By always offering innovations and updating existing program formats, the internationally leading medical trade fair MEDICA in Düsseldorf, Germany, has been successful for over half a century and always gives its trade visitors from all over the world a good overview of all the relevant trends and innovations in the healthcare sector. The best example of this is the MEDICA INNOVATION FORUM (the successor event to the MEDICA CONNECTED HEALTHCARE FORUM), which will be held right in the center of the “Digital Health” sphere of MEDICA this year. MEDICA will take place from November 11 – 14, 2024 at the fairgrounds in Düsseldorf, Germany.
“This is where we discuss the most important topics for the future, from the Internet of Things to robotics, artificial intelligence, augmented reality and digital twins as well as mobile health and medical wearables, 3D printing and solutions for the hospital of the future. Because digital innovations are not limited to optimized connections between all healthcare players, the forum will focus on the digital transformation of the healthcare industry in its entirety. After all, start-up presentations recently already clearly reflected this wider scope of content. The popular pitch competitions will remain a fundamental part of the program”, explained Christian Grosser, Director of MEDICA at Messe Düsseldorf.
Renowned experts will give inspiring talks at the MEDICA INNOVATION to initiate professional discussion among the over 8,000 forum participants expected to attend. One of the speakers will be Prof. Stephen Gilbert of the Dresden University of Technology. He recently called for LLM-based generative chat tools such as ChatGPT and MedPaLM to be approved as medical devices. Robotics expert Lorenzo Masia, Heidelberg, and André Brauers, Global Head of Immersive and Digital Education Solutions at Siemens Healthineers, will also contribute topics for discussion.
Dr. Sonja Sulzmaier, a Managing Partner at Navispace, is one of the organizers of the MEDICA INNOVATION FORUM. She is also the Chairwoman for Start-Ups and Enterprise Formation of the German Association for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses (BVMW) and knows what’s important: “The degree of innovation is the decisive factor for us when selecting the program and speakers.” The degree of innovation is also an important criterion when evaluating submissions for the 13th MEDICA START-UP COMPETITION and the 16th HEALTHCARE INNOVATION WORLD CUP.
13th MEDICA START-UP COMPETITION 2024
The 13th MEDICA START-UP COMPETITION features a range of categories such as “AI in medicine”, “robotics”, “health apps”, “lab diagnostics” and “other”. The top 12 medical start-ups of 2024 will present their solutions at the pitch final (on November 12) at the MEDICA INNOVATION FORUM.
The first prize for 2023 was awarded to “MeMed BV”, the first diagnostic test to be approved by the FDA and receive a CE label which can use serum or venous blood to
differentiate between bacterial and viral infections in just 15 minutes. “Our product helps clinics all over the world to make better decisions about antibiotic treatments”, said Yossi Horesh, Director of the US-Israeli company. MeMed has already established a strong position in the U.S., Israel and Italy. Now, the young company is also expanding to Asia, the Middle East and other parts of Europe. Looking back at their success during the start- up competition at MEDICA 2023, Yossi Horesh added: “Our participation in the competition
kicked off a lot of productive discussions. For instance, we analyzed the economic advantages of our system, particularly its capacity for reducing the use of antibiotics. We also engaged with the critical issue of treating patients with sepsis and predicting possible deterioration in a patient’s condition. Our next product, MeMed Universal Severity, will address these issues. It is designed to help clinicians better assess the risk if an infection is suspected.”
Ventrject, the second-place winner at the HEALTHCARE INNOVATION WORLD CUP 2023, is already offering its Seismofit system on markets in Denmark, Germany, Great
Britain and Ireland. The system records cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), measured as VO2- max. “And it does this more accurately than any fitness tracker can and is in the gold standard range”, said Mikkel Kristiansen, CEO of the Danish company. The actual gold standard, according to Mikkel Kristiansen, are 15-minute tests, either cycling on an ergometer or running on a treadmill. By contrast, a test with Seismofit takes less than three minutes and involves no physical activity. It measures the vibrations generated by the heartbeats and transmitted to the chest. A cloud-based algorithm analyses the signal. According to Mikkel Kristiansen, participating in the start-up competition at MEDICA 2023 was well worth it: “We want this test to be purchasable for a large majority of people and our plan was to present the device on stage to customers and possible partners from all over the world. After winning second place, we really did strike up conversations with many potential resellers from all over the world. That exceeded our expectations.” Next, Mikkel Kristiansen wants to tap into new markets with his company.
The Danish company Ropca won third place at last year's MEDICA START-UP COMPETITION with the first ultrasound robot to bear a CE mark. Ropca automates the
process of ultrasound imaging and image assessment: The platform `ARTHUR' - a robotic arm - and the artificial intelligence product `DIANA' help to meet the growing challenge of an increasing number of people with rheumatoid arthritis, hospital costs and the shortage of specialists. Johannes Schäeferhoff, CEO of Ropca, reported that the company had good experiences with MEDICA even before applying to the competition. In 2022, the company (founded in 2019) won the KUKA award for medical innovation and attracted particular attention from the trade fair audience. After the big on-stage pitch final as part of MEDICA 2023, Johannes Schäeferhoff can now report a recent successful round of investor funding and its outcome: “We are all about internationalization now.” The system is primarily intended for large medical centers such as university hospitals and has the potential to reduce waiting times for rheumatology appointments. In Germany, the company plans to test screening with Ropca in several cities, and the list of appropriate indications could also be expanded. “We will be approved for osteoarthritis in the near future”, Johannes Schäeferhoff is certain.
Solutions for the "Internet of Medical Things"
The HEALTHCARE INNOVATION WORLD CUP highlights the next generation of smart health devices, medical wearables, digital biomarkers, electroceuticals, smart plasters and more. First place at the MEDICA pitch in 2023 went to DiaMonTech with a blood glucose measurement system without needles. “As of today, there is no other device that performs this measurement with an equal level of precision”, said Thorsten Lubinski, CEO of the Berlin start-up. Instead of a needle, a beam of light is directed onto the skin. This light almost exclusively heats the glucose molecules in the skin. The warming is so slight that it cannot be felt, but it can be measured. The device calculates the blood glucose value from this heat development. After their win in Düsseldorf, the company saw further success, concluding a round of funding amounting to millions of euros. The funds raised will be used to further refine the prototype of the D-Pocket handheld device, to conduct important clinical trials and accelerate market entry in the U.S. and the EU.
Applications for (free) participation in this year’s MEDICA START-UP COMPETITION and HEALTHCARE INNOVATION WORLD CUP are now open. For more information on
the terms and conditions of participation and the link to register, as well as up-to-date information on the MEDICA INNOVATION FORUM: https://www.medicatradefair.com/mif2.
Innovative start-ups and scale-ups at the trade fair
Start-ups and scale-ups with exciting digital innovations cannot only be found at the MEDICA stage program. Every year, several hundred recently founded companies
participate, making MEDICA the world’s leading event for health start-ups. Once again this year, the MEDICA START-UP PARK is recommended as a central contact point for networking with the digitally driven start-up scene. In the joint area of the special show, a good 50 companies will provide information about their creative ideas and concrete solutions for modern healthcare.
More than 6,000 exhibitors from around 70 countries are expected to take part in MEDICA 2024 and COMPAMED 2024, the concurrently held supplier trade fair. Last year,
both events recorded 83,000 trade visitors from more than 160 countries.
For further information on visiting or exhibiting at MEDICA or COMPAMED 2024, contact Messe Düsseldorf North America; Telephone: (312) 781-5180; E-mail: [email protected]; Visit www.medica-tradefair.com and www.compamed-tradefair.com and www.mdna.com.
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