The "Backbone" of Multi-Sector Cooperation

Since its launch in 1998 MEDICA MEDIA has firmly established itself as a multi-discipline and application-orientated information and communication forum held within the scope of the world’s largest medical fair, MEDICA, which is staged every year in Düsseldorf.

In space, which has now increased to around 700 m2, the "Medical Information Systems and Telemedicine" Special Show in Hall 16 held during MEDICA (15 to 18 November 2006), will once again present the highly diverse possibilities of telematic applications in the health care service in the form of special presentations, lectures and workshops. The main themes to be covered at MEDICA MEDIA 2006 are the necessary changes in IT infrastructures at general practitioners’ (GP) surgeries against the background of the introduction of the electronic health card, available information on user-oriented cooperation between individual specialist medical disciplines, an optimization of the patient’s ”workflow” using eHealth through multi-sector cooperation as well as the know-how and technology transfer between research, business and practical medical applications. The urgent necessity for information packages such as those offered at MEDICA MEDIA and also the topicality of this year’s theme groups is impressively underlined by the results of the comprehensive “Monitoring eHealth Germany 2005/ 2006” study conducted by Wegweiser GmbH (Berlin) in cooperation with leading business and sector associations such as for example the BDI, ZVEI and BITKOM. According to this study, relevant decision-makers describe the state of the IT infrastructure at 80 percent of their hospitals and health schemes as worthy of improvement in future. Nevertheless a still considerable level, namely 20 percent of GPs with their own surgeries, even stated that they could not access the Internet at all from their surgeries. On this basis of, and compared to, previous years, in the run-up to MEDICA 2006, the interest in information expressed by the specialist medical trade can be assessed as high and the investment climate for medical information and communication technology as relatively positive. Exciting questions on new IT solutions for the health service will once again be among the themes covered by experts’ discussions and user reports based on practical clinical applications at the MEDICA meet.IT user forum held as part of MEDICA. The forum, arranged by trade association VHitG in cooperation with Messe Düsseldorf, will this year be located in Hall 15.

"Hightech for Medical Devices"

The international exhibition leader for supplies to the medical manufacturing sector (boasting approx. 300 exhibitors and 9,000 trade visitors in 2005), ComPaMED, held in parallel with MEDICA, will this year place special emphasis on the areas of micro-system technologies and nano technologies.

This is why IVAM, the International Association of Companies and Institutes in Microtechnology, will be presenting the manufacturing, microtechnology, nano medicine and new materials segments in Hall 8. Firms from these segments will also feature at the Forum “High-Tech for Medical Devices“. Here experts will find everything required for medical device manufacturing, micro-technical components and systems, clean-room technology, process engineering, nano-medical applications, surfaces and material analysis, all at a glance. Opening hours and admission will remain the same as at the previous event. MEDICA and ComPaMED can be accessed on just one ticket valid for both events. This ticket also grants holders free admission to most events of the MEDICA Congress. Opening hours of MEDICA and ComPaMED 2006: 10.00 am to 6.30 pm, on Saturday 10.00 am to 5.00 pm (MEDICA only). For further details please visit the websites: http://www.medica.de and http://www.compamed.de.

Congress and Special Shows

The attractive focal themes of MEDICA include not only the exhibitors’ ranges and special shows such as MEDICA MEDIA (telemedicine), MEDICA meet.IT (IT systems) or the Physiotherapy Forum but also the MEDICA Congress previously attracting just under 10,000 participants and the “Deutsche Krankenhaustag”.

Under the motto “From Research to Practice“ the MEDICA Congress includes a total of approx. 200 certified seminars and training courses – a recognised platform for the presentation of the latest scientific findings and a forum for knowledge transfer so as to put theory into medical practice. The Congress lectures range from prevention to rehabilitation, from homeopathic methods to high-tech medicine, from state-of-the-art diagnostics to targeted therapies. 2006 will see the following focal themes: cardiology, gastroenterology, oncology, metabolic disorders, infectiology and imaging processes as well as neurological topics including polyneuropathies, depression and dementia disorders. Opening hours and admission will remain the same as at the previous event. MEDICA and ComPaMED can be accessed on just one ticket valid for both events. This ticket also grants holders free admission to most events of the MEDICA Congress. Opening hours of MEDICA and ComPaMED 2006: 10.00 am to 6.30 pm, on Saturday 10.00 am to 5.00 pm (MEDICA only).

Increased Demand, especially in Europe

The world’s largest medical trade fair, MEDICA, and the leading international fair for supplies for medical manufacturing, ComPaMED, both continue to develop well at their “homebase” in Düsseldorf!

