Located in Rome’s beautiful La Nuvola Convention Center, the 2023 edition of IFCC WorldLab EuroMedlab featured leading industry solutions for the clinical laboratory from established and emerging players around the globe. An estimated 9,000 delegates and 4,000 visitors participated and turned the conference and show into a lively and highly engaging event. Key new product launches comprised of LC-MS for small molecules and a high-throughput immunoassay platform. The conference covered precision medicine, sepsis management, artificial intelligence, clinical laboratory operation optimization and more.
Rome, rich in history and tradition, played host to EuroMedlab 2023, encapsulating an industry at the forefront of change. The event spotlighted innovative diagnostic solutions with an underlying message of resilience and a return to normalcy in the post-pandemic world.
Rome, “the Eternal City, ” was the perfect location for this excellent industry gathering. The wonderful weather in May boosted the good vibes among participants. One could feel the positive energy throughout the event.
Some of the large booths of the global top 10 IVD companies were crowded during the entire exhibition, while several large booths of emerging manufacturers received less attention than the established players.
Solutions for mid- to high throughput for clinical chemistry, immunoassays and molecular diagnostics were prevalent among the top players, while some top companies also showed their hematology platforms. Laboratory automation solutions played a key role, too. In addition, point-of-care solutions for molecular diagnostics, cardiac markers, blood gas, clinical chemistry and immunoassay parameters were prominently displayed.
Noticeable product launches comprised of Abbott’s GLP Systems Track Laboratory Automation Solution, Beckman Coulter’s CI 1900 High-Throughput Immunoassay Platform, Roche’s Cobas Mass Spec Platform for mid-throughput routine testing, the Cobas 5800 Mid-Throughput Platform, the Light Cycler Pro and the Siemens Healthineers CI1900 Clinical Chemistry & Immunoassay Platform for mid-throughput.
It was great to see several key clinical laboratory and point-of-care platforms, including optical measurement modules from Volpi.
At the conference, it was evident that the COVID-19 pandemic is over. There were few Corona-related talks, while precision medicine, sepsis management and optimization of the clinical lab’s operation were major themes. Regarding sepsis diagnostics, a study on detecting monocyte distribution width as a marker for sepsis using CBCs is one of the interesting developments in the effort to diagnose sepsis as early as possible.
Industry workshops focused on established and emerging diagnostic solutions and related aspects, such as specimen transportation, high-throughput immunoassay solutions, mass spectrometry, etc.
In conclusion, attending EuroMedlab 2023 felt like the last pre-pandemic EuroMedlab in 2019. Evidently, the clinical laboratory industry is back to normal, coping well with the impacts of the declined Coronavirus testing volumes, and is destined to grow further.
Dr. Harald Kraushaar
Vice President, Global Key Account Management