HKTDC gathers 30,000 industry players for the inaugural International Healthcare Week

The event aims to establish Hong Kong as a leading healthcare hub in Asia.

The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) brought together policymakers, healthcare experts, and business leaders for the inaugural International Healthcare Week at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre, 9 to 11 November.

The event was made up of the Hong Kong International Medical and Healthcare Fair and the Asia Summit on Global Health (ASGH). This formed a comprehensive one-stop platform for the 30,000 online and physical participants from both upstream and downstream healthcare industries.

“From our work in promoting technology and medical devices over the years, we see that Hong Kong has considerable strengths in both the upstream and downstream elements of the healthcare, medical and life sciences ecosystem that can support the city in developing into a leading global healthcare and life sciences hub,” HKTDC Executive Director Margaret Fong said.

READ MORE: Why invest in Hong Kong's healthcare industry

The Hong Kong International Medical and Healthcare Fair is the 13th edition organised by HKTDC. HKTDC used its new EXHIBITION+ model comprised of four elements: physical fair, smart business-matching platform Click2Match, online-to-offline seminars under the Intelligence Hub, and the hktdc.com sourcing platform.

Around 300 exhibitors from Hong Kong, Canada, Mainland China, Korea, and Taiwan participated to feature a range of medical technologies and equipment and healthcare and beauty products and services. 22 of which were startups.

The highlighted zones include Biotechnology, Hospital Equipment, Rehabilitation and Elderly Care, World of Health and Wellness, Hong Kong Medical and Healthcare Device Industries Association (HKMHDIA) pavilion’s exhibition area, and the Startup Zone.

Six universities were also present in the fair including the University of Hong Kong, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, the Education University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Baptist University, and the Lingnan University.

One example of an innovation featured in the exhibit is WSC Holding Limited's Airdoc, an artificial intelligence-enabled machine that checks the eye retina and in just 10 minutes, a professional health risk assessment report on six diseases, including hypertension and diabetes, will be generated. 

Other notable products are Bemer Group's Pro Set, which can boost healthy blood circulation in just eight minutes; Pocket Smartphone Ophthalmoscope, which can be mounted over a smartphone camera to take fundus images sent directly to an ophthalmologist; Implant Simulator, which can predict the probability of different orthopaedic implant designs resulting in bone cracking; AccuPos–Patient Tracking, a system that offers dashboard reports to caregivers in hospitals and elderly care centres for monitoring care recipients’ locations in real-time.

Meanwhile, the ASGH, co-organised by HKTDC and the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, ran from 10 to 11 November. More than 80 speakers talked about the theme “Charting a New Course in Healthcare through Collaboration.”

HKTDC plans to expand International Healthcare Week in May 2023.