ENGLISH 24 • Bespoke production and customization: · For special surgical fields, patient-specific instruments, small series – the demands for flexibility and rapid prototype development are growing. • Upscaling business models: · Not only the sale of instruments, but also services, repair, maintenance, the supply of spare parts, lifecycle management, potentially providers of complete systems. • International competition: · Sialkot, a city in north-eastern Pakistan, is a prime example. It is among the world‘s most important production sites for surgical instruments. Around 90 % of surgical tools manufactured in Pakistan come from this region. With over 2,000 small and medium-sized enterprises and more than 150,000 employees, medical technology – the production of handheld instruments in particular – is a mainstay of the local economy. Sialkot mainly produces for the export market. 4.3 Trends and new products In the world of surgical instruments, numerous companies are driving innovative developments that bring progress in the operating room. Karl Storz, for example, has launched an innovative, modular endoscopy system that enables surgeons to provide more accurate diagnostics and navigate more precisely thanks to digital integration, 4K image quality, and AI-powered image processing. Aesculap is currently developing instruments with integrated RFID technology that ensure seamless traceability, automatic documentation, and efficient inventory management as significant steps towards digitalized OR management. Nexmed Surgical, a startup, has created microsurgical forceps with integrated sensor technology that harness digital technology to collect tactile feedback and provide surgeons with information about pressure and tissue tension during the procedure, which are particularly useful factors in neurosurgery or eye surgery. There has also been progress in the field of minimally invasive surgery: Companies such as Erbe Elektromedizin blend conventional cutting instruments with high-frequency technology for simultaneous tissue preparation and hemostasis. Another example is OsteoBridge, which produces reusable titanium implant sets that draw on a novel locking principle to dispense with screws and thus reduce surgery times. These developments impressively epitomize how modern materials, digitalization, and functional design are redefining surgical instruments – with a clear focus on precision, safety, and efficiency in everyday medical practice.
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