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The terms “colostomy”, “ileostomy”, and “urostomy” are not well known terms to the general public outside of the patients who need these surgical procedures in order to survive. Ostomy care following surgery is not sexy and not easily discussed publicly, given that such surgeries involve changing the manner in which people eliminate fecal or urinary waste from their bodies.

When most people think about chronic conditions, certain disease areas come to mind – diabetes, heart disease, obesity, asthma, allergies…the list goes on.  However, it is unlikely that you think about chronic wounds as being part of that list.  Why is that?  Given that wounds impact 4 million Europeans per year (more than cancer and […]

“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.

Caveat Emptor, or ‘Buyer Beware’, is a commercial rule favouring the seller, now largely extinct due to modern consumer legislation. But the European Parliament’s ENVI Committee, in its amendment on the reprocessing of single-use medical devices, has unwittingly slipped something similar back in again. Given the complex and highly technical nature of the Medical Devices Directives, I can see where busy MEPs would struggle to understand the details and consequences of this amendment, so I think it is essential that we take a moment to read the fine print.

The rapid ageing of the European population has urged the need for prevention and proper treatment of age-related diseases. Amongst these priorities and priority diseases, Cataract is today the major cause of vision impairment of senior citizens worldwide, responsible of 48 % of blindness around the globe.

Just Dance. People love dancing, whether it be for fun, as a workout or professionally as a dancer performing choreographies with great passion in front of an audience. This passion has resulted in a hip surgery for Lady Gaga, the American singer-songwriter known for such hits as Bad Romance, Poker Face, and – appropriately – Just Dance. For fans all over the world, the hip fracture was a synonym for cancelled concerts and missed opportunities to meet their idol. But why did this happen so suddenly? Why did we not hear about her problems earlier?

Let’s face it – ostomy care is not something most people are keen to talk about. But that’s all the more reason we support World Ostomy Day on the 6th of October. Through our work, we often meet people who have had life-saving ostomy surgery. What never ceases to amaze us is the profound impact an ostomy can have on people’s lives. Yes, they’ve lost continence but they can also lose confidence – the confidence to work and to socialise.

Many Germans suffer from chronic wounds (mainly leg, pressure or diabetic foot ulcers) and their numbers grow by 650,000 annually. Wounds of all sorts have a major impact on patient function and quality of life, and may be life-threatening. In addition, providing wound care is a significant cost to the healthcare system. These types of wounds alone are an estimated annual financial burden for healthcare payers of €5 billion.