Leading Asian medical exhibitions open in Singapore today

The ribbon-cutting ceremony to open the fairs

Dr Koh Poh Koon, Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry, attended the opening ceremony. Open to trade professionals and all those involved in the medical and healthcare sectors until August 31, 2018, the synergistic trade exhibitions for the medical, healthcare, and MedTech sectors are part of MEDICAlliance’s network of trade fairs—sharing the global expertise of MEDICA, REHACARE, and COMPAMED—by Messe Düsseldorf Group.

Medical and healthcare advances reflecting industry trends

The two exhibitions will showcase innovations and technology from the exhibitors. Medical Fair Asia will present its largest-ever line-up of national pavilions and groups: 23 in total, including first-time participants from Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, the European Union, Iran, the Philippines, Qatar, Russia, and Spain.

Singapore’s Senior Minister of State for Trade and Industry attended the opening ceremony

Meeting trends and demands—a sourcing and procurement platform

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), by 2050, the number of people over the age of 60 in the world is expected to double to 2 billion, which, coupled with rising affluence in this region, will create a growing demand for quality geriatric care in Asia.

Several, new future-ready highlights at the exhibitions will address this need, including the Community Care Pavilion focusing on geriatric medicine and solutions, rehabilitative and orthopaedic equipment and products; Start-Up Park, a dedicated showcase on start-ups with technological innovations; a Future 4 Health (FTR4H) Digital Health Lounge demonstrating the latest digital health solutions involving Artificial Intelligence (AI), Smart Data, Internet of Things (IoT), as well as the CYBATHLON showcase featuring a Brain-Computer Interface Race and a staircase-climbing wheelchair.

Other topical exhibits at the 12th edition of Medical Fair Asia will include telehealth initiatives, wearable devices, and smart medicine.

According to Forbes, the Asian healthcare industry is expected to grow by 11.1 per cent by the end of 2018, fuelled by the increasing adoption of technology, innovative healthcare access programmes, and the delivery of care outside of traditional hospital settings.

In tandem, the MedTech market in Asia will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8 per cent, overtaking the European Union (EU) as the second largest market globally by 2020.

Highlighting these trends and demands vis-à-vis the relevance of the exhibitions, Gernot Ringling, managing director, Messe Düsseldorf Asia (MDA), said: “The market opportunities in Asia are undeniable for global healthcare investors and service operators. Medical Fair Asia and Medical Manufacturing Asia 2018 are strategically staged in Singapore—the region’s leading medical and MedTech hub—to provide a launching pad for companies to introduce their newest technologies and products and undertake the manufacturing of high-value medical products. A notable feature of the 12th edition of Medical Fair Asia will be the strong showing of new disruptive digital healthcare solutions, such as remote and wireless healthcare, IT platforms, wearable devices, as well as smarter medicine and healthcare analytics as part of its exhibit line-up.”

This year almost 90 per cent of exhibitors are from overseas, drawn from all over the world by Asia’s flourishing market potential.

As the largest exhibitions of their kind in the region serving the full value chain and end-to-end needs of the medical and healthcare sectors, Medical Fair Asia and Medical Manufacturing Asia 2018 will present some 12,000 innovations in Diagnostics, Wearable Technology, Connected Health Solutions, Rehabilitation & Therapy Equipment, 3D Printing, Micro and Nanotechnology, MedTech components, substances, testing systems, and more.

The comprehensive range of exhibitors ensures that the two synergistic exhibitions are the ideal trade destination for medical and healthcare buyers to fulfil their sourcing and procurement objectives.

The booths at the fairs await visitors

Nine knowledge platforms, over 100 topics

To better understand the next wave in digital healthcare, augmenting Medical Fair Asia and Medical Manufacturing Asia 2018 offer a series of industry-focused conferences, seminars, and workshops covering a wide-range of topics from Sports Medicine to Wearable Technologies, Robotic Surgery, Community Care, MedTech, and more. These knowledge platforms include:

• The second edition of Medical Fair Asia Medicine + Sports Conference, back by popular demand, will have experts discuss new exchange formats, tailored sport medical therapies, and innovative approaches for prevention, recovery, and population in health management;
• The inaugural Paradigm Shifts in Healthcare seminar, which is free to attend, will address some of the issues posed by Singapore’s rapidly ageing population, which will see 900,000 Singaporeans aged over 65 by 2030.

Speaking at the seminar Associate Professor Chan Yew Weng, senior consultant, Department of Anaesthesiology, Singapore General Hospital (SGH), will share predictions that society will slowly evolve towards the adjunct use of communication robots with artificial intelligence to help the elderly to cope, as in Japan.

He believes that in the near future post-surgery rehabilitation and recovery will be moved from the hospitals and day care centres into individual homes with communication robots encouraging individualised physiotherapy modules to be performed.

Speakers from SGH and KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital (KKH) will cover related healthcare transformation topics as the industry prepares its move from ‘Beyond Hospital to Community,’ ‘Beyond Quality to Value,’ and ‘Beyond Healthcare to Health.’

• The High-Technology for Medical Devices forum by IVAM Microtechnology Network returns for its second edition with insights on the latest micro- and nanotechnology innovations, while the inaugural ‘MedTech in Focus’ seminar will discuss trends and innovations in MedTech manufacturing and processes as the industry embraces digitisation.

Over the next three days, visiting delegations that include industry professionals from hospitals, medical centres, nursing homes, and industry associations to educational institutions, amongst many others, from around the region are expected to make their way to the exhibitions. Admission is free to both exhibitions, and is open to all those involved in the medical and healthcare sectors.