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 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.