MEDICAL DEVICE MANUFACTURE IS ONE OF THE MOST INNOVATIVE INDUSTRIES The manufacture of medical devices has a long and very successful tradition in the Czech Republic. This is evidenced by a number of worldwide Czech patents and innovative products and inventions such as polarography, contact lenses, biodegradable stents, etc.
TASKS FOR THE ASSOCIATION The Association´s emphasis is on research that will lead to high technical parameters and innovativeness of new products and methods of treatment. Medical device manufacturers know that good medicine cannot do without technical devices. Medical practitioners themselves say that progress in medicine requires innovation, such as visualisation systems, equipment and instruments for microsurgery and the use of computers. That is why manufacturers also focus on other branches, such as nanotechnology and microsystems for the construction of apparatus, equipment for the minimisation of invasive methods, introduction of information
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The Czech Republic – Your Business Partner in the EU
technologies in healthcare, urgent medicine, cardiac surgery and other branches of modern medicine. To achieve these aims, firms must collaborate with university research workplaces and top doctors and hospitals. In their research projects, firms are also using different forms of support and grants controlled or administered by the Ministry of Industry and Trade. The Association also collaborates with the academic sphere.
CZECH FIRMS JOIN IN FIGHT AGAINST CORONAVIRUS Firms are putting into practice new technologies and adjusting their production to new requirements. They often switch their production, despite the potential risks associated with the launch of new products and the need to have them certified so that they can be sold at home and in other countries. The certification process, confirming the required parameters and properties of the product and its absolute safety, often takes up to several months. Especially in the case of health protection, the product must undergo a number of tests. An advantage is having people with experience and knowledge of all the legislative requirements. One such person is, for example, Prof. Karel Volenec of the Ella-CS firm, which operates successfully on the international medical market. Prof. Volenec forged ahead with the development and certification of a swab for sampling used in coronavirus testing. “The swab, seemingly a simple thing, must fulfil a number of functions. Besides absolute medical safety, it must be designed so as to ensure accurate examination. For practical reasons, we test both its flexibility and the material used at its tip,” explains Prof. Volenec. A manufacturer of the prototype was promptly found: ISOLIT Bravo, a firm in Jablonné nad Orlicí. Another Czech firm, Robot Protect, supplies protective sleeves for robots, machines and automation equipment. Last April, it switched part of its production to the manufacture of protective suits and sleeves for people. Hundreds of its protective suits have been supplied to the Czech Mountain Rescue Service. CzechInvest Agency has published a list of Czech manufacturers of protective devices with the necessary certification, which are assisting in the struggle against the coronavirus pandemic. The list is available at https://spojujemecesko.cz/vyrobci/.
Photo: © Linet archives
Some of the latest Czech products priding themselves on high quality are hospital beds, armchairs and other medical devices, as well as implants. One of the world´s largest production lines turning out high-standard hospital beds is to be found in the production halls of the Czech firm LINET, which exports its products worldwide and is the most successful exporter in the area of medical devices. Another international success was achieved by the Czech manufacturer of microscopes. Owing to the small Czech market, most other manufacturers in the healthcare sector, too, are export-oriented and sell their products to countries all over the world. The Czech export leader in the sector is LINET, with its affiliations in many countries. Its most successful export markets are the countries of the former Soviet Union, the South American markets and traditional European states, such as Germany, Italy, and Spain. In general, the trend is to continuously improve and innovate medical devices and other equipment. This process always takes place in collaboration with physicians, universities, etc. Another trend on which Association of Manufacturers and Suppliers of Medical Devices wants to focus, partly thanks to the foreign development cooperation project, is the preparation and realisation of a more comprehensive offer of the products of our members, for example, the construction and furnishing of hospital wards, operating theatres, field hospitals, and also larger projects. This naturally requires closer collaboration of firms – members of the Association.
