Germany Steals the Medtech Spotlight With Medica Kickoff

Düsseldorf followed a familiar path to economic prosperity after World War II.

With much of the city in ruins and few companies fully operational, lawmakers looked to Düsseldorf ‘s past to secure its future, creating a trade fair organization called Nordwestdeutsche Ausstellungs-Gesellschaft, or NOWEA for short. The sprawling metropolis had established itself as a leading conference/exhibition mecca long before the war, having first assumed hosting duties in 1811 for Bergisches Land manufacturers presenting their industrial products to Napolean I. Roughly four decades later, Düsseldorf accommodated 60,000 guests for an expo of mining products, agricultural/heavy equipment, and carriages.

Trade show attendance grew steadily through the latter half of the 1800s, surging past the 1 million mark in 1880 and then ballooning six-fold by 1902, prompting Düsseldorf Art Academy President Fritz Roeber to dub his hometown a “magic city on the Rhine…”

NOWEA executives hoped to recapture some of that past magic with the group’s first show in November 1947. Staged on the old exhibition grounds near Old Town, the conference hosted 207,000 visitors hungry for knowledge about post-war printing press technology, including modern communication, editing, setting, printing, and distribution.

After only two years, NOWEA outgrew its meeting space and constructed four wooden temporary halls that lasted a decade. Four additional halls, a restaurant and multi-story parking garage were added during the early 1950s, but steady growth over the next 10 years pushed the exhibition grounds to its limit, prompting city officials to authorize construction of the Messe Dusseldorf on the city’s north side in 1968. The new site debuted with the “K” International Plastic and Rubber Fair of 1971.

Medica World Forum for Medicine began in 1969 and has grown exponentially over the last 47 years. Roughly 4,700 people packed the old fairgrounds to learn about the latest medtech developments from 135 companies; attendance has skyrocketed considerably since then, with organizers predicting a total of 4,952 exhibitors from 70 countries to participate in this year’s event, which kicked off on Nov. 16 and runs through Nov. 19 in Düsseldorf, Germany.

One of the show’s main growth drivers is its ability to remain relevant to attendees. “Based on market analyses, trend research, suggestions made by industry experts and, in open discussion with exhibitors, Medica has been reformed successively at a conceptual level with new forums and accompanying conferences,” noted Joachim Schäfer, managing director of Messe Dusseldorf GmbH. “The subject matter is being continuously adapted to the needs of specialist visitors and exhibitors in close cooperation with committees involving the most important industry associations.”

This year’s meeting content is a mix of old favorites and new topics, with the Medica Education, Medicine + Sports, Disaster and Military Medicine (DiMiMED), and Physio conferences returning for encores. First held last year, the Education conference is organized under a “Science Meets Medical Technology” theme, with four daily topics with each day devoted to specific topics. The first day’s focus was surgery and new operational techniques; the second day will coverimaging, endoscopy, and interventions; the third day will concentrate on geriatrics, nutritional medicine and palliative care; while the final day will spotlight infectiology, infection and laboratory medicine.

This year’s Disaster and Military Medicine conference features a simulated catastrophic event to improve their skills and training in field medicine. “This simulation was quite consciously ‘placed’ in Dusseldorf, since an event like the Boston assassination can happen anytime and in any city,” said retired Rear Admiral uh MC Christoph Büttner, M.D., scientific head of DiMiMED. “For the simulation, we have therefore invited, apart from military guests, high-ranked responsible staff from the ministries of the interior and police headquarters. My goal is to motivate this target group to conduct similar training scenarios in their area of responsibility – which sometimes is actually done already.”

Those attending the Medicine + Sports conference will discover the latest innovations in wearable technology and body sensors, while the Physio conference – organized by the Thieme Publishing House – is primarily designed for physiotherapists (naturally), sports medicine specialists, and orthopedic practitioners.

One of the most significant changes to this year’s Medica show is the schedule itself.For the first time in its history, the event is being held Monday to Thursday rather than Wednesday through Saturday. Schafer said the change was prompted by evaluations of exhibitor and visitor surveys as well as coordination with various industry associations. “Focusing on the ‘normal’ working days of the week – instead of Wednesday to Saturday as was the case up until now – will make it possible to provide better guest distribution for the professional audience across the entire running time in the future, enabling exhibitor presentations as well as their stand infrastructure to be utilized in a more consistent manner,” he said.

About 15.5 percent of the exhibitors at Medica are showcasing their wares at Compamed, a smaller conference for medtech manufacturing service providers. Debuting in 1992 with 52 exhibitors, Compamed is hitting an all-time high of 770 participants from 37 nations and nearly 13,000 square meters of demonstration space. Held in halls 8a and 8b, the three-day show is being held concurrently with Medica, covering all aspects of the medtech supply chain, from component manufacturing (electronics, parts, pipes and hoses, filters, pumps and valves) and materials to micro- and nano-technology, inspection/testing systems and production (assembly, automation, production technology, process technology and packaging).

Two forums taking place at Compamed are spotlighting supplier trends in the medical technology sector. The High-Tech Forum (Hall 8a) of the IVAM German Industry Association for Microtechnology is focusing on microsystems engineering, nanotechnologies, production engineering and process control while a Suppliers Forum (Hall 8b) sponsored by the German trade journal DeviceMed features speakers from companies throughout the entire product development process chain. Discussion subjects at the Suppliers Forum include orthopedic implant coatings, biofilm management in diabetic wounds, medical device miniaturization, smart textiles, drug-device combinations, embedded security, and liquid silicone rubber materials for medical applications. Both forums will have respective German and English portions.

Check out all of MPO’s coverage from the event!