Buyers gain direct access to cutting-edge products

From surgical devices and health monitoring systems to sleep aids and biodegradable fabrics, the HKTDC Hong Kong International Medical Devices and Supplies Fair offers buyers direct access to the most innovative products on the market.

Some items were developed out of a personal need, such as Join-to-cheer Innovation's Double Brake wheelchair accessory that prevents the chair from rolling backwards down a ramp and helps to reduce speed while going down a ramp.

'I have been a wheelchair helper and always found it exhausting and dangerous when pushing my heavy father up and down ramps,' says Winnie Wong, who founded Join-to-cheer in Hong Kong in late 2010. 'I discussed with my son Kith, who was about 13 at the time, how to prevent the wheelchair from rapidly sliding backwards if the wheelchair driver was exhausted in the middle of a ramp. We brainstormed many possibilities and finally created this Double Brake. Kith is a genuine inventor.'

A first-time exhibitor at the fair, Wong hopes the Double Brake - which is activated by pressing down the upper parking wheels against the tyres - will eventually become standard issue with manual wheelchairs.

Three-time exhibitor US Pacific Nonwovens Industry returns this year to promote its stretcher and back support belt. 'We look forward to the upcoming show as our back support belt just got the endorsement from the Hong Kong Chiropractors' Association,' says chairman and CEO, C.K. Wong.

In response to demand for medical products incorporating nanotechnology, US Pacific has helped develop techniques to mass-produce nanofibres in an eco-friendly manner. It is also working to develop biodegradable or compostable components, such as medical apparel, wipes and patient lifting slings, through the use of plant-derived polymers.