Medica 2012 Underway in Germany

It’s been dubbed “office desk of the Ruhr” for its glut of international business headquarters, but for a few days each year, Düsseldorf, Germany, really should be called the “world’s medical bag.”

For the 42nd consecutive year, the city renowned for fashion, advertising and most recently, telecommunications, is hosting the world’s largest medical trade fair, welcoming more than 4,500 exhibitors from 64 countries into its limits. Seventy-five percent of the exhibitors at Medica 2012 World Forum for Medicine are foreigners, with Italy, China, France, the United Kingdom and the United States comprising the bulk of display space. (Germany, naturally, booked the most exhibit space, according to data from organizers). Tiny Qatar rented perhaps the smallest exhibit space (100 square meters, or 1,076 square feet) for its inaugural appearance at the four-day event.

“Every November, medtech manufacturers from around the world take advantage of Medica to present the entire spectrum of new products, services and solutions devised to increase the efficiency and quality of both in- and out-of-patient care,” said Joachim Schäfer, managing director of event organizer Messe Düsseldorf GmbH. “This is where they meet key decision makers from the European markets with the greatest potential and volume as well as trade visitors from every continent. One of the main strengths of Medica is the fact that it is not just limited to solutions for individual medical disciplines, but looks at topics from the point of view of the increasing need for an interdisciplinary mindset to cover the complete workflow of treatment, with all of the relevant interface aspects.”

The sprawling 17-building campus that houses both Medica and Compamed (a sister show for suppliers) was bustling with activity on Nov. 14 as throngs of exhibitors and attendees funneled into warehouse-sized buildings to showcase and sample the latest medical technology on the show’s opening day (the event runs through Nov. 17). Commuter trains from nearby Cologne were jammed with business executives during the morning rush hour; many riders passed the time mapping out a Medica coverage strategy on their Blackberries. Most trains were standing-room only.

Upon arrival, attendees had a plethora of options at their disposal. Besides visiting exhibitors eager to demonstrate their wares, participants could attend Medica’s various themed forums to learn about developments in healthcare IT, innovative research, medical technology and chronic wounds. Or, there was Medica Congress, an event staple (educating more than 5,000 visitors in recent years), featuring roughly 200 seminars and training courses in such fields as oncology, cardiology, diabetes and other age-related diseases.

Those craving new programs could choose from “FutureCare,” a joint effort by Messe Düsseldorf and BITKOM (Germany’s federal association for information technology, telecommunications and new media) that explores current developments and solutions for IT-based healthcare. Organizers set up a “FutureCare health course” to inform attendees about the integration of IT and medicine, and its potential impact on the global healthcare system. There’s also an “Econ Forum” for top-level business executives, courtesy of Techniker Krankenkasse (a German health insurance company better known as TK). “The forum is supposed to bring decision-makers and experts from the healthcare system together to consider current developments in healthcare politics from different perspectives,” explained Günter van Aalst, director of TK’s regional department in North Rhine-Westphalia (Germany’s most populous state).

To obtain those different perspectives, TK officials set up three distinct discussion topics (one for each day of the show). On Nov. 14, participants examined “progress” in medicine and medtech innovations, with a special focus on research and development, while on Nov. 15, they’ll explore “core themes in research…that show economic and industrial aspects of healthcare economics.” On Nov. 16, healthcare hotspots in North Rhine-Westphalia is up for debate.

Besides the FutureCare and Econ Forum, there also are new congresses being held for specific trade groups, many of which are conducting their annual meetings during the show. The groups include the German Society of Computer- and Robot-Assisted Surgery, the German Society for Management and Market Orientation in Medicine, the Foundation of Personalised Medicine and the German Scientific Society of Traditional Chinese Medicine.

Techies and mHealth fanatics most certainly will be entertained at the AppCircus, which is making a pit stop at Medica on Nov. 16 to demonstrate the latest health- and fitness-related mobile applications. The creators of eight new apps will present their work to experts during the circus for a chance to be nominated to the Mobile Premiere Awards in February. The awards program is coinciding with the Mobile World Congress.

Medica organizers didn’t forget about old favorites, either. The German Hospital Conference—whose main focus this year is hospital IT—is making its 35th appearance at the show, while Compamed returns with more than 600 exhibitors from 35 countries. This event (which runs in conjunction with Medica, through Nov. 16), features two forums: a high-tech forum on microsystems technology, and a suppliers forum.

“Whereas the program at Medica is primarily aimed at users of medical technology, the majority of visitors attending Compamed are engineers, developers and buyers from the medical technology industry,” Schäfer explained. “The choice of materials, where metals also play an important role, of course, the choice of the most suitable processing methods, coating technologies and packaging solutions are among the key topics covered at Compamed. With their range of products and services, the exhibitors offer all the answers to demanding problems such as what the most suitable packaging handling technique for products produced in a clean room is.”