The 39th International Medical Equipment and Hospital Equipment Exhibition ‘KIMES 2024’, which opened on Thursday, March 14th and ran for four days at COEX in Seoul until Sunday, 17th, ended successfully.
This year’s KIMES was held in a large space with a total of 40,500 m2, including all halls and lobby of COEX A, B, C, D, E, and a total of 1,350 manufacturers from home and abroad participated, producing convergence medical devices, hospital equipment, and medical information. Approximately 35,000 items including systems, healthcare/rehabilitation devices, and medical supplies were exhibited and exhibited.
In addition, open seminars and medical policy briefings on topics such as medical trends and technology and smart healthcare were held simultaneously, and the scale was commensurate with its reputation as a venue encompassing the current and future medical industries.
In the past, the scope of KIMES was limited to treatment materials and medical information, but in recent years, it has expanded to include rehabilitation, robots, and hospital equipment, establishing itself as an exhibition with cutting-edge technology. Accordingly, KIMES 2024 presented the largest exhibition scale ever, drawing favorable reviews from both general visitors and domestic and foreign buyers.
In particular, KIMES 2024 provided broad and in-depth insights regarding trends in the medical robot industry, which is expected to continue to grow rapidly due to active investment by the public and private sectors. Technology that assists the nursing and exercise of chronically ill patients or those in need of rehabilitation treatment, as well as surgical robots that support professional medical practice, were introduced in large numbers, keeping the industry in line.
While the types and functions of medical devices using robotics technology are rapidly expanding every year, the overall appearance of the domestic industry has been evaluated as having not yet passed its infancy compared to multinational companies leading global trends.
However, this year’s KIMES became a venue to prove the potential for a reversal of existing evaluations, with active participation and competition among companies with unique technological capabilities. Not only are they contributing to reducing dependence on foreign products in the domestic market, but they are also gradually expanding their sales channels overseas, raising the expectations of those in the medical industry for ‘K-Robot’.
Pebble Eye reduces the risk of safety accidents among the elderly population with ‘UPGO Plus’, a mobile care robot that maximizes mobility and convenience!
Pebble Eye Co., Ltd. (CEO Kim Soo-hong) is a domestic company that has continued to grow by developing small immunization products for hospitals since its establishment in 2020. Pebble Eye, which has accumulated achievements in domestic and overseas markets through this, began to expand its business area in earnest by launching ‘UPGO Plus’, a mobile care robot for patients and the elderly, in March last year.
Since launching UPGO Plus after about two years of research and development, Pebble Eye has improved the completeness of the product by collecting and reflecting the opinions of actual users in hospitals and nursing homes, and attracted the attention of visitors by presenting the results at KIMES 2024.
UPGO Plus is a transfer assistance device product that helps users with their overall mobility. It even supports movements such as standing and sitting based on the principle of a lever. In particular, the two actuators that operate at this time provide auxiliary power that minimizes shock to the joints and muscles in accordance with the robot’s physically weak state.
The company explains that the chest cushion that supports the rider can be adjusted in height in three stages to accommodate a wide range of heights, from 140cm to a maximum of 190cm, and that the maximum load is 130kg, so most patients can use it without lack of mobility. Additionally, the large 5-inch front wheels allow it to move naturally on various types of floor surfaces, from urethane materials to carpets.
The product was evaluated for a considerable period of time in domestic hospitals, nursing homes, and special schools for the physically challenged, and significant purchases were made. In addition, the domestic dealerships established in 2024 are nine companies that have been handling rehabilitation-related products, and these dealerships have accumulated long-term business experience and experience to provide services for the mobile care robot UPGO Plus.
Overseas, the product was exhibited at the rehabilitation welfare exhibition ‘Rehacare’ held in Germany in September last year, and many customers were asked to purchase the product for evaluation, and it was actually sold in France and Hong Kong. UPGO Plus is also scheduled to be sold in countries such as Kazakhstan. Pebble Eye plans to provide video and in-person training to exclusive dealers selected in each country to provide local services and work.
