The new hall allocation according to topics was well received. The large national and international joint exhibition areas were given more space in Halls 15 to 17. The manufacturers of surgical instruments moved from Hall 13 to Halls 10 and 11 to be closer to the suppliers of complete OR solutions and imaging processes. The exhibits and specialist forums in the information and communication technology segment were located in Hall 13 (previously in Hall 15) for the first time, linking them directly with the halls dedicated to medical technology and electro-medicine.

“The new concept is confirmed by the consistently high number of visitors in the halls. The MEDICA HEALTH IT FORUM and the MEDICA CONNECTED HEALTHCARE FORUM were real hotspots, with high attendance on all days and more than 10,000 visitors total”, reported Horst Giesen, Global Portfolio Director for Health & Medical Technologies at Messe Düsseldorf.


Medical robotics applications were a focus at MEDICA 2019 and will become even more important in future. For example, KUKA, one of the leading suppliers of robotic and automation solutions, used MEDICA to demonstrate various possible applications for its medical lightweight robot `LBR Med' in the final round of the “Innovation Award”. The spectrum of award topics ranged from a robot platform with magnetic capsules for early detection of colon cancer to an application providing robot-supported laser treatment for varicose veins and robot-assisted, personalized back massages. Another innovation was ‘temi’, a home care robot manufactured by Medisana. As a digital everyday aid it helps people into old age to remain in their homes.

Robert Geiger, Managing Director of Aktormed, explains that use of robots is not intended to replace doctors but to provide optimal support for the “human factor”: “Our robot-assisted assistance systems enable the surgeon to perform minimally invasive operations with high precision and maximum personnel relief.” The company considers itself as a market leader in the area of robotic camera control and has been a MEDICA exhibitor since 2013. “We are interested in B2B relationships. The success of our MEDICA contacts can therefore only be assessed in an interval of one to two years. Looking back on our initial years at the trade fair, we are very satisfied,” said Robert Geiger.

The exhibit category “medical robotics” is now included in the MEDICA exhibitor applications so that visitors can quickly identified the companies.

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