Medical Device Leader Workshop Predicts Disruptive Change in Technology and Regulatory Landscape

HAMBURG, Germany – NSF, formerly PROSYSTEM, celebrated a pair of anniversaries – NSF’s 75th anniversary and the second anniversary of PROSYTEM joining the global NSF family – with an innovation workshop to discuss the future of medical devices. The NSF innovation workshop was held on October 1, 2019, bringing industry leaders together for a day of sessions on the ways in which technological and regulatory change will mold the future of the industry.

“There are two powerful forces driving medical device innovation, both with a global impact: digital technology and regulatory change,” said Oliver Christ, Executive Vice President, Medical Devices - DACH, NSF. “Our innovation workshop brought deep insight into the many ways these forces will revolutionize the industry in the next five years.”

Workshop discussions included a five-year forecast on the EU Medical Device Regulation, the needs of a truly digital hospital, the future of artificial intelligence in medicine and ways in which digital giants like Microsoft, Google, Amazon and Apple are moving to radically change the health care market by 2025.

NSF acquired PROSYSTEM in October 2017. “For 75 years, NSF has been at the vanguard of protecting and improving human health. Likewise, since 1999, PROSYSTEM has been a thought leader in biomedical engineering,” said Christ. “In our two years together, we’ve witnessed the medical device industry begin to shift its focus from repair to prevention. That shift is going to accelerate as tech giants seek – and create – opportunities in the health care marketplace and as regulatory bodies adapt to the impact that rapidly-developing technology will have on patient safety.”

In the last 12 months, NSF has strategically invested in European regulatory training in support of that public health mission. In 2018, NSF opened a new Hamburg training center in anticipation of a rise in the need for regulatory education, especially as the European Union Medical Device Regulation (EU MDR) 2017/745 enters into force on May 26, 2020 and the In Vitro Diagnostic Medical Devices Regulation (EU IVDR) 2017/746 enters into force in 2022.

For media inquiries in Europe and/or information about NSF’s innovation workshop, contact Jessica van de Gucht at jvandegucht@nsf.org or +32.2.761.7418. For media inquiries in North America, please contact Kenneth Bearden at +1.734.769.5176 or visit our Contact Us page.

In 2019, NSF is celebrating 75 years of protecting and improving human health. The global public health organization facilitates standards development, and tests and certifies products for the food, water, health sciences and consumer goods sectors to minimize adverse health effects and protect the environment. Founded in 1944, NSF is committed to protecting human health and safety worldwide. NSF is a Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (WHO) Collaborating Center on Food Safety, Water Quality and Indoor Environment.

NSF’s health sciences services include training and education, consulting, regulatory guidance, corporate compliance and, separately, auditing, DNA testing, certification and R&D for the pharma biotech, medical device, dietary supplement and functional beverage industries throughout the product lifecycle. NSF facilitated the development of the only American National Standard (NSF/ANSI 173) that verifies the health and safety of dietary supplements and also tests and certifies products to this standard.