In addition, Pebble Eye is accelerating the development of its next-generation model, ‘UPGO Premium’, with the goal of launching it in the fourth quarter of this year. Company officials emphasized that this will be implemented as a product with added functions to move patients and the elderly more safely and easily.
Pebble Eye said, “In developed countries, including Korea, the number of seniors over the age of 65 is rapidly increasing, and ways to prevent falls and transport seniors safely are emerging as social agendas.” “We designed a mobile care robot as an alternative to help improve quality and solve the difficulties of expanding care workers in each country, and the result, UPGO Plus, is continuing to sell well in various countries and markets.”
Cosmo Robotics presents a wearable rehabilitation robot that covers the entire life cycle, from ‘Bambini Teens’ for children to ‘EA2 Pro’ for adults!
Cosmo Robotics (CEO Joo-young Oh), a company specializing in wearable rehabilitation robots and an affiliate of Cosmo Group, a secondary battery materials company, also introduced a product line tailored to patients of various ages, visibly presenting its motto of ‘implementation of warm technology’.
Cosmo Robotics is a company that has been developing wearable robots with the goal of transforming users’ daily lives throughout their entire life cycle and thereby improving their quality of life. It is gaining recognition as a domestic company that continues to develop a variety of models, ranging from products that maximize the efficiency of rehabilitation treatment at professional medical institutions to products that help with untact rehabilitation training at home and products that help improve musculoskeletal performance.
In this exhibition, Cosmo Robotics exhibited ‘EA2 Pro’, a wearable rehabilitation robot that walks on the ground, and ‘Bambini Teens’, a rehabilitation robot for children.
EA2 Pro is a robot that helps rehabilitation exercises for patients suffering from gait disorders due to brain or spinal cord injuries. It supports muscle reconstruction and recovery of joint mobility by supporting actual ground walking movement training. To this end, the company attempted to differentiate itself with advanced technology, such as applying the gait pattern algorithm developed by ExoAtlet, the company’s predecessor.
In particular, it supports four types of walking mode settings, including ▲ One-step mode (for posture correction) ▲ Affected mode (for improving balance ability) ▲ Sustained mode (continuous/repetitive walking) ▲ Active mode (for improving training efficiency), customized to patient indications. It enables customized treatment, and can also fine-tune specific walking patterns, movements, and bending angles of joints depending on the patient’s physical characteristics.
In addition, the EA2 Pro has safety accident safety features such as handles and buttons that allow therapists to assist with balance and function during use, and four sensing motors that immediately stop to prevent safety accidents when they detect incorrect gait or deviation from normal patterns during training. Officials explain that they have thorough options for prevention.
The Bambini Teens, which were also introduced, flexibly adjust the robot’s thigh and calf sizes and are designed to be used by children with a height of 110 to 160 cm and a weight of less than 65 kg. At the same time, it is the first walking wearable robot to be equipped with an ankle motor, and based on these characteristics, it can adjust stride length, height, and speed to suit the user’s body.
Angel Robotics, a leader in the wearable robot industry in Korea, targets the global market with a diversified lineup including those for rehabilitation patients, daily life, and industrial use!
Angel Robotics Co., Ltd. (CEO Gyeong-cheol Gong), whose mission is to ‘recreate human abilities through technology’, was also selected as a key player in KIMES 2024 by demonstrating its unique robot technology that combines medicine and engineering.
Angel Robotics, which has been accumulating unique technology and brand value since 2017, has products such as gait rehabilitation treatment products (angel MEDI), daily walking assistance products (angel SUIT), and industrial products for labor-intensive environments (angel GEAR). It has been introduced and is considered one of the best-known wearable robot companies in Korea.
They mainly introduced the angel MEDI brand’s ‘Angelex M20’ at this year’s exhibition. Angelex M20 is an exoskeleton walking assistance robot capable of walking on the ground, and is a product eligible for medical insurance coverage as it has obtained class 3 medical device approval. It is mainly used in specialized institutions such as hospitals and nursing homes for rehabilitation and treatment, such as reconstruction of lower limb muscles and recovery of joint movement in patients with incomplete paraplegia.
