Sensirion’s Sensor Solutions for Medtech—5Qs at Medica/CompaMed 2022

It’s been quite the hiatus since attending the Medica and CompaMed trade shows in Dusseldorf, Germany. My last visit to the event was 2019, prior to all the disruption created by the COVID-19 pandemic. With renewed enthusiasm, I was anxious to get back onto the show floor to meet with those companies attending the 2022 event. In anticipation of my visit, I reached out to a number of companies to get the scoop directly from them on what they are showcasing at the event, what challenges customers have brought them, and where they see their role within the industry in aiding medical device manufacturers. With that in mind, Dr. Andreas Alt, sales director—Medical of Sensirion AG, shared the following insights to help you determine if the firm should be a potential services partner for you in 2023 or beyond.
 
Sean Fenske: What technology or service are you emphasizing at Medica/CompaMed this year?
 
Dr. Andreas Alt: Sensors used in wearables to improve therapy outcome or support patients. For example, these can be miniature airflow sensors for smart-inhalers, liquid flow sensors for drug delivery patches and wearables, or gas concentration sensors for determining CO2 or O2 in exhaled breath.
 
Fenske: What’s the most common challenge customers inquire about and how do you address it?
 
Dr. Alt: Customers in the medical space often inquire about solutions that allow them to monitor the therapy and support the patient. Trends of improving adherence and enabling remote or telehealth for therapy increase patient comfort and ease of therapy, as well as reduce the therapy cost. We address these inquiries with our existing sensor solutions or by development of tailored solutions.
 
Fenske: If you could give one piece of advice to companies seeking a manufacturing partner before they make a decision, what would it be?
 
Dr. Alt: Consider sensor solutions for the system early on in the development process. Trying to fix system level problems (e.g., accuracy later on with a sensor) are more costly compared to realizing synergies between a lower cost pump with a sensor from the start.
 
Fenske: What are the forces driving medical device manufacturers to seek your technology/services over doing it in-house?
 
Dr. Alt: The level of specialization required for high-end sensor development, and meeting high performance and required high quality levels at attractive cost points is difficult to achieve. For best outcomes, let’s both do what we do best and focus on our core competencies. For Sensirion, this means providing industry leading sensor solutions.
 
Fenske: In what ways is your company able to aid in getting a product (project) to market faster?
 
Dr. Alt: By offering off-the-shelf sensor solutions or being able to fall back on a rich technology and solution base. This allows our customers to focus on the challenges of the product development while benefitting from cutting edge sensor technology provided by the sensor expert and partner—Sensirion.
 
Sensirion AG is located at Medica/Compamed in Hall 8A, Booth/Stand H19.