Eighty-seven Italian firms will set out to conquer the medical equipment market in the Persian Gulf, at the 2010 edition of Arab Health to be held in Dubai from 25 to 28 January next year.

The event, which has now been running for 35 years, is one of the most prestigious international appointments in the sector, and Italian businesses are eager not to miss the opportunity to demonstrate the high quality of their machinery, which is the result of very sophisticated technology.

The Made in Italy brand will be well represented by equipment such as the smallest videodermoscopy machine in the world, made in Trapani, Sicily, by the innovative probes for skin examination designed in Parma, Emilia Romagna, or by the next generation remote controlled fluoroscopic systems produced in Avellino, Campania.

The aim of the Italian firms will be to beat the grip Germany has held on the European market for several years.

Special orthodontic machinery will also be on display in the Italian Pavilion - a 1,083m² space designed by the ICE - from one of the sectors in which Italian firms have always been ahead, offering higher than average quality. The show will be an occasion to observe first hand the performance of the world’s fastest professional bleaching lamp, the result of successful technological research carried out in the province of Parma, or to purchase the special plastic coated cotton and polyethylene wipes used for small surgical operations and extractions.

The Dubai event attracts a high degree of attention: sector forecasts project an investment of 60 billion dollars in the health sector from Gulf area countries by 2025: demand for medical equipment and instruments in the UAE (which acts as a “bridge country”, or a commercial intermediary for the surrounding countries and others) is therefore destined to rise, thanks to both constant population growth and the physiological "ageing" of existing equipment. An annual growth of 15% is projected for the next few years.

This level of internal demand must therefore be met with imports, and the Italian electronic medical equipment sector is ready to meet the challenge: our firms are in fact renowned within the sector for production process know-how, rigorous product controls and high professional profile of employees.

More than 50,000 visitors attended the 2009 Arab Health fair, and Italy’s representation was sixth for number of exhibitors, after Germany, China, the domestic UAE reps, Great Britain and the US. Medical coats and overalls for doctors, paramedics and wellness centre assistants also met with great success at the event.