Medical technology is set to remain a German domain, at least until 2020. The trend report published by the Association for Electrical, Electronic and Information Technologies (VDE, Frankfurt am Main) for 2011, for which some 1,300 member companies and universities were surveyed, shows that Germany is the most innovative country in this field by a long way. Almost two thirds (64%) of respondents view Germany as having a clear lead on the U.S. (30%). The general consensus is that Germany will remain largely unchallenged until the end of the current decade, with 57% anticipating that medical technology made in Germany will defend its lead ahead of the U.S. (26%), the rest of Europe (9%) and emerging countries in Asia. This international comparison reveals the great importance of medical technology in Germany - especially against the backdrop of a dynamic and growing global health market and increasing competition between manufacturers.

These are also the reasons behind the increasing international interest in COMPAMED, the leading international trade fair for the suppliers' market in medical manufacturing. COMPAMED 2011, High tech solutions for medical technology, (to be held from November 16 - 18 in Düsseldorf, Germany parallel with the world's largest medical trade fair, MEDICA 2011 (November 16 - 19)) will once again cover the entire medical technology supply chain - from materials and components to systems and intermediate products as well as complete systems and services. "On the basis of the excellent response and registrations to date, we expect to see at least 600 exhibitors and about 10,000 square meters of space to be booked in Halls 8a and 8b", predicts Joachim Schäfer, Managing Director at Messe Düsseldorf.

As in previous years, the first key exchange of ideas on current trends in the industry took place at the COMPAMED Spring Convention, which was held in Frankfurt, Germany on May 10 and was organized by Messe Düsseldorf and the International Association of Microtechnology (IVAM). With 90 participants this year, the Spring Convention grew by 50% compared to 2010.
The 5th meeting of its kind, the focus this time was on new materials, how they are processed and handled and on their use in medical devices. New plastics and metal alloys, ceramics and composites (composite materials) are often the starting point for innovations in medical technology. This is also the case for biodegradable polyester which is based on lactic acid and glycolic acid, produced under the brand name "RESOMER" by Evonik Röhm GmbH (Darmstadt). These polymeric materials are ideal for use as sutures, for screws, plates and nails, as slow-release drug carriers and also for stents. "The advantages of our polymers are obvious: The implants don't need to be removed, they don't cause any allergic reactions, are strong enough for the intended purpose, i.e. the time it takes a bone to heal, and are easy to sterilize", emphasizes Dr. Harald Liedtke, Head of Technical Marketing at Evonik Röhm. In addition to this, the length of time they remain in the body can easily be varied between a few weeks and up to more than 4 years by varying the copolymers used. Other ways of fine tuning them for tailor-made applications are the "toolkits" of monomers, variation of their position in the polymer chain, the microstructure of these chains, the molecular weight and the terminal groups - providing a wealth of ways of influencing the properties to synthesize the "ideal" molecule for a specific purpose.

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