MEDICA 2009 opens with a new record

From 18 to 21 November 2009 this week, the international medical sector will once again turn its attention to Düsseldorf. That is when the world’s leading medical trade fair, MEDICA 2009, 41st World Forum for Medicine and Congress, along with COMPAMED 2009, High tech solutions for medical technology – 18th International Trade Fair Components, Parts and Raw Materials for Medical Manufacturing (previous year: 137,000 trade visitors), will both open. In 1969 the MEDICA success story, at that time still known as “Diagnostic Week”, began to take shape. At the event’s premiere, 135 exhibitors occupied rented exhibition space of 2,500 square metres. At its 40th anniversary MEDICA 2009 will attract 4,324 exhibitors from 60 nations – a new record figure in the event’s history. COMPAMED, which has been held parallel with MEDICA since 1992, will again be registering a total of over 500 exhibitors from 35 nations this year (COMPAMED duration: 18 to 20 November 2009). Once again all 19 halls at the Düsseldorf Exhibition Centre will be fully booked for the combined event MEDICA and COMPAMED 2009.

40 Years of MEDICA: World’s leading medical trade fair opens with record participation figures – 4,324 exhibitors from 60 nations
500 suppliers from 35 countries showing their new products and innovations at COMPAMED
From 18 to 21 November 2009 this week, the international medical sector will once again turn its attention to Düsseldorf. That is when the world’s leading medical trade fair, MEDICA 2009, 41st World Forum for Medicine and Congress, along with COMPAMED 2009, High tech solutions for medical technology – 18th International Trade Fair Components, Parts and Raw Materials for Medical Manufacturing (previous year: 137,000 trade visitors), will both open. In 1969 the MEDICA success story, at that time still known as “Diagnostic Week”, began to take shape. At the event’s premiere, 135 exhibitors occupied rented exhibition space of 2,500 square metres. At its 40th anniversary MEDICA 2009 will attract 4,324 exhibitors from 60 nations – a new record figure in the event’s history. COMPAMED, which has been held parallel with MEDICA since 1992, will again be registering a total of over 500 exhibitors from 35 nations this year (COMPAMED duration: 18 to 20 November 2009). Once again all 19 halls at the Düsseldorf Exhibition Centre will be fully booked for the combined event MEDICA and COMPAMED 2009.
After Germany, the largest demand for space at MEDICA 2009 (approximately 50,000 m²) has been registered from Italy (approximately 11,000 m²), China (6,000 m²), the United Kingdom (5,300 m²), USA (5,000 m²), France (4,400 m²) along with the Netherlands (3,000 m²).
According to the latest information provided by the sector associations SPECTARIS and ZVEI (German Electrical and Electronic Manufacturers’ Association), although the German medical device manufacturers are feeling the effects of the economic and financial
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crisis, the trend in domestic business is predominantly stable. For 2009 sales growth of around 2% is expected for the domestic market. In contrast, foreign business tends to be more difficult. In particular, trade with the sales markets of Russia, Turkey, Spain and the United Kingdom was characterized in the first half of the year by sales declines, in some cases reaching double-digit percentages, while trade with the US was also marked by a slightly declining trend. According to the sector associations’ information, in the first half of 2009 growth impulses were generated by trade with China and also the Middle East sales markets. For the whole of 2009, a two-percent decline in sales is expected to a total volume of approximately 17.8 billion Euros (export quota: 65 percent).
In the race for the best innovations the German “MedTech” industry is expected to have good opportunities again in future. Each year companies spend around 15 percent of their turnover on research and development, almost 15 percent of employees work in this sector. In terms of patents and the world trade share, Germany is in second place, right behind the USA.
Industry shows an appetite for innovation at MEDICA
Medical experts can see the innovativeness of the industry for themselves during their visit to MEDICA 2009. In a presentation clearly structured according to product groups, the event will show the entire spectrum of products, systems and services for medical care in doctors’ surgeries and clinics: ranging from medical technology/equipment and electro-medicine, laboratory technology and diagnostic appliances, physiotherapy products and consumables through to information and communication technology for health facilities right up to interior furnishings and Facility Management services.
In relation to the product range trends and apart from the inexorable progress of digitalization in the health service and digital networking of the players in the medical care process, there is also a clearly evident trend towards the increasing use of medical technology in the out-patient sector. In this regard there is an ever stronger trend towards home medicine and telemedicine applications. Whereas the clinical
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thermometer was for a long time the only medical appliance to be found in domestic households, blood pressure gauges or mini ECGs have also long since established themselves in the home. The target group for these so-called self-paying patient products is on the one hand health-conscious people wishing to constantly monitor their physical readings. On the other, numerous applications are also giving rise to treatment options with regard to telecare for chronically ill patients.
At MEDICA 2009 plenty of discussion topics will also be ensured by new developments in the area of imaging processes. Here for example ultra-sonic appliances for nerve disease applications will be presented. In this connection, special surface-ultrasonic transducer probes not only enable a nerve to be displayed but also all the structures surrounding it. This allows the recognition of nerve tumours, nerve inflammations or nerve damage.
In addition to the exhibitors’ product ranges the established programme features at MEDICA also include the MEDICA MEDIA Theme Park (Telemedicine / Hall 15), MEDICA VISION (Research Institutes’ Innovation Forum / Hall 3) and the Physiotherapy Forum (Hall 4). A special feature this year is the “40 Years of MEDICA” Special Show (Hall 10). Here visitors can marvel at medical technology and equipment exhibits from days gone by, for example ECG monitors for emergencies, treatment chairs or even a historic heart-lung machine.
Other key components of MEDICA are the MEDICA Congress with total participants at the last event of around 10,000 along with the German Hospital Conference (Deutscher Krankenhaustag).
For the first time the MEDICA Congress seminar programme will be extended this year to include international lectures in English. The five main themes span a broad range extending from medical imaging through to heart surgery, the latest diagnostic trends and cancer treatment up to palliative medicine.
In the meantime, the 32nd German Hospital Conference will be held on this year’s general theme of “Hospital Policy after the Elections” with its
lectures and discussions focusing on the health policy strategies of the Bundestag parties.
COMPAMED 2009 – High-tech solutions for medical technology
COMPAMED 2009 will be held in parallel with MEDICA 2009. Within the framework of the leading international trade fair for the suppliers’ market in the medical manufacturing sector, from 18 to 20 November 2009 in Düsseldorf once again around 500 exhibitors from 35 nations will be presenting a broad spectrum of new materials, components, upstream supplies and services through to complete contract manufacturing for the medical technology industry. Complex developments from the sectors of nano and micro technology will also be among the themes covered in Halls 8a and 8b at the Düsseldorf Exhibition Centre.
The gap between theory and practice is traditionally bridged by MEDICA and COMPAMED in cooperation with the German Hospital Conference (Deutscher Krankenhaustag, CCD. East). Here, in particular, themes relating to clinic management are covered. The main theme of the 32nd German Hospital Conference is “Shaping the future”. The conference will also pick up on the current restructuring processes at the around 2,100 German clinics.
The exhibition halls are open daily from 10.00 to 18.30 hrs, on Saturday up to 17.00 hrs (MEDICA only).
Further information available on the Internet: http://www.medica.de / http://www.compamed.de

Press pictures online: http://fotoservice.messe-duesseldorf.de/medica