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MEDICA/COMPAMED 2017
T
he number of people in
Germany who work in the
health sector increased
to more than seven million for
the first time in 2016. The in-
dustrial side of the healthcare
sector alone now employs a
good 900,000 people and con-
sequently more than 100,000
more people than the automo-
tive industry does (according
to BMWi / GGR, VDA). Just like
the automotive industry, how-
ever, the healthcare sector is
also experiencing rapid change.
MEDICA, the world's leading
medical trade fair – to take place
from 13 to 16 November 2017 in
Düsseldorf – will be embracing
this dynamic with the presenta-
tion of new products by more
than 5,000 exhibitors from 68
countries and by devoting the
accompanying conferences and
expert conferences to it.
Digitalisation has fed into all
aspects of supply and buzzwords
such as ‘networking’ and ‘artifi-
cial intelligence’ are character-
ising the technical discussions
and already influencing product
development concretely. Expert
professionals will be able to gain
insights into all the develop-
ments – be it during the presen-
tations and talks at the MEDICA
CONNECTED HEALTHCARE FORUM,
during the MEDICA HEALTH IT
FORUM, with the help of the ex-
hibitors' new products and even
through the exciting MEDICA APP
COMPETITION.
More and more health applica-
tions for smartphones, tablet PCs
and ‘wearables’ – applications
that are already enjoying increas-
ing acceptance in the practical
world – are going to be presented,
for instance, within the medically
relevant contexts. 45% of German
smartphone owners are already
using health apps and another
45% can see themselves using
them. A further 60% of people in
Germany approve of the concept
of an electronic patient file that
could be used to store their medi-
cal data.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is an-
other topic that the healthcare
sector is becoming increasingly
preoccupied with. It will conse-
quently also be on the agenda at
this year's MEDICA HEALTH IT FO-
RUM (Hall 15). A robot that is able
to automatically set up needles
for infusions and biopsies was
already presented to an amazed
expert audience at MEDICA 2016.
This example shows: What previ-
ously seemed pure science fiction
is currently on the threshold of
becoming reality in concrete and
plausible applications. This is
also the case in the field of medi-
cal imaging, for instance. The first
applications to use artificial intelli-
gence for the automated detection
of possible tumours on the basis
of digitally generated image data
from CRT or MRT systems are about
to be launched on the market.
Artificial intelligence is going
to change the field of medicine
forever’
At a press event in advance of
MEDICA 2017, Prof Dr. Jochen Wer-
ner, Medical Director at the Univer-
sity Clinic of Essen, revealed that
he is convinced that AI is going
to revolutionise the health sector:
“Artificial intelligence is going to
change the field of medicine for-
ever. It is going to optimise and
accelerate diagnostics and help to
make treatments more personal.
The work of physicians is going
to change fundamentally.” Prof.
Werner emphasised that AI was
not an end in itself. It would always
have to be used to the benefit of
patients and help physicians con-
centrate on their core tasks.
Medical applications based on
‘virtual reality’ (VR) and ‘augment-
ed reality’ (AR) were also advanc-
ing. One of the product highlights
at MEDICA 2017, for instance, is
going to be the ‘3D-ARILE’ AR sys-
tem for surgery that projects the
precise location of lymph nodes on
data goggles worn during surgi-
cal interventions and so provides
valuable assistance within the
framework of tumour operations.
A piece of physiotherapy equip-
ment that patients recline on while
wearing a pair of VR goggles on to
which a flight through a mountain
landscape is projected as the unit
makes the corresponding treat-
ment-relevant movements is also
going to be premièred at MEDICA.
The new and the tried-and-
tested – conferences and
forums
With the aim of meeting the
needs of the international profes-
sional public both now and in
the future, the programme for
the accompanying conferences
and the forums integrated into
the trade fair have, over recent
years, been radically restruc-
tured and have always been
complemented by new formats
dedicated to topical subjects.
Creative start-ups are, for in-
stance, playing an important
role in the digitisation of health-
care and specifically in the field
of wearables for vital diagnos-
tics. So a special ‘platform’ is
going to be dedicated to them
for the first time at MEDICA 2017
with the new MEDICA START-UP
PARK in Hall 15. The MEDICA
LABMED FORUM in Hall 18 will
also be new this year. Four
themed days will be offering a
range of exciting presentations
and panel discussions that will
be focusing on the following
highlights: Preventive screening
tests for cancer, cardiac and cir-
culatory conditions, innovative
diabetes diagnostic tools, infec-
tion and migration.
Text & Image:
Messe Düsseldorf GmbH
Postfach 10 10 06
D-40001 Düsseldorf
13.– 16.11.2017
New highlights in theMEDICA programme
World's largest medical trade fair with its finger on the pulse, devoted
to trending subjects and innovations with over 5,000 exhibitors