Medtech – technology for health

750 companies and a strong research landscape

A camera-based visual aid that reads aloud and describes the surroundings to the blind and visually impaired, a robotic suit that helps people learn to walk again after a serious illness, or continuously improved pacemakers – medical technology can maintain and restore health and significantly improve the quality of life of many people. A modern healthcare system would be inconceivable without medical technology, whose products have long since become indispensable for the diagnosis and treatment of diseases. Many of these innovative products are developed, produced and continuously improved in North Rhine-Westphalia.

Well-known large corporations as well as many small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are active in NRW. A total of around 750 medical technology companies generate sales of over two billion euros a year. A large number of these companies also actively conduct research. While the large players are dedicated to broad engineering and scientific research topics, the SMEs pursue highly specialized projects.

In medical technology in particular, new developments determine market success. Companies in Germany generate a third of their sales with products that are no more than three years old. In NRW, they benefit from a strong research landscape with numerous Max Planck, Fraunhofer and Leibniz institutes as well as over 60 technology and start-up centers. Close cooperation between industry and research is considered one of the recipes for success in the development of new medical technologies. NRW is thus a growth and innovation engine for medical technology.

Cutting-edge technology thanks to a wealth of expertise

Highly specialized SME applications

Cutting-edge research and a broad range of studies in NRW

As these examples show, the industry benefits from highly specialized research in North Rhine-Westphalia. These include the Institute for Applied Medical Engineering at RWTH Aachen University (AME), the Fraunhofer Institute for Microelectronic Circuits and Systems (IMS) in Duisburg, the Fraunhofer Institute for Software and Systems Engineering (ISST) in Dortmund and the Institute for Artificial Intelligence in Medicine (IKIM) in Essen.

For research-intensive products and services, companies in the sector also need highly qualified young people. Universities and colleges in Aachen, Bonn, Bochum, Düsseldorf, Essen, Cologne and Münster ensure this with a wide range of technical courses. Seven medical faculties, six statewide university hospitals and 80 teaching hospitals complement the training infrastructure for the healthcare industry.

Growing market for digital solutions in NRW

Digital transformation is also playing an increasingly important role for the healthcare sector: New digital products, medical procedures and services that improve patient care are emerging. In NRW in particular, the market for e-health, medical information technology, is growing and holds new business potential. Industry and science are working here on the healthcare of the future. In the state initiative eGesundheit.nrw, more than 40 projects are currently testing information and communication technologies to drive innovation in the healthcare sector. 

The Ruhr Metropolis places special emphasis on the hospital industry of tomorrow: It acts as a focal region for e-health. Here, researchers are focusing in particular on telemedicine and telematics applications with the aim of making healthcare more efficient and ensuring broad access to medical expertise for rural regions. For example, Bochum is one of the pilot regions for the nationwide introduction of the electronic medical report, which facilitates communication between doctors and specialists.

Networking in NRW and one of the world's largest trade fairs in Düsseldorf

In addition, the state has set up two network platforms to initiate cooperation between business and science: the Healthcare Industry Cluster and the InnovativeMedizin.NRW Cluster. Furthermore, the Health Campus North Rhine-Westphalia at the Bochum site is considered the hub of medical expertise in the state. A network of innovative high-tech companies in the fields of medical technology, biomedicine and health economics comes together here to translate results from the surrounding research facilities into marketable products and technologies.

Another networking opportunity is offered by MEDICA in Düsseldorf. Once a year, one of the world's largest medical trade fairs gathers around 80,000 trade visitors from all over the world, who come to find out about the decisive trends in the industry. After all, anyone who wants to know today what innovations industry and science are developing for the healthcare industry of the future should come to NRW.

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