Posted by Max Salmi on September 3rd, 2012
It's been three weeks since I visited Miami Beach and the FIME convention (http://www.fimeshow.com/). I already miss the heat though wearing a black suit made me prefer places with air-conditioning. Afterwards I read that the United States was hit by the highest temperatures since the Dust Bowl.
FIME was all about medical products. Whatever a hospital or a doctor needs, it was there. The Miami Beach Convention Center was filled with booths, and the attendee statistics showed that 44,397 people participated, most of them from the Americas. So, a solitary Finn was a real surprise to most.
I only met friendly people. As I was running out of business cards, the list of contacted people got longer and longer. I was looking for companies related to the X-Ray business. Not an easy job, but to my surprise I found a business segment that I didn't even know to exist, which was refurbished X-Ray equipment. There were many companies who bought old X-Ray devices, repaired them and sold again. The competition has to be tough. I had my focus on X-Ray manufacturers and other software companies who do reconstruction.
During the first day of the convention I gave a speech about "Radiation safety, speed and quality for CT with statistical inversion". My main goal was to describe what can be achieved with this state-of-the-art technique in 3D tomography reconstructions. Less radiation on patients (up to 80%) and a faster imaging procedure enhance patient comfort considerably. In the first evening there was a FIME Fiesta where the exhibitors met in a more relaxed atmosphere. A great event for networking and longer chats than during the hasty convention hours.
All in all - and interesting event.
Max Salmi
Project Manager
Eigenor Corporation