In context of the Covid pandemic and the increasing trend towards outpatient treatments in healthcare, products and services for the point of care, i.e. for patient-oriented diagnosis and treatment, remain in high demand. With the title “COVID-19: The Challenge Remains”, the MEDICA LABMED FORUM provided an appropriate medical perspective and bridged the gap in terms of content. Current challenges were discussed, based on ever new virus variants, and the need to improve both diagnostics and therapy (keyword: vaccine development) to be adjusted accordingly. Detection of new viral variants, immunity testing using antibody and T-cell assays and approaches to developing a universal COVID-19 vaccine were among the topics the contributions focused on.

The ”booster” for the digitalization of healthcare and the demand for smart processes benefits the (digitally driven) start-up scene. During the trade shows, they were offered a variety of options to present themselves. This included the MEDICA CONNECTED HEALTHCARE FORUM as a dialogue platform on digital health trends with integrated pitch competitions especially for start-ups and the MEDICA START-UP PARK in form of a large group stand with again about 40 companies. The competition for the 11th MEDICA START-UP COMPETITION, which annually focuses on outstanding digital innovations, was won in the final pitch by the start-up IDOVEN from Spain with a cloud-based, AI-supported platform for ECG analysis.

Artificial intelligence and robotics with practical benefits
The selection of other innovations presented by start-ups at MEDICA 2022 ranged from a palm-sized system for wireless monitoring of the unborn and ultrasound heads with special contour-fitting capabilities to other numerous solutions based on artificial intelligence (AI), such as for the precise diagnosis of neurocognitive disorders based on eye movements or the simplified keeping of electronic medical records.

Concerning medical personnel: During MEDICA 2022, researchers at Fraunhofer IPA presented a system for patient anamnesis during admission to clinics that will no longer require the immediate presence of medical staff. Sophisticated sensor technology ensures the automatic recording of vital data and an avatar assists in questioning the patient. The trend toward automated processes was also confirmed by Axel Weber, Vice President Sales Medical Robotics, KUKA Deutschland GmbH (Robotics Division): “MEDICA is the largest medical technology trade fair in the world. We participate in the trade fair because it is the ideal platform for us to present our innovative technologies. With our robotics, we are shaping the medical technology of tomorrow. One trend is the increase of more autonomy in systems in medical technology. In the future, these will be able to perform more and more tasks independently thanks to numerous sensors and supported by artificial intelligence. This is already the case in rehab, for example. In the future, though, we'll see it more and more in surgery.”

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