MEDLAB 2019 - Empowering the Medical Laboratory Industry

By MEDLAB Magazine Staff 

The third stand-alone edition of the MEDLAB Exhibition and Congress is all set to connect and empower the international medical laboratory industry and will focus on developing the value of laboratory medicine in shaping the future of healthcare. The event will take place between February 4 to 7, 2019, at the Dubai World Trade Centre. 

A must-attend annual event for the medical laboratory community, MEDLAB will welcome over 19,610 professionals and more than 678 companies from around 46 countries. The event brings together thousands of professionals, right from manufacturers to key opinion leaders who congregate to shape the future of the industry. 

The exhibition offers access to high-performance devices at cost-effective prices that enable in better decision-making. It prides itself on bringing innovation from all continents to support the advancement of patient care. With this agenda, the event will showcase an array of the latest laboratory medicine solutions such as cutting-edge equipment, diagnostic tests, instruments, reagents, and disposables, among other items. 

Pioneering Growth

One of the only exhibitions that provides access to a variety of audiences, right from distributors to medical laboratory professionals, MEDLAB has established itself as a one-stop-shop for generating viable leads and doing business within the MENA region. 

The 2018 edition of the show demonstrated the significance to the diagnostics industry worldwide, with a seven per cent increase in overall attendees from 2017. Understanding this niche market’s goals and challenges, the event benefited from a uniquely targeted campaign to enforce the theme of unifying the laboratory and clinicians, in order to improve patient care. The event welcomed 678 exhibitors and hosted 12 country pavilions, 46 exhibiting countries, 124 product categories, 17 (12 Laboratory and five Clinical) conferences, and 6,726 delegates. 

While the first stand-alone event in 2017 hosted over 575 exhibitors from 38 countries, including representation from 12 country pavilions. Welcoming 20,420 attendees from 129 countries, the event allowed medical lab professionals the opportunity to meet, learn and do business with their relevant target audience. 

Having introduced bespoke tracks to bridge the gap between lab professionals and clinicians, it was evident that the event fulfilled a critical need in the market, as four out of 11 tracks were sold out ahead of the first stand-alone show. 

Bridging the Gap 

Furthermore, MEDLAB hosts the region’s only CME-accredited multi-disciplinary Congress. It is committed to supporting the education of all faculty and medical lab professionals and offers conference tracks that put emphasis on the core lab and specialist lab units. 

MEDLAB Congress 2019 will host 11 multi-disciplinary conferences that will provide education as well as management solutions to help advance skills and improve laboratory functions. These will provide up to 31.5 CME credits and fresh insights from industry pioneers to build key skills as well as increase the quality of care. 

Focusing on the implementation of quick and safe selection, performance and evaluation of results of new and established laboratory tests, the Congress has established itself as a learning and sharing platform for all medical laboratory workers to advance professionally and develop adaptive solutions for daily practice in the lab. 

This year, the conferences will cover a wide range of topics from reviewing of basic laboratory procedures to identifying advanced mechanisms that will cater to the knowledge demand of every attendee. It will be led by a strong scientific committee, ensuring that current issues and innovation are at the centre of all programmes. 

This edition, MEDLAB will explore the “Lab of the Future” as the UAE prepares to adopt the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the medical laboratory. Reportedly, AI is predicted to add US$182 billion to UAE’s economy by 2035 with the healthcare industry taking a US$22 billion slice of the gains.

The conference will explore the potential for AI to transform the medical laboratory industry in the UAE through improved efficiencies and how the diagnosis can be revolutionised through futuristic technologies such as data robots and “bloodless blood tests”. The conference is a must-attend to understand how innovation and emerging digital health technologies will revolutionise the medical laboratory. 

The event will host other conferences such as Laboratory Management, which will open with a plenary session to talk about the laboratory beyond 2020. It will be followed by two sessions – the leadership session that will focus on managerial issues and the lab operations  session, which will address technical skills and methods designed for laboratory technicians. 

Also, the newly introduced Immunology conference will provide delegates with a unique opportunity to engage with immunology field experts. This new track will discuss the latest trends and issues concerning the widespread utilisation of immunological techniques for healthcare advancement. Also new, the Cytogenetics & IVF conference is aimed at improving services in the growing number of fertility centres and genetic labs in the region. It will feature developments in prenatal diagnosis to chromosome biology in epigenetics and evolution. 

While the Haematology & Blood Transfusion conference will bring together leaders within the field of haematology and blood transfusion science to provide a broader overview of current key developments and best practices, supported by evidence-based education.

Leading the Way 

Last year also saw the introduction of the “Heads of Lab Masterclass”, a roundtable discussion facilitating senior laboratory decision-makers to meet and discuss both public and private laboratory concerns and challenges, providing leading manufacturers direct insight into the lab to offer viable solutions. The session received a great response and is back again this year. The topic is “Laboratory Medicine: Challenges and Opportunities” and will feature exceptional leaders in the laboratory.

The masterclass will discuss current and anticipated healthcare developments that may affect the future of laboratory medicine and how to deal with these changes, asses global and regional competition and provide an insight into technologies and solutions for the operational organisation of clinical laboratory services such as consolidation, integration, and networks.