An overview of the benefits that digital health applications and their paired medical technology is providing will be offered by the medical trade fair Medica in Düsseldorf from 18-21 November.
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Several hundred start-ups will present their ideas and new innovations to an international specialist audience. The Medica Disrupt will take place within the scope of the Medica Connected Healthcare Forum and Medica Start-Up Park.
At Medica Disrupt, finals are on the program in the first two days – each final involving 10 start-ups. On 18 November, the Innovation World Cup looks at healthcare solutions in the Internet of Things. The world’s best health app is sought out in the eighth Medica App Competition on Tuesday. The participants in these finals will try to win over the international jury and secure a place for the live presentations at Medica 2019.
There’s also a program at Medica Disrupt. On 18 November, there will be a focus on body augmentation: the optimisation of the human body using robotics, 3D printing and intelligent implants. One participant here is the start-up Ebenbuild. CEO Dr. Kei W. Müller has been performing research for a project that aims to provide patients with acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) with tailored mechanical ventilation settings for their ventilators in order to improve their chances of survival and recovery. Until now, ventilators could only be adjusted to patients in a very limited manner by inputting body parameters that can be imprecise. Ebenbuild uses software that uses CT scanning and machine learning to produce a virtual patient-specific model of the lungs, thus creating a digital twin of them.
A prototype is already available and will be tested over the next three years. Ebenbuild is seeking other development partners and believe that software-based digital twins will change the development processes for medicines and medical products and lay the groundwork for new diagnostic and monitoring tools.
On 20 November, Medica Disrupt will host sessions on diagnostics and health monitoring. One participant in this session is Vitascale, which is looking to make spiroergometry a more pleasant experience for the patient via a headset aimed to replace the mask and mouthpiece which has been prevalent up until now. The headset measures expiratory oxygen, respiratory volume and the pulse. An app calculates personal fitness, fat burned and the basal metabolic rate. The patented system enables users to analyse their performance and provides coaching to optimise the individual’s weight and performance with a precision that, up until now, could only be obtained using expensive and cumbersome medical devices. 13 other start-ups will present innovative solutions for measuring blood pressure, lab-on-skin technology and biomarker analysis, among other items.
Also on the agenda is women’s health where viMUM will show how modern antenatal prep for parents could look using e-learning modules that can be called up in an app. The viMUM experts consist of midwives, gynaecologists, paediatricians, psychologists and dietitians who provide qualified support to expectant parents when they are called on. Other start-ups in this session show breastfeeding apps, a smart wireless stethoscope for babies and children and a wireless cardiotocography system (iCTG) for monitoring foetal wellbeing.
A Medica Disrupt session held on 21 November is dedicated to cognitive and mental health. Michele Maltese, CEO and co-founder of Avanix, will present a system for monitoring patients with Alzheimer’s, among other elements. OiX Care enables professional carers to monitor Alzheimer’s patients round the clock. The system consists of a transmitter (OiX Sensor) which is worn by the patient and a receiver (OiX Receiver) that enables the carer to monitor the person. OiX communicates through an ISM radiofrequency protocol. The device does not require a telephone or network connection and has a range of 200 metres indoors and three kilometres outdoors.
The “Mindance” app focuses on increasing wellbeing by functioning as a personal assistant, providing meditations, relaxation exercises and applying the latest findings from the world of psychology. Robin Maier, CEO and founder, will explain how this concept could work in more detail.
Following this, start-ups will show innovations for treating high blood pressure and other cardiovascular conditions via non-invasive measurement of blood glucose, ranging from glaucoma to chronic pain. The CareWear light patch produces blue and red light in order to relieve pain and improve tissue regeneration by boosting local blood circulation and elevating the tissue temperature. The light patches emit wavelengths of light that warm tissues. The CareWear light patches will be presented at Medica by CEO Dr. Chris Castel.
Further sessions on Medica’s closing day will revolve around artificial intelligence (AI), big data and how AI is used to classify and document ulcers and wounds.
The Medica Start-Up Park is set up to be a fixed meeting point throughout the entire run of the trade fair. Last year’s winner of the Innovation World Cup (healthcare), the start-up StethoMe will be participating. StethoMe offers a wireless stethoscope which lets parents check their children’s lung and heart function quickly themselves and share the data with a doctor via an app.
The Polish development team from SensDx, will present its multi-sensor which enables a quick test to be carried out to diagnose infections of the upper respiratory tract at Medica Start-up Park. A swab sample is taken which is then placed in a solution contained in a capsule and then put a compact measuring device. The sensor can detect a flu virus in its early stages, which helps a doctor to select the correct therapy.
Rehago, from Reutlingen University, is a German start-up that will also be presenting at the Medica Start-up Park. Rehago specialises in virtual reality applications that can be used as a training activity in rehabilitation of hemiplegic patients, patients with muscular spasms or hemispatial neglect (an attention disorder caused by brain lesions).
Intento is also active in the rehabilitation field. This year it will present an application that aids patients who have been severely paralysed by strokes in recovering the motor function in their upper limbs. The solution revolves around functional electrical stimulation and requires no prior knowledge on how to place electrodes or time-consuming steps to configure the system, unlike other solutions on the market. The rehabilitation application from Intento consists of a tablet application for therapists and a device for controlling movement that is linked to an electrical stimulator.
Information can be found online at: https://www.medica-tradefair.com