Even today, six months before the two events officially open, it is already clear that exhibitor registrations for the 38th World Forum for Medicine (15 to 18 November 2006, ComPaMED: 15 to 17 November 2006) will reach last year’s levels at least with figures standing at 115,000 m² (net). Commenting on the rise in registrations from an international spread of nations Wilhelm Niedergöker, Managing Director of Messe Düsseldorf, said: “We are glad that numerous European countries like Italy, Spain, Austria, Poland and the Netherlands are now flying their flags here even more prominently.” Altogether, organisers expect over 4,000 firms to exhibit at MEDICA 2006 and again about 300 companies at ComPaMED 2006. MEDICA and ComPaMED will occupy all 18 halls of the Düsseldorf Exhibition Centre. Clearly arranged into segments, MEDICA will cover the entire range of out-patient and in-patient health care. Focal themes will include: electrical medicine/medical devices, laboratory technology/diagnostics, physiotherapy/orthopaedic technology, medical supplies (essential supplies and consumables), information and communication technology, textiles, medical furniture, furnishings, facility management and building services. At the same time, ComPaMED in Hall 8 will address all aspects of supplies to the medical manufacturing sector: raw materials, components, parts, packaging and services for use in medical device production. The entire spectrum – concise and systematically structured To underline the concise and clear segmentation of both the ranges on display and the individual segments, the theme-based allocation of hall space will be gradually revised in line with customer requests and suggestions from the relevant trade associations. As a result, the electrical medicine/medical device segment at MEDICA 2006 will feature throughout Halls 7 to 13. The international joint stands (located in Halls 13 and 14 so far) can now expect visitors in the neighbourhood of the centrally located Messe Center, in Halls 16 and 17. From now on the medical IT ranges will all be concentrated in one hall - Hall 15. The add-on lines of relevance to those visitor groups such as nurse response systems or telemedicine applications will be located in the immediate vicinity: in Halls 14 and 16. This hall allocation offers decision-makers from hospitals a further benefit: the “Deutscher Krankenhaustag” conference held at the congress centre CCD. Ost right opposite Hall 15 will be just a stone’s throw away. Opening hours and admission will remain the same as at the previous event. MEDICA and ComPaMED can be accessed on just one ticket valid for both events. This ticket also grants holders free admission to most events of the MEDICA Congress. Opening hours of MEDICA and ComPaMED 2006: 10.00 am to 6.30 pm, on Saturday 10.00 am to 5.00 pm (MEDICA only).

MEDICA Internet Portal registers over 1 million "visits"

For the first time ever, the portal MEDICA.de (http://www.medica.de), the joint Internet website for the world’s largest medical trade fair MEDICA and for the MEDICA Congress, succeeded in reaching over one million Internet users in 2005.

1.15 million hits and 9.39 million page impressions represent a 23% and 19% increase over the previous year. The highest daily figures ever recorded by the servers of Messe Düsseldorf across all its trade fair projects amounted to 25,397 hits and 347,000 page impressions on 14 November 2005. “These figures recorded two days before the opening of the fair confirm the outstanding importance and operational excellence of the MEDICA portal in terms of planning and structuring people’s visits to the fair,” said Wilhelm Niedergöker, Managing Director of Messe Düsseldorf, commenting on the high acceptance of the Internet services. He then went on to pay visitors a compliment: “The 137,122 trade visitors of MEDICA 2005 were real professionals. According to our Internet statistics they came as well prepared as ever heading for the ranges on display in the various themed segments in a very targeted manner.” The Portal functionality most frequently used apart from the exhibitors’ and event database was, once again the interactive “Flash” hall plan. It provides visitors with a true-to-scale representation as a virtual preview of the halls. “Hardly any visitors aimlessly stroll around the halls these days. Thanks to their web-based briefing they all know where they are heading. This means the individual segments on offer and firms’ exhibits are clearly discernible allowing visitors to visit the relevant exhibitors at their stands in a targeted manner and exactly in line with their interests,” comments Horst Giesen, Project Director of MEDICA, explaining the interplay of virtual portal and real exhibition worlds. Incidentally, the number of virtual visitors to MEDICA.de also continued to go up in the earlier months of 2005. This might also be a result of the additional foreign-language versions. In addition to the standard languages German and English for all Portal functionalities, additional so-called micro-sites containing basic information in French, Spanish, Portuguese and Chinese also went online. “Sister” Portal ComPaMED.de successfully launched Launched in 2005, ComPaMED.de, the new Portal for the international No. 1 Trade Fair for supplies to the medical industry (always held concurrently with MEDICA), can also pride itself on a successful start. The established Internet presence at (http://www.compamed.de) was sizeably extended to include strongly enhanced functionalities and services for exhibitors, visitors and other interested parties. Since the Portal went live exhibitors have had the opportunity to update their corporate data and information (e.g. product news) stored in so-called online showrooms themselves 24/7. This new Internet service is rounded off by current trade information, latest announcements and background editorials from the industry – a right move as page impression trends confirm. 44,000 visits and 297,000 page impressions in 2005 equal a 43% and 27% growth over the same period last year. As for web design for MEDICA.de and ComPaMED.de, Messe Düsseldorf is supported by beta-web GmbH (Bonn/ Berlin). MEDICA 2006, the 38th World Forum for Medicine with Congress, will be held in Düsseldorf from 15 to 18 November 2006. The dates of ComPaMED 2006, the 15th International Trade Fair for Components, Parts and Raw Materials for Medical Manufacturing, will run in parallel with MEDICA 2006 from 15 to 17 November.