This year’s MEDICA trade fair in Düsseldorf, Germany will present groundbreaking innovations for tomorrow’s medical progress from November 18 – 21, 2019 in Düsseldorf, Germany. With more than 5,300 exhibitors from 70 countries, MEDICA is the world’s largest medical trade fair. As part of the event, the MEDICA CONNECTED HEALTHCARE FORUM (MCHF) has evolved into a central hotspot for presenting state-of-the-art solutions and will take with sessions addressing the Internet of Medical. Zimmer & Peacock, for example, offer biosensors that analyze pH values, glucose, lactate and uric acid. These sensors are implemented in wearables for direct use on the body and thus assist in smart diagnostics of health parameters.

The “world championship” of medical IoT solutions
The ten finalists of the 11th Healthcare Innovation World Cup will also present their developments at the MCHF, starting at 1:00 pm on November 18. An international jury will select the winner from these finalists, who have been selected from several hundred applicants.

The start-up MOIO developed a smart care patch for use in out-patient care as well as at home that increases the quality of life for care givers and people who require Natalie Heckel of MOIO will present the latest on this innovation in the afternoon of November 21 during the MEDICA DISRUPT session as part of the MCHF. MOIO will also be an exhibitor at the Wearable Technologies Show, the large joint stand in Hall 13 (Stand D46).

Body Augmentation – smart additions to our bodies
Starting at 3:00 pm on November 18, the MCHF will focus on augmentations to the human body, such as bionic eyes, intelligent implants and exoskeletons. Dr. Nadia Tsao will talk about the possibilities of using 3D printing processes to create body parts - from printed hips to knee joints. In a report published two years ago, Dr. Tsao forecasted that global 3D bio-printing sales would reach $ 1.9 billion by 2028.

In the same session, Raina Chang, European Business Director of FREE Bionics in Taiwan, will present exoskeletons offering valuable robotic support for stroke patients during their rehabilitation process. These exoskeletons are also helpful when it comes to exercise for people with spinal injuries. The company UniExo has also recognized the value of exoskeletons in the rehabilitation of people with limited mobility.

Robots assist senior citizens at home
Robotics can also be used for care at home. medisana’s new robot temi, is intended to function as a digital helper in the daily life of senior citizens. Ulrich Schulze-Althoff, Vice President of medisana, will present the home care robot in the session on November 18 in the afternoon as part of the MCHF. temi is shaped like a tablet PC on wheels and reminds users to take their medicine on time. By integrating Alexa, Amazon’s voice assistance system, the home care robot can be linked to compatible smart home devices in the household of senior citizens..

The most up-to-date level of mobile monitoring
Starting at 11 am on November 19, the MCHF will focus on mobile monitoring to improve healthcare at home and in hospitals. Biovotion, for example, uses the medically certified Everion 22 solution to measure various vital parameters such as heart rate, heart rate variability, temperature, oxygen saturation, movement intensity and the quality of sleep. This innovation has already been adopted by pharmaceutical company Mundipharma in developing their digital platform, Painfocus. The result is a combination of Biovotion’s Everion with an AI-based health analysis platform that uses machine learning and combines several physiological biomarkers to calculate the existence and level of pain. The system, which consists of an app and hardware, can capture, monitor and analyze the data that is created by the patient and can then share this data with care staff in real time via a web-based dashboard. This provides exact details on a patient’s health condition, including the level of pain and general physiology – which is particularly invaluable when it comes to patients who are no longer responsive.

Among other topics, the same session will also take a closer look at new solutions in the remote treatment of patients and monitoring their movement activities for physiotherapy clinics and orthopedic hospitals

In the afternoon of November 19, the 8th MEDICA App COMPETITION will take place on the MCHF stage to find the world’s best health app solution. Starting at 1:00 pm., ten finalists, who have been selected in advance, will compete in their final pitch. More information will be available at https://www.medica.de/mac1 end of October. The competition will be followed by , the HEALTH ACCELERATOR REVERSE PITCH, where companies such as Bayer G4A, Merck and Roche Diagnostics will present their funding programs for start-ups.

How can we satisfy artificial intelligence’s need for data?
When it comes to artificial intelligence (AI) in medicine, a large amount of reliable data is both a requirement and the foundation – in a nutshell: Big Data. At 11 am on November 20, Thorsten Gau, Chief Technology Officer Healthcare and Life Sciences at IBM Europe, will explain how connections and data from various sources can contribute to improving healthcare. This will be followed by Tiasha Renganathan, Head of Wearable Tech at MAS Innovation, who will take a look at how textiles can be used to capture health parameters. How should experts in the health care industry handle the increasing amount of data? Markus Meier, Market Director Life Sciences at PTC, will explain how augmented reality can help them make the most of Big Data and use this as a basis for therapy decisions.

Dr. Stefan Taing, co-founder and Managing Director of M3i, will take a closer look at how capturing clinical data can be accelerated in the MCHF session starting at 2:40 pm on November 21. This session will also focus on Big Data and AI. M3i is an industry-in-clinics platform that connects companies to research and development resources in clinics, for example, if a medical technology manufacturer requires access to clinics to conduct a clinical study or if a doctor has an innovative idea and is looking for an industrial partner to realize it. One concrete AI application is Omnidermal’s Woundviewer. This app reduces the time required for monitoring, documenting and classifying wounds from twenty to two minutes. According to Omnidermal, Woundviewer is the only device on the market that objectively and quantitatively evaluates wounds in a standardized manner, guarantees a subsequent and comparative study of cutaneous ulcer healing and informs medical personnel immediately should conditions worsen.

MEDICA DISRUPT – the most captivating health start-ups of 2019
The MEDICA CONNECTED HEALTHCARE FORUM and its program offers over 100 health start-ups a platform to present their products. MEDICA DISRUPT is one part of this program, where start-ups will present their creative ideas from 1:00 and 3:00 pm November 18 – 21 and from 11:00 am to 3:30 pm on November 21. The range of applications will include medically certified wearables, diagnostics, health monitoring, women's health, mental health as well as the treatment and therapy of chronic diseases and Big Data and AI in the healthcare field. Solutions for clinics and care centers as well as digitalizing the point-of-care round off the MEDICA CONNECTED HEALTHCARE FORUM in the final session from 3:00 to 5:00 pm. on November 21.

For more information about the forum: https://www.medica-tradefair.com/mchf2.

For information on visiting or exhibiting at MEDICA 2019, contact Messe Düsseldorf North America, Telephone: (312) 781-5180; E-mail: info@mdna.com; Visit www.medica-tradefair.com and www.mdna.com; Follow us on twitter at http://twitter.com/mdnachicago

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