MTI brings the UK life science industry together to collaborate, network and grow.

On 8-9 June, eight Medilink Member companies exhibited and five were headline speakers at Birmingham’s NEC as part of the national Med-Tech Innovation Expo and Conference.

The Med-Tech Innovation Expo and Conference is a leading national healthcare technologies conference, featuring leading innovators who delivered talks on current issues and relevant topics effecting the sector. For businesses and individuals wanting to stay up to date with trends and developments in the MedTech Industry, this is an unmissable conference, and the expo once again demonstrated the wealth of expertise and innovations within health and life sciences.

Medilink UK, the national industry support organisation for life sciences, has a long and prosperous relationship with Rapid News Group who organised the conference. As part of their partnership together, Medilink UK had a pavilion area at the conference, featuring a number of Medilink Member companies who were able to showcase their products and services and took advantage of the networking opportunities.

The Medilink Midlands Members who exhibited as part of the conference were:

• Bluefrog Design – Bluefrog Design is a multi-disciplinary product design and innovation consultancy converting concepts and ideas into successful products for the life science and healthcare markets.
• Datalink Electronics – Datalink Electronics is an ISO13485 accredited contract electronic product design and manufacturing company
• Guardtech Cleanrooms – Guardtech Cleanrooms design and deliver complete controlled environments for the Life Science and Microelectronics industries throughout Europe.
• IMed Consultancy – Regulatory and quality consulting team providing resource for ISO13485:2016 transition, CE submission, a specific project or ongoing advice or general QMS support.
• Kaleidoscope Consultants ­- Specialists in the relationship between the Medical Device Regulation (MDR), Clinical Trial Regulation (CTR) and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
• Renfrew Group International – Renfrew Group is an award winning, medical product design and commercialisation consultancy.
• TCC Casemix –A developer of hospital timetabling applications for clinics and operating theatres.
• Unipart Logistics – Unipart Logistics provides supply chain and consultancy services across Automotive, Technology, Health and Consumer sectors, for companies including Sky, Jaguar Land Rover, the NHS, Rolls Royce, Vodafone and Prenetics.

Medilink Midlands is the Midlands Life Science Industry organisation, focused on connectivity, collaboration, serving our members and supporting businesses to establish develop and grow. Medilink Midlands works with key strategic partners across the midlands, including the Midlands Engine to develop shared strategy across the region.

Alongside the exhibition, delegates were also able to attend the MTI Conference, which featured a spectacular line-up of speakers and presenters, including several Medilink Midlands Members;  Deloitte, CHEATA, Nemaura Pharma, Pym’s Consultancy and Tutum Medical.

After being on the panel for the Start-up advice and insight session, Tutum endorsed the importance of attending sector specific conferences and exhibitions, stating the value of communicating with such a large business audience.

VUIT Online, a Medilink Member who attended the MTI Expo and Conference, said: “Attending the MTI Expo was incredibly useful to us, both in terms of the volume of delegates and the networking opportunities that this afforded us. Since launching our software at Medilink Midlands Innovation Day last month, interest in it has been growing exponentially and this has also been helped by our attendance at MTI. The assistance and support of Medilink has been invaluable, and we look forward to working with them in future.”

IMed Consultancy, another Medilink Member, who exhibited as part of the MTI Expo, said: “Medilink have always been a great help to us, and the MTI Expo has been another fantastic example of this. The new contacts that we made on the day and the possibilities that these hold for future collaborations are very promising. We also saw many of our current clients at the Expo and this has been wonderful to reinforce relationships in person.”

In addition to the MTI Expo and Conference, the evening of June 8 saw the Medilink UK Healthcare Business Awards 2022. Held in association with Med-Tech Innovation, these awards celebrate the outstanding business achievements, international successes and innovative breakthroughs made across the life sciences and healthcare technology sectors in the past year. Winners at the regional awards then went on to compete in eight categories at these UK awards. The following Medilink Midlands Member companies were shortlisted.

• Advances in Digital Healthcare – Spirit Health (Winner); Blackspace Technology
• Delivering Innovation into Health & Care – TUTUM Medical (Winner); Innovation Factory
• Export – SureScreen Diagnostics Ltd; POWERbreathe International (Winner)
• Innovation – Residual Barrier Technology Ltd (Highly Commended); HeartFlow
• Outstanding Achievement – Spirit Health; Kimal
• Partnership between Academia and Business – SurePulse Medical (Highly Commended); Interactive Software Ltd
• Start Up – Heal.Med CIC (Highly Commended); Neokare Nutrition Ltd (Highly Commended)

Melanie Davidson, Chief Operating Officer at Medilink Midlands, said: “The MTI Expo is a fantastic opportunity for our members. The Midlands has some truly innovative, high calibre companies, as demonstrated by our performance at the recent Medilink UK Awards and also our member companies who exhibited and spoke as part of MTI. Through our relationship with Rapid News and our position in the sector, we were able to provide the Medilink UK Pavilion and exhibition area, giving our members the best possible exposure and contact with the MTI delegates. We help to unite the sector to facilitate growth and collaboration and the MTI Expo and Conference is a prime example of this. I am confident that the networking which has occurred over the last two days will form the basis for some very exciting collaborations in the future.”

For more information on the Med-Tech Innovation and Expo, visit https://www.medilinkmidlands.com/event/med-tech-innovation-expo-conference-2022/