What started in 1975 with barely 40 exhibitors has now grown into the Middle East's largest healthcare event with 3,800+ exhibitors, 60,000+ visitors, 180+ countries represented.

I spent the first morning just orienting myself walking past enormous pavilions from China, Europe, UK and US. The 50th edition brought new zones: a Smart Hospital & Interoperability Zone, a Healthcare ESG Forum, a Transformation Zone with startup showcases, and a Future Health Summit focused entirely on AI in healthcare delivery.

One of my favourite parts of any event is getting hands-on.

I spent a good chunk of time at the ZEISS booth, standing next to the KINEVO 900 S, their robotic surgical microscope with what they call "Connected Intelligence." As someone who thinks deeply about how surgical visualization can be layered with data, I couldn't help but lean in and peer through the optics.

Over at Zumax, I got a walkthrough of their surgical microscope line designed for neurosurgery, spine, plastic & reconstructive, ophthalmology, and gynaecology.

All these innovations were windows into how operating rooms are evolving.

Some of the best conversations didn't happen at booths at all. They happened over Middle Eastern platters at local restaurants, around crowded tables with people from six different countries, passing bread and business cards in equal measure.

What I Took Home

Not just brochures and name cards (though I have plenty of those).

I came home with new relationships that I know will matter in the months ahead. And I came home with a full notebook: sketches, questions, product names, things to look up, people to follow up with.

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If you're an entrepreneur or researcher working in MedTech or SurgTech, I'd love to connect. Reach out to me at prashanth@nuevata.com 😊