Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, COMPAMED, No. 1 international trade fair for suppliers in the medical technology industry, will take place entirely online (November 16 – 19, 2020) for the first time. As in the past, MEDICA, the world’s leading medical trade fair, will be held concurrently. More than 1,000 exhibitors from 50 nations will take part in virtual.MEDICA 2020 (https://virtual.medica-tradefair.com) and virtual.COMPAMED 2020 (https://virtual.compamed-tradefair.com) , with 150 of these companies participating in virtual.COMPAMED.

“Cooperation in development, production, supply management, sales and marketing ensure the planning and actionability of the medical technology industry and have rarely been as important as in these difficult times. In this context, suppliers are also making a significant contribution to securing supplies,” stated Wolfram Diener, President and CEO of Messe Düsseldorf. At virtual.COMPAMED 2020 the supplier sector will present itself as a strong partner for the medical technology industry with its know-how and innovative high-tech solutions.

The international online visitors can expect a comprehensive program consisting of the three key areas: Conference Area (conference program), Exhibition Space (exhibitors and new products) and Networking Plaza (networking / matchmaking).

Microtechnology for combating COVID-19

Innovations that can help to overcome the pandemic quickly and effectively are the focus at virtual.COMPAMED for the supplier market for medical manufacturing. A large number of companies from the microtechnology sectors are active here. Many of them are members of the IVAM Association for Microtechnology. This Association will organize the English-language HIGH-TECH FORUM in the Conference Area of virtual.COMPAMED and will hold their own session entitled “The Fight Against Coronavirus” (November 17 at 2:00 PM CET). In this context, microfluidics is a core technology for advancing reliable and inexpensive rapid test procedures or point-of-care diagnostics. Microfluidic systems have many advantages, especially short analysis time, reduction of production costs and low consumption of samples or reagents. All points that play a major role in the fight against the pandemic. For example, automated analysis equipment is a prerequisite for extensive testing capacities with regard to the novel Coronavirus. Through parallel and faster processes, automation significantly increases the number of tests, saves personnel and ensures process reliability.

Here microLIQUID is one of the experts for order processing and production of polymer-based disposable microfluidic systems. The company works with microfluidic engineers and biomedical process developers focusing on applications in the fastest growing areas of the life science and pharmaceutical industry. microLIQUID’s manufacturing services are adapted to each customer’s requirements and comply fully with leading industrial and governmental standards, including ISO 13485. This enables customers to procure production of small batches, set up new production lines and mass produce using proprietary automated and scalable technology. With their expertise, microLIQUID is positioned as a partner for developing and manufacturing fully automatic sample preparation and molecular diagnostic systems.

Miniaturization of optoelectronic modules and components

The role of microtechnology is equally relevant in vaccine and active substance development. AEMtec, an established company for providing complex and reliable solutions in the miniaturization sector, offers a wide portfolio of technology, including wafer back-end services, chip on board, flip chip, 3D integration and opto packaging. Customer-specific requirements are also fulfilled, particularly those from the medical sector. “Our participation in this year’s COMPAMED focuses on our services and miniaturization of optoelectronic modules and components for the medical sector, where we are seeing incredibly rapid technical development,” said Jan Trommershausen, Managing Director of AEMTec. The company is involved in various important devices for fighting COVID-19. It manufactures components for automated pipetting systems for test evaluation within the viral analysis and medical development sector, components for DNA sequencing in the field of genetic and viral analysis and detector components for CT scanners. These can be used to perform lung scans on affected patients before the test results are received.

Fighting the Coronavirus with piezo technology

In “The Fight Against the Coronavirus” forum session, the Physik Instrumente (PI) company will also demonstrate the role that piezo technology plays here. “At the virtual trade fair stand, we also present our standard and customer-specific piezo elements for liquid handling, therapeutic ultrasound and minimally invasive endoscopy, along with transducers and subassemblies for ultrasound applications. Our experts can be seen in the online sessions, including those involving the significance of piezo technology during the COVID-19 era, and can be met personally in the live chat”, explained Annemarie Oesterle, Manager of Medical Technology at PI. As a global partner with over 25 years of expertise, PI develops and manufactures sophisticated piezoceramic components and subsystems for numerous applications in medical technology.