Angelex M20 focuses on increasing the efficiency of rehabilitation by identifying the patient’s intention to walk in real time, calculating appropriate force, and providing customized assistive force. In addition, it is easy and quick to attach and detach, boasting high convenience in a limited-time rehabilitation session environment. It is divided into small and large models and can be conveniently worn by patients with a height of 115 to 190 cm. It also has a length adjustment function to suit each patient’s body type.
Furthermore, it provides a gait analysis report that collects and analyzes the patient’s motion data, and allows you to select and execute six training modes, including standing, sitting, and standing, through a dedicated tablet PC.
An Angel Robotics official said, “By participating in KIMES 2024, we wanted to expand the sales base of the Angelex M20, which was previously introduced to more than 70 medical and rehabilitation institutions at home and abroad, and seek to diversify our business by discovering new domestic and foreign buyers.” “We plan to further enhance the angel SUIT brand, which enhances the comfort of walking in everyday life, and will release various types of products depending on the auxiliary joint.”
“In addition, we will launch additional new products other than the existing ‘ANGEL added.
Curexo announces its entry into the global surgical robot market with ‘CUVIS’, which boasts world-class competitiveness!
Curexo Co., Ltd. (CEO Jaejun Lee) also had a prominent presence at this exhibition site. After receiving favorable reviews for the second-generation lower extremity walking rehabilitation robot ‘Morning Walk S200’ released last year, this year they launched ‘CUVIS’, a robot brand that assists surgeries on artificial joints, spine, etc. The company took the lead in promoting its more professional corporate capabilities.
Since taking over the related business unit of ‘ISS’, an American company famous for its hip joint surgery robot (ROBODOC) in 2006, Curexo has expanded its surgical robot portfolio over a long period of time and grown its Cubis brand into a globally competitive brand. .
Starting this year, the company will promote its brand in the global market, and based on this, its goal is to achieve 50 billion won in medical robot sales this year. In addition, starting next year when the licensing process for overseas distribution is completed, we plan to enter the medical advanced countries such as the United States and Europe in earnest.
At KIMES 2024, which was attended to lay the foundation for this plan, Curexo introduced its Cubis brand’s ‘CUVIS-joint’ as its main product. This is the world’s fourth commercialized artificial joint surgery robot, and its feature is that it provides an automated function that automatically removes bones that require cutting based on CT image data.
Cutting during surgery involves a cutting process to connect the pelvis, knees, and ankles in a straight line for optimal alignment, and data-based precision surgery minimizes the amount of bone cut. This leads to the advantage of greatly reducing concerns about surgical errors, side effects, post-surgical side effects and complications, and the possibility of reoperation, and shortening the rehabilitation period.
The navigation-based spine surgery robot ‘CUVIS-Spine’, which was also exhibited, is a spine surgery robot system that guides and supports pedicle screws to the correct position. The combination of a high-precision robot arm, one-step surgical tool, real-time position tracking sensor, and dedicated software supports faster and more accurate surgery by performing everything from establishing a surgical plan to providing navigation to the surgeon during surgery.
An official from Curexo said, “Last year, sales of our medical robot division, including domestic and overseas markets, grew by about 62% compared to the previous year, and when expanded to overall business sales, the export proportion soared by 68%.” He added, “This rapid growth is due to the technology and technology that the company possesses. “This is a figure that represents the competitiveness of the product, and we plan to maintain rapid growth this year by continuing research and development and launching new products.”
Meanwhile, KIMES is an exhibition specializing in medical devices and hospital equipment that has steadily grown along with the development of the Korean medical industry since its first meeting in 1980. Meanwhile, the domestic medical industry has been engaged in medical information systems, ultrasound scanners, medical imaging equipment, robotic medicine, AI, It has transformed into a technology-intensive high-tech industry such as rehabilitation medicine.