Medical equipment fair in Chennai starts Aug 6

CHENNAI - About 400 medical equipment manufacturers, including 20 from China, Taiwan, Germany and Britain, are expected to showcase their products at the Medicall expo beginning here Aug 6.

“The focus of the current year’s exhibition is on rehabilitation equipment for differently abled persons. Equipments like power wheel chairs, artificial limbs, electric scooters, patient lifting hoist, wheel chairs, special lifts and others will be on display,” S. Manivannan, Medicall chief executive, told IANS.

“One of the interesting product that will be on the show is the patient lift that can be used in homes to carry old people or wheel chair bound persons to the first floor. The battery operated lifts can carry up to 100 kg,” he added.

He said the number of exhibitors this year has gone up drastically from the 250 the show attracted last time as Medicall’s profile has changed since last year when the event venue was shifted to Chennai Trade Centre.

Medicall, since its inception in 2006, has been a marketing platform for companies to explore the healthcare market in India.

He said the Indian medical equipment market is estimated to be around Rs.5,000 crore and nearly 60 percent of that is met through imports.

According to him, emerging medical tourism and penetration of insurance products have created opportunities for setting up new hospitals.

The Tamil Nadu government’s free insurance scheme has forced many hospitals in cities to upgrade their facilities that in turn has resulted in good demand for medical equipment, he added.