Scientific research and patents have multiplied – in 2019 the European Patent Office has issued about 14 thousand only for Medical Devices -, and over the years we have seen an exponential increase in companies operating in this field: According to the 2020 Report drawn up by the association MedTech Europe (representative of the European industries of the Medical Device sector), the Old Continent today hosts 32 thousand companies producing Medical Devices, for a total of 730 thousand employees.Â
As for Italy, a research conducted by Assobiomedica states that in April 2018 in our country there were 324 startups operating in this field.
After all, it is no coincidence that the average life cycle of a MedTech product is only 18-24 months, time after which it is surpassed by a more up-to-date version.
To get an idea of the economic impact of this innovative business, just think that the average annual expenditure of a European citizen for the purchase of Medical Devices is 250 € and that in 2019 the global market of technological innovations in the medical field amounted to about 430 billion US dollars: figures that leave no doubt about the importance and potential of the MedTech sector, looking ahead to important future developments.Â
MEDTECH AREAS
According to the definition provided by the World Health Organization, the term “Med Tech” refers to the field of medical and biomedical technologies and includes all equipment, procedures and tools used for prevention, diagnosis and treatment of the disease and for rehabilitation.Â
It is very difficult to provide a complete and exhaustive picture of the offer of such a sector – which includes more than 500,000 technologies grouped into 20,000 generic groups -, but it is possible to subdivide it in some general categories according to the various areas in which the single companies operate:Â
The activity of Medics is placed in the category "Services and software", through the design and production of virtual and physical 3D reconstructions for pre-operative planning and intra-operative support of complex surgeries.
