Overcrowded A&E departments, staff shortages, scarce resources and increasingly complex clinical pictures pose major challenges for intensive care and emergency medicine. The digital COMPAMED Innovation Forum 2026, organized by Messe Düsseldorf in collaboration with the IVAM Microtechnology Network (on May 21), demonstrated the role that miniaturization and microtechnology can play in addressing these challenges. The event also provided an outlook on current developments that will shape COMPAMED 2026, International Trade Fair for High-Tech Components, Materials and Manufacturing Technologies. The evet will be held from November 16 – 19, 2026 in Düsseldorf, Germany, concurrently with the MEDICA, International Trade Fair for Medical Technology and Healthcare. With their globally unique combination, MEDICA and COMPAMED are the leading international community platforms for the entire medical technology and healthcare industry ecosystem, covering the entire value chain and including the supply sector.

This year’s COMPAMED Innovation Forum impressively highlighted the role this sector plays in implementing sustainable solutions in everyday healthcare. With the title “Miniaturized MedTech for maximum impact: innovations for emergency and intensive care”, experts from hospitals, industry and product development discussed concrete approaches and innovations for the healthcare of the future. Among the innovations presented were wearables for continuous patient monitoring, biosensors, aids for emergency services, and a new approach to telemedicine-guided stroke interventions.

Carmen Berger, Director of MEDICA and COMPAMED at Messe Düsseldorf, kicked off the event with some positive news for the community: “COMPAMED 2026 is fully booked. This shows that the MedTech industry wants to cooperate and actively shape healthcare.” She also emphasized: “COMPAMED is the true heart of the MEDICA ecosystem. The topics of intensive care and emergency medicine demonstrate the synergy between MEDICA and COMPAMED.”
Tim Merforth, Managing Director of IVAM, added: “I am personally very much looking forward to the special exhibition MEDICA HOSPITAL OF THE FUTURE. There we will be able to see how applications can be specifically integrated into hospital practice.”

Human-centered design as the key
Dr Jens Ebnet from Ebnet Medical GmbH provided the technical introduction. Drawing on his practical experience as an emergency physician, he identified key requirements for product development. His core message was: “Understanding the needs of patients and users is the key to human-centered medical technology.”

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