PI’s cutting-edge production plants ensure high quality, flexibility and that deadlines are adhered to for prototypes and for both small batches and large-scale production runs on automated production lines. The piezoelectric PICMA multilayer actuators are perfect for highly dynamic dosing tasks in the medical technology and biotechnology sector. They have an all-ceramic layer of insulation and are protected against moisture, which means that they have an extremely long life. Therefore, they offer a higher level of reliability, even under extreme environmental conditions. Due to their low operating voltage and their capacity to generate high forces, PICMA actuators are used in a variety of medical pumping and dosing applications, such as precision dosing and cell sorting. Piezoelectric elements for distributing and regulating small volumes in the milliliter to picoliter range have made liquid handling applications in in-vitro diagnostics and automation applications in laboratories, such as polymerase chain reaction or sequencing the entire genome, possible. Miniaturized PICMA chip actuators enable droplets to be formed quickly and precisely on even the smallest areas.

Biosensors for multiparametric measurements

Even though the fight against the current Coronavirus will be a significant topic at virtual.COMPAMED 2020, the event will also cover a diverse range of topics. Biosensors have been a subject of much interest in intensive care medicine and management of diabetes for many years. Jobst Technologies, which belongs to the Swiss sensor manufacturer Innovative Sensor Technology (IST), will present a biosensor that is capable of measuring glucose, lactate, glutamine and glutamate simultaneously, even in complex mixtures such as whole blood. “Our sensors prove a high stability in operation. Especially the continuous lactate measurement, which we have been able to realize exclusively up to now, makes the use in intensive care medicine possible,” said Gerhard Jobst, founder and CEO of Jobst Technologies.

The biosensors employ the enzymatic-amperometric measurement principle. They use immobilized enzymes in order to detect the target analytes with a high level of specificity and reliability. The flow-through biosensor can analyze glucose and lactate levels from 48 samples per hour or monitor them continuously, as does the first glucose and lactate monitor for critically ill patients. Jobst Technologies will present its biosensor and microfluidic portfolio together with IST's physical and chemical sensors at virtual.COMPAMED.

Printed diagnostics from Finland

Printed diagnostics is another important field for COMPAMED. The VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland is the largest research institute for applied research in Northern Europe. The VTT will present core technology from the printed electronics, wearable technology, biosensor and diagnostic sectors which are based around roll-to-roll processes. The Finnish Institute will lead an entire session on “Printed Diagnostics and 3D Printing” at IVAM’s HIGH-TECH FORUM. The VTT sees itself as a one-stop shop for research and development of lab-on-a-chip diagnostics and wearable medical technology in this sector and is ready to work on projects as a partner at any stage, from conception to mass production. The Finnish team draws on its unique manufacturing infrastructure for pilot projects, along with its many years of experience in the printed electronics, biosensor, wireless communication and material science sectors.

In view of so many exciting topics, virtual.COMPAMED comes at just the right time for Dr. Thomas Dietrich, Executive Director of IVAM: “For a long time now we have not had any trade fairs and no opportunities to talk to exhibitors and visitors. This is now finally possible and we at IVAM are looking forward to everyone discussing with us - about new products and processes or even experiences made during the Coronavirus period.”

For all information about virtual.COMPAMED and virtual.MEDICA, free online visitor registration and networking opportunities: https://virtual.compamed-tradefair.com and https://virtual.medica-tradefair.com

For further information on visiting or exhibiting at virtual.COMPAMED and virtual.MEDICA, contact Messe Düsseldorf North America; Telephone: (312) 781-5180; E-mail: info@mdna.com; Visit https://virtual.compamed-tradefair.com, https://virtual.medica-tradefair.com and www.mdna.com; Follow us on twitter at http://twitter.com/mdnachicago