It’s not only the new Opera House in Oslo that is attracting admiration worldwide. Visitors to pHealth 2009 will also see the “Ahus” Akershus university hospital, which is already being recognised as setting new standards in hospital design. One of two hospitals at the Oslo Medical School, Ahus will be the biggest acute hospital in Norway providing its catchment area (approx 500 000 inhabitants in 2015) with 80 to 90 % of all specialised health care services.

R. Giampieretti, L. Gatzoulis, I. Iakovidis, European Commission

Why is the eHealth sector so important?
eHealth is one of the major tools that will enable us to make health delivery systems sustainable in the near future, when patients will be even more demanding and the ratio of workers to pensioners will change from 4 to 1 as of today to 2 to 1 in only few decades.

pHealth 2009 Parade

Latest news from the Norwegian medtech sector: Afinion points the way ahead for Axis-Shield in POC, Krogstad takes the helm at MediStim, NeoRad to target infusion market and Sonitor keeps track at Albert Einstein Medical Center.

With an increasing commitment by health authorities to improve cancer treatment in Europe and the US, NorChip aims to provide diagnostics that can lay the basis for effective screening and detection programmes. CEO Geir Morland explains the background and company mission:

From the Sudan to Indonesia, wherever a humanitarian disaster occurs, Normeca is one of the first on the scene providing medical and aid workers with the emergency equipment and facilities needed. Here CEO Jan Karlsen relates the story behind the company's growing reputation worldwide:

The Oslo Medtech Network
The Oslo Region is home to a diverse group of medtech companies. It dates back to 2007 when Innovation Norway took the initiative to form a network for the medtech industry sector. This was met with enthusiasm from regional companies as well as other NGO agencies supporting SMEs in their innovation and business development. The informal network soon proved itself able to address the issues found as common challenges for small and medium large medtech companies.

Telemedicine in Tromsø
An area in which Norway is widely regarded as a leading exponent is telemedicine. The Norwegian Centre for Integrated Care and Telemedicine (NST) is one of the country’s key centres for research and expertise, gathering, producing and disseminating knowledge about telemedicine services, both nationally and internationally.

pHealth 2009 in Oslo, June 24-26

Recognising pioneering work going on in Norway, the 6th international workshop on Wearable Micro and Nanosystems for Personalised Health will take place in Oslo in June. Spectactular technology demonstrations and outstanding speakers are promised when the cutting edges of European research meet.

One to Watch - WPR (Wireless Patient Recording Medical)

The combination of centralised resources and geography has led to a longstanding interest in Norway for telemedicine in all its forms. The latest buzzword is wireless medicine, one aspect of which is remote monitoring of patients, allowing them to maintain normal and active daily lives at home. WPR is rapidly establishing itself as a leading exponent:

Stephen Burrill, the well known advocate of personalised medicine and author of the highly respected Burrill Report, is to visit Norway in September. He will be keynote speaker at a special conference organised by Innovation Norway, the new Oslo Medtech Cluster and MediTNor entitled: Navigating the Sea Change – Opportunities in the Life Sciences.