Microtechnology for emergency and intensive care

Emergency and intensive care face major challenges: high volumes of patients in emergency departments, staff shortages, and and aging population are increasing the pressure on care here as well. One possible solution: medical technologies that better support diagnostics and interventions and makes clinical workflows more efficient. Advances in microtechnology are creating new possibilities, ranging from miniaturized sensors and wearables to robotic assistance systems.

Current developments in emergency and intensive care were the topic of the COMPAMED Innovation Forum 2026, organized by Messe Düsseldorf together with the IVAM Microtechnology Network. The following products and developments were presented during the forum. They illustrate how microtechnology is creating new opportunities for diagnostics, monitoring, and interventions in emergency and intensive care.

Vascular access is one of the most common procedures in emergency and intensive care. Ebnet Medical is developing several new products for this purpose, including the SwordCath vascular access system with a three-stage safety mechanism, the one-handed Ebnet PIVC for small veins, and a kink-resistant catheter. These products are currently still under development and have not yet been approved for clinical use.

iST Jobst develops biosensor platforms for biomedical and biotechnological applications. The sensors measure glucose, lactate, peptides, and other biomarkers and are used in blood gas analysis, intensive care monitoring, organ transport, as well as cell and gene therapies. Additional fields of application include personalized medicine.

Fraunhofer IZM's System-on-Flex research group develops flexible smart patches and textile electronics for the continuous monitoring of various vital parameters. The sensors measure ECG, oxygen saturation, respiratory rate, pulse waves, and biomarkers in sweat.

Together with Charité, the institute is currently developing a multisensory system for monitoring heart failure and arterial hypertension. In addition, an optical triage patch is being developed for rapid patient assessment inside and outside intensive care units.

With the Teltoheart Heart Monitoring Wristband, Teltonika Telemedic presented a wearable solution for continuous 6-lead ECG monitoring. The CE MDR-certified system combines the wristband with a cloud-based IoT platform and a patient app, enabling continuous collection and evaluation of vital data.

The system is intended for people with atrial fibrillation, stroke patients, and other cardiac risk groups. According to the data presented, the 6-lead ECG offers advantages over a 1-lead ECG, particularly for detecting atrial fibrillation in its early stages.

The SENTANTE Robotic System is a teleoperated platform for endovascular procedures. The CE-marked system is intended primarily for mechanical thrombectomy procedures. It uses haptic feedback to replicate manual catheter navigation.The platform will support remote endovascular interventions over longer distances.

The products and developments presented demonstrate that advances in microtechnology go far beyond miniaturization alone. Intelligent sensors, wearables, robotic assistance systems, and new approaches to medical device development are expanding the possibilities for diagnostics, monitoring, and interventions in emergency and intensive care.