MEDICA is the largest medical device exhibition in the world (number of visitors: 136,000,
number of exhibitors: 4,300). If you want to sell a device, especially to the European
market, you’d want to show your merchandise there. The gigantic MEDICA show is divided into
16 halls of medical merchandise and one hall of supplies in medical production
(ComPaMED).
A New Market Comes into "View"
Of the 4,300 exhibitors, one of them was the incubator’s own ETView. They presented their first product aimed at the
intubation training market. Their booth attracted a lot of attention and while talking to the
crowds, something unexpected has happened ... they found a new market.
A group of veterinarians saw the product and realized that it solved a critical problem. It
turns out that intubating a $1 million race horse, a zoo animal, or a house cat is just as
complex and delicate a procedure as intubation on a human. Using the ETView intubation tube,
with its embedded video camera, will make the entire procedure much, much easier, even if the
patient might be a giraffe.
Large exhibitions such as MEDICA
are a great place to study the competition, find unexpected markets, find useful OEM parts,
meet people, and have fun.
Besides the interesting development for ETView (sidebar), I was at MEDICA representing three
other companies from the Misgav
Technological Incubator. I approached about 20 potential strategic partners for our
companies and initiated contacts with five very relevant parties. It is our hope that they
will develop a strategic investment and reach marketing agreements that will greatly elevate
the value of these incubator companies.
Planning Yields Results
The best advantage of MEDICA is the convenience in locating and talking to
high-level executives of medium- and small-sized firms. Before the fair, however, I did my
homework, identified most of the relevant executives, and in some cases, sent e-mails to see
if they would be at MEDICA. Planning and organizing before the show is recommended because it
is such a huge show physically that it is requires planning your day very carefully. Even
with all of my advance planning, the days just ended too quickly for me.
A Take on the Trends
Trends in the medical arena are also something to be studied at the
MEDICA. Of course, noninvasive and minimally invasive treatments are always at the top of the
list. One of the more outstandingly innovative start-ups, an excellent example for this trend
is an Israeli company, UltraShape Ltd. They developed a noninvasive high-power ultrasound for
destroying fat cells. Instead of going through painful liposuction, one can simply come for a
10-minute body sculpturing procedure, after which the fat is redistributed over the body as
wanted. Besides that, I noticed many advances and growing interest in 3D imaging and
automated diagnostic methods.
In my opinion, participating in large exhibitions can bring even the most unexpected return
on investment, but it requires thought and careful planning to make the most of the time and
also to protect disclosing too much, especially related to new or unprotected technologies. In
short, for me as a medical engineer, the MEDICA experience was really a trip to paradise.
Ishay Attar, Business Development Manager
Misgav Technology Center
About the author: Ishay Attar has been the business development manager of the Misgav Tehnology Center since 2003. During that time he initiated eight start-ups, primarily in the bio-medical field. Prior to joining the incubator, he co-founded and managed a medical diagnostics project. He holds a master’s degree in biomedical engineering and a bachelor’s degree in biotechnology and food engineering from the Technion. He is an experienced entrepreneur and a lecturer on the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology’s
biomedical engineering faculty.
Large exhibitions such as 