuvieron información sobre las perspectivas de las clínicas ante los costes de los diagnósticos, una competencia cada vez mayor, y la demanda de mayor calidad en los tratamientos. Por decimocuarta vez consecutiva, MEDICA se celebra coincidiendo con ComPaMED, la feria internacional de proveedores de la Industria Auxiliar para la Fabricación de Material Médico. En el nuevo Pabellón 8, 302 expositores presentaron a los cerca de 9.000 asistentes las materias primas, los accesorios y los componentes utilizados en la fabricación de productos médicos, dando prueba de su importancia como factor de innovación en el desarrollo y la comercialización de nuevos procedimientos tecnológicos médicos. El tema central del stand conjunto del Foro de la IVAM- Asociación Profesional Alemana de Microtecnología fue la tendencia a la miniaturización y a la creación de sistemas cada vez más compactos y al mismo tiempo más complejos. Fechas para la próxima celebración de MEDICA y ComPaMED en Dusseldorf:
15-18 noviembre 2006 (ComPaMED hasta 17.11.2006). Para obtener más información consulte la página web:
http://www.medica.de/ / http://www.compamed.de/ |
