Four Taiwan Excellence Award winners from the ophthalmic medical equipment industry in Taiwan demonstrated their most innovative products during an online product launch held recently.
The event was jointly organized by Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), the trade promotion body in Taiwan, and Taiwan’s Bureau of Foreign Trade.
According to estimates from IEK Consulting of the Industrial Technology Research Institute, the global ophthalmic medical equipment market is estimated to reach $58.4 billion by 2023. The three major areas of this market are vision care, surgery, and diagnosis and monitoring.
Bulk products of significance are optical lenses, contact lenses, and “fundus” cameras — a complex optical system designed for imaging of the eye’s retina.
Revenue from Taiwan’s ophthalmic medical equipment industry has grown steadily in recent years, with a turnover of approximately $7 billion.
The auxiliary and remedial category, which constitutes the “contact lens industry,” has the most outstanding performance. The export ratio of this “invisible champion” accounts for 1.53% of global sales.
Taiwan’s ophthalmology industry accounts for approximately 0.3% of global sales, where it combines technologies that include optics, electronics, motors, and big data calculations.
Taiwan, which is proficient in ICT, has translated this advantage in the ophthalmology industry. It recently gave Taiwan Excellence awards to some companies which have developed outstanding products.
The companies awarded and their products are:
- Crystalvue — Non-Mydriatic Auto Fundus Camera that uses automatic 3D tracking, reduces human diagnostic error and is sold in over 50 countries worldwide;
- Medimaging — Digital Portable Tonometer (DPT 100), which uses air-jet pressure detection to avoid contact with disease and infection;
- BenQ — Miacare CONFIDENCE Color Contact Lens, which adopts silicone hydrogel technology and provides contact lens wearers with all-day comfort; and
- In-Trust — Aurai Hot & Cool Eye Massager, the first in the world to use water circulation and water wave massage to reduce intraocular pressure without risk of any harm.
According to TAITRA, more events focusing on medical products, including dentistry and assistance devices for the elderly, will be held in the coming weeks.
