COMPAMED continues on its road to success -
A well-established platform for new technology solutions and new partnerships
COMPAMED in Düsseldorf continues on its road to success. Held in parallel with the MEDICA (4,554 exhibitors) - the world's largest pharmaceutical fair- the halls (8a and 8b) were running at full capacity at the world's leading trade fair for suppliers to the medical technology industry, held between 14th to 16th November (MEDICA running until 17th November 2012). 645 exhibitors from 34 countries represented a new record, and a booked floor space of more than 11,600 square metres, as well as the fair's visitor numbers. Of a total of 130,600 visiting experts whose ticket gave them access to both events, more than 16,000 visitors also came to COMPAMED.
"Visitors were given an impressive overview of the range of services offered by suppliers. The industry has not been just about the manufacture of individual components for some time. COMPAMED exhibitors are competent partners in all phases of the product life cycle - from product development to production to spare parts management", according to Joachim Schäfer, Managing Director of Messe Düsseldorf, explaining the close integration of supplier's business processes with those of suppliers of technical medical devices (at the MEDICA exhibition). "The extremely short cycle of innovation of technical medical devices and systems requires a cooperative approach", continues Joachim Schäfer: "European 'MedTech' companies invest an average of eight per cent of their revenue in research and development. The product life cycle often is as little as two years. Any company hoping to keep up as a manufacturer also needs innovative suppliers."
For instance, 2E Mechatronic is considered innovative in the miniaturisation which continues to gain traction in medical technology. At the "DeviceMed Awards" staged for the first time at COMPAMED 2012, the company won the prize for the development of an extremely small thermal flow sensor in the category for micro- and nano-technology. "The SMD chip in our part is housed in an MID housing, i.e. in a circuit carrier manufactured using an injection moulding process, and works without a PCB", explains Stephan Huttenlocher, Product manager at 2E Mechatronic. MID stands for Molded Interconnect Devices. The special artificial material LCP (Liquid Crystalline Polymers) is used, which contains the metallic components. The laser machining practically releases it enabling the necessary conductor tracks to be made in a three-stage metallisation process. Smaller than the previous model by a factor of 20 or so, one application is in breathing apparatus.
Small components for end units
Sensirion AG goes one step further: The Swiss company presented the world's smallest moisture and temperature sensor at COMPAMED 2012. "It can never be too small, especially in mobile end units", says Andreas Meile, Head of Marketing at Sensirion, explaining the "shrinking process" to the current two by two by 0.8 millimetres. The tiny device is entering production in Spring 2013. Awaiba is also using the smallest dimensions. It has released a digital 3D camera module - the "NaEye Stereo" which measures only 1.0 by 2.2 by 1.4 millimetres. A complete stereo camera head is housed within these compact dimensions and is being used for 3D endoscopy, increasingly important in micro-invasive operations. Three examples of many. The trend towards miniaturisation is unbroken at COMPAMED.
The Multivac thermoforming packaging machine is a factor larger, which allows for fully-automatic, GNP-compliant packaging of sensitive products and sterile products in small and large lot sizes. "Today, medical products are manufacturer in ever small quantities, to meet regional- and other specifics. The producing company has to comply with very high requirements for rapid format change, safe line clearance and intelligent automation technologies for loading and unloading", explains Luc van de Vel - Head of the Medical Devices, Cosmetics and Pharmaceuticals division at Multivac. The fully clean room-ready machine which works 50 to 100 per cent quicker than the predecessor model was rewarded the "DeviceMed Award" in the Equipment Provider category as well.
Medical technology
in the "torture chamber"
Machines of a very different kind - "designed to destroy" - are produced by the American firm Instron, represented by its whole-owned subsidiary in Germany, exhibiting for the first time at COMPAMED. "We produce inspection machines that meet the highest demands on quality and functionality in medical technology", explains Jens Stalkopf, member of the Sales team for dynamic checking systems at Instron. This involves the processing of material characteristic values, also checking stresses in the rapid movement of implants, stents, packaging or catheter tubes. "We supply manufacturers of medical technology as well as many research and development forms, who want to test new materials", says Stalkopf. Often, ambient conditions must be simulated in the test devices, e.g. the conditions of the mouth for dental implants.
COMPAMED 2013
from 20 to 22 November 2013, Fair ground Dusseldorf (Germany)
Hall 8a and Hall 8b
Images: R. Eberhard, messekompakt.com, EBERHARD print & mediena gentur gmbh
Source: Messe Düsseldorf