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We’re right in the middle of a year of change in the EU. Europe has begun voting and EU politics may look quite different as a result. New things and new faces may be on the horizon but that doesn’t mean that work has stopped on a file of great importance to the Union’s more […]

“How much is my life worth?” Patricia Garcia-Prieto, professor of Organisational Behaviour at the Solvay Brussels School of Economics and Management and a mother of six and 11-year olds has asked this question multiple times. In her video, as a patient representative on a panel, she has been vocal about this thought that passed her mind every day. […]

Safe and accurate In Vitro Diagnostics (IVDs) are essential to a safe, efficient and effective healthcare system. Policymakers recognise this and that’s why they have included a clinical evidence requirement in the upcoming revision of the IVD Directive (IVDD). Because IVDs play such a pivotal role in the treatment pathway of patients, we, the IVD […]

For the first time in West Africa, a case of Ebola was confirmed on 21 March, three weeks after the first alert of a possible viral haemorrhagic fever emerged from Guinea’s Forest region. Animals such as fruit bats, rodents and monkeys, abundant in the adjacent rain forest, are believed to have served as ‘reservoir’ for the virus. However, once it passed from an infected animal to a human-being, the virus is now ready for human-to-human transmission. Though frightening and very lethal, relatively simple precautions can break the cycle of transmission and stop the epidemic from spreading. Dr Jean-Louis Mosser (JLM), health expert from the European Commission’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection department (ECHO), is in the Guinean capital, Conakry, where he has been participating in crisis meetings and guiding ECHO’s response. He gives us a state of affairs.

“Nihil novi sub sole” said the Vulgate. That could not be farther from reality when it comes to the MedTech Europe blog. And I am privileged to be the first author to “lay pen to paper” and contribute to MedTech Views, an initiative by MedTech Europe to establish a true platform for dialogue about medical technologies. No priority is given to any one healthcare stakeholder, and everyone has the opportunity to submit their view as we strive to have an open exchange of opinions on the new platform.

Health will be one of the main topics at this year’s World Economic Forum. It is encouraging to see that the world leaders are recognising that health is a prerequisite for well-being and economic growth. And as a large contributor to health, our industry can play an important role in ensuring that people live longer active lives and contribute to this economic growth.
One look at the rough outline of the different sessions and there are at least seven sessions that are of particular interest.

One central theme revolved around the Second World Health Organisation’s Global Forum on Medical Devices – the WHO recognises medical devices as an investment and not a cost. However, there is a mismatch between innovation of medical devices and public health needs.  677 participants from 108 countries took their pick from 28 workshops and 4 plenary sessions. Held on November 22-24^th in Geneva, the event enabled academia, international organisations, industry and NGOs to gain insight from 159 presentations, 144 posters (one of which was presented by EDMA on Lab Tests Online), and 8 films. 

Imagine walking for most of the day to get to the health center nearest your community, carrying your young child who is very ill. When you arrive, the doctor takes a sample from your child to perform a diagnostic test. You then learn that it will take a month or more to receive the results, as only a specialised laboratory can perform the necessary test to obtain a diagnosis. This sort of unnecessary delay can be the difference between life and death. It is still, nevertheless, the reality in many countries, especially in limited resource settings where diagnostic testing is centralised, and most patients live far from testing sites.

In the past, percussion of the abdomen, taking temperature, or tasting sugar in urine were considered diagnostic standard of care methodologies. Today, invitro diagnostics (IVD) provide additional objective biomarkers that diagnose cancer, infections, heart attacks and many other health conditions.