Once again, decision makers from the international healthcare industry were offered a large and unique range of topics at the world’s largest medical trade fair MEDICA and the concurrently held internationally leading supplier trade fair COMPAMED in Düsseldorf, Germany. On four days, about 120,000 visitors (with approximately two thirds from about 155 countries other than Germany) enjoyed a range of products that were more extensive and international than ever before. With 5,273 exhibitors from 66 countries and an international share of more than 80 percent, MEDICA 2018 set a new record. COMPAMED 2018 also continued its record run with 783 exhibitors from 40 nations.
 
“Nowhere else in the world will you find the entire process chain of innovations for the development, manufacturing and marketing of medical devices, products, instruments and high-tech solutions presented in such a comprehensive manner and simultaneously discussed in hundreds of lectures by renowned experts,” stated Wolfram Diener, Managing Director of Messe Düsseldorf since October 2018. Before joining Messe Düsseldorf, he held a leading position at another trade fair organizer in the Asian market for many years and gained insight into markets, their structures and focus on innovation in various countries. “At MEDICA, visitors can see for themselves what is generally possible with regard to modern outpatient and clinical care and in which areas new processes and care models are being used in a promising way.”
 
“These impulses are gaining importance, especially with regard to the German market. Service providers in this country are faced with ever-growing price pressure. At the same time, they fortunately also benefit from an increasing orientation towards innovation and new technologies,” added Wolfram Diener.
 
Special features at MEDICA 2018 were again the two successful U.S. Pavilions, organized by Messe Düsseldorf North America, with 200 companies presenting their technologies within these group exhibits. Overall, 423 U.S. exhibitors participated in MEDICA 2018.
 
Particularly with regard to digital transformation, MEDICA 20018 offered visitors a lot of new information. In addition to the exhibits, the around 1,000 presentations of the ancillary program with forums and conferences proved that the many innovations related to digitalization not only offer good business perspectives to their providers, they also benefit doctors and particularly patients. “Benefits for patients are a more efficient use of medical personnel on the one hand and easier access to specialist know how on the other hand, for example when experts from neighboring university hospitals or even from abroad can be consulted virtually,” remarked Horst Giesen, Global Portfolio Director Health & Medical Technologies at Messe Düsseldorf.
 
MEDICA: Hotspot for Start-Ups from Around the World
 Currently, there is an apparent development towards more digital health applications which are no longer based on expensive new hardware developments but are primarily software-driven. This benefits large companies but start-ups from around the world are also seizing their opportunity and MEDICA has increasingly become a hot spot for them in the past years. New start-ups gave presentations every day in the “MEDICA DISRUPT” initiative, held within the scope of the MEDICA CONNECTED HEALTHCARE FORUM and the MEDICA App COMPETITION. Over 50 start-ups presented solutions for everything from treating skin cancer and chronic conditions (affecting the heart and lungs, for example) to telemonitoring and tracking of vital signs and activity. Start-ups could also be found in the MEDICA START-UP PARK, at the Wearable Technologies Show as well as at the country group stands, especially from France, Israel, and Finland. Among the product innovations presented were a smartphone ophthalmoscope to examine retinas and eyes, as well as a smart pain patch using blue and red LED light to stimulate the wound healing process. The developer team from “FibriCheck” in Belgium was the winner of the App COMPETITION with a smartphone application based on artificial intelligence that recognizes cardiac arrhythmias by scanning one finger with a smartphone camera.
 
Extensive Ancillary Program
The extensive ancillary program at MEDICA 2018 focused on the most important market trends including the use of artificial intelligence. This included the session on developments in the field of bionic technologies (for use in intelligent prosthetics) at the MEDICA CONNECTED HEALTH CARE FORUM and the forum on the potential of artificial intelligence for diagnostics at the MEDICA HEALTH IT FORUM.
 
Other highlights of MEDICA’s accompanying program were the MEDICA ACADEMY (a medical further education event), the international DiMiMED conference (for specialists from the military and disaster sector), the MEDICA PHYSIO CONFERENCE and the MEDICA MEDICINE + SPORTS CONFERENCE for sports professionals. The 41st German Hospital Conference offered 2,150 participants a multitude of health politics and practice-oriented sessions, with several events also dedicated to the topic of digitalization. Jens Spahn, German Federal Minister of Health, officially opened the German Hospital Conference.
 
COMPAMED: Supplier Power for High-Performance Products
COMPAMED, a worldwide leading event for the supplier market in medical technology manufacturing, was held concurrently with MEDICA for the 27th time. Companies and research institutes showcased their high-tech solutions with an emphasis on small and powerful components among the product innovations. For the first time, COMPAMED dedicated a one-day international conference to the topic of 3D printing.
 
From the U.S., 62 companies displayed their innovations at COMPAMED 2018, with 19 exhibitors participating within the U.S. Pavilion organized by Messe Düsseldorf North America.
 
Overall, U.S. exhibitors at MEDICA and COMPAMED 2018 reserved 4 percent more exhibits space than at the 2017 events.
 
The next concurrent staging on MEDICA and COMPAMED is scheduled for November 18 – 21, 2019 in Düsseldorf, Germany.