From 11 to 14 November, 5,800 exhibitors from 72 countries will come together at MEDICA and COMPAMED 2024, held in Germany, showcasing the latest innovations and trends in healthcare, aimed at optimising outcomes and improving efficiency.
Christian Grosser, Director Health & Medical Technologies, is looking forward to events getting under way: “The trade fairs will offer an enormous variety of innovations and exciting programme formats with a host of highlights and top-class speakers,” he commented.
An important new development this year will be the themed halls in the MEDICA Med Tech & Devices and Digital Health areas, known as “spheres”, with the accompanying German Hospital Conference to be held at a new location.
To date, the flagship event for top managers of German hospitals was held at the Congress Center Düsseldorf; now it has been moved to the centre of the trade fair in Hall 12.
To get proceedings started, the North Rhine-Westphalian Minister of Health, Karl-Josef Laumann, will be speaking to the delegates, focusing in particular on the changes in the German hospital landscape stemming from upcoming hospital reform.
Digital Health
A focus on Digital Health in Hall 13 will highlight the latest IT trends and digital innovations, while a programme of events will include discussion of key topicas around digital health. This will include:
- The MEDICA Health IT Forum
- The MEDICA Innovation Forum (with the popular start-up pitches on Monday and Tuesday afternoons)
- The Hospital of the Future special presentation (innovations around digital infrastructure in hospitals and data use, as demonstrated by the example of intensive care).
- The Wearable Technologies Show
- The MEDICA Start-up Park (a central hub for networking with the digitally powered start-up scene).
Women leaders in healthcare
The MEDICA Innovation Forum is also set to put a spotlight on high-flying women in the sector. “Together we thrive” is the title of the panel discussion to be held on the Tuesday afternoon. This will feature women who have been highly successful in the healthcare industry in various management positions, whether in large organisations or the dynamic start-up sector, making them ideal discussion partners with a wealth of experience.
Among the panellists will be Hadas Bitran, Partner General Manager, Health AI (Microsoft Health and Life Sciences), Ayelén Fernández, Global Orthotics & Prosthetics Segment Manager (HP), Audrey A. Sherman, Division Scientist (Solventum; previously 3M Healthcare) and Nina Wöss, Managing Partner (Female Founders).
Hot topics
The additional hot topics at MEDICA will include current examples of applications for AI and robotics as well as assistance systems in day-to-day medical practice.
Another area of focus will be the increasing connectivity in healthcare provision, specifically on innovations for point of care diagnostics and treatment. This includes telemedicine applications.
Another top issue at this year’s MEDICA is the urgent skills shortage. This is having an impact on almost every organisation in the healthcare sector, leading them to search for solutions.
Innovation
At MEDICA 2024, there will be five spheres promising a wide variety of innovations for the treatment of outpatients and clinical use. These include robotic applications to support highly complex neurosurgical brain interventions as well as orthopaedic operations (including hip implants), plus a novel drive system that can be fitted into most hospital beds, which significantly eases the workload for staff at healthcare facilities during patient transport.
Another new solution on show will be a medically certified smartwatch for easy measurement of wrist blood pressure. The spheres at the trade fair are: Lab & Diagnostics, Med Tech & Devices, Disposables, Physio Tech and Digital Health.
Last year, MEDICA and COMPAMED recorded a total of 83,000 visiting professionals from more than 160 countries.
All of the details on the events are available online at https://www.medica-tradefair.com and https://www.compamed-tradefair.com.
