MedTech Monthly
January 2017

Medical technologies at EU level regroup into one single representation: MedTech Europe

After four years of successful alliance, EDMA and Eucomed members voted to dissolve their respective European associations and create a new MedTech Europe single entity, representing the medical technology sector in Europe, from diagnosis to cure.

Looking back to #MTF2016

The European MedTech Forum attracted over 550 international attendees from 26 countries!

On 1 & 2 December 2016 industry experts, health professionals, patients, payers and policymakers gathered to discuss this time of unparalleled change in the medtech industry.

On health literacy

Underestimating risks, misusing medicines and medical devices can be bad for your health

It’s a common problem. In England, four out of ten people of working age (aged 16-65) are unable to understand everyday health information.If numerical skills are required, this rises to six in ten.

In Short

Serious gaming can transform medical education

Serious gaming uses the principles of playful technology and the power of play to get an educational message across without people feeling as though they are being taught. The key is to wrap educational content into the game, in such a way that it is not perceived as ‘homework’.

Blurring the lines between man and machine

AI can be used to learn what is going on in different parts of the body and to predict problems. This gives us the power to prevent problems before they arise or to counteract malfunctions which are detected by sensors.

Bringing the digital revolution to the lab

Every scientist knows that discoveries from biomedical research are useless if they cannot be replicated. Yet, in a recent survey by Nature, 70% of researchers indicated that they have tried and failed to reproduce another scientist’s experiments, and more than half have failed to reproduce their own experiments.

Skin cancer screening for all

Skin cancer and melanoma (the most severe type of skin cancer) are becoming a social health issue. The incidence has been rising. Currently, between 2 and 3 million non-melanoma skin cancers and 132,000 melanoma skin cancers occur globally each year.

Changing how we see diabetic retinopathy

Consider this: about 60 million people in Europe have diabetes. Out of those who have it for more than 20 years, 75% will develop some form of diabetic retinopathy (DR).Early detection of DR can prevent blindness, which is why people with diabetes should be tested every year.

Opinion



		Europe’s health systems are struggling to maintain sustainability. One of the major challenges is the exponential increase in the prevalence of chronic diseases and the number of patients in advanced and costly disease stages.