The purpose is to gather discussion around this topic – medical technology, also known as hospital technology or MedTech, is a Finnish specialty that never really gets attention. It doesn’t even have an optional tag, which is available for example for the pharmaceutical industry.
Finland is one of the strongest countries in the world in this field. Although companies have not succeeded (a matter that should also be discussed…), Finnish innovations are globally pulsating everywhere in the world.
So what is MedTech? A few facts:
- Employs approximately 1300 people in Finland
- Largest employers are Planmeca and GE Healthcare (formerly Instrumentarium)
- Finland is one of the extremely few countries that exports more than it imports, and one of only four where the export-import ratio is 2 or more
- The sector is thus based on devices and software
- Generates the most patents in Europe after information and communication technology
- 40% of exports go to the United States (both in Finland and at the EU level)
- An “engineering science” that doesn’t really have funding
- Promises solutions to crises facing our society, such as population aging
Welcome to discuss MedTech and its future in Finland.