Lisbon: Shaping the Intelligent Future of Healthcare

A Hub for MedTech Innovation and Vision

The MedTech Forum, Europe’s largest health and medical technology conference, returns to Lisbon from May 13-15, 2025. This isn’t just an event; it’s a dynamic platform where the cutting edge of MedTech meets the future of healthcare. Building on the success of the 2024 Vienna forum, the 2025 edition promises to be a crucial gathering for industry leaders, innovators, and policymakers.

Key Learnings from Vienna 2024: Building Momentum

From AI Potential to Practice

The 2024 Forum in Vienna made it clear: AI’s role in diagnostics, personalised medicine, and operations is no longer theoretical. But successful adoption hinges on more than technology—it demands rigorous validation, integration into clinical workflows, and ethical oversight. Key themes included data privacy, algorithm transparency, and cross-disciplinary collaboration between developers and healthcare providers.

Regulatory Clarity: Still a Moving Target

The evolving regulatory environment, particularly around AI and digital health, remains a pressing challenge. The EU MDR’s ongoing impact was a dominant topic, along with calls for more agile regulatory pathways that support innovation while safeguarding patient safety.

Patient-Centricity Isn’t Optional—It’s Imperative

Patient-centric innovation must go beyond buzzwords. The Forum highlighted the need for solutions that address real-world patient needs and challenges—while ensuring equitable access to emerging technologies.

Collaboration as a Strategic Necessity

No single stakeholder can drive transformation alone. Forums like this emphasise the power of coordinated ecosystems—uniting MedTech companies, clinicians, regulators, payers, and researchers under shared goals.

Interoperability & Data Security: The Bedrock of Digital Health

Data that can’t be shared—or isn’t secure—undermines progress. Seamless data exchange and strong cybersecurity measures are foundational for connected care systems.

Lisbon 2025: What to Expect

AI Integration, at Scale

Sessions at Lisbon 2025 will present concrete examples of AI embedded within clinical and administrative workflows. Expect demonstrations of AI-driven diagnostic imaging that enhances early cancer detection accuracy, potentially reducing diagnostic timelines and accelerating treatment decisions. The agenda also includes deep dives into AI’s role in remote patient monitoring, particularly its impact on chronic disease management and reducing hospital readmissions.

The AIxHealthcare track will feature domain experts addressing challenges in scaling AI across varied healthcare settings, with greater focus on ensuring interoperability, equity, and clinical trust. Discussions will also touch on AI-enabled procurement and how intelligent automation is transforming market access strategies.

Reimagining Regulatory Models

Striking the right balance between innovation and safety is a central theme in Lisbon. Panels will explore how current frameworks, such as the EU MDR, IVDR, and the proposed AI Act can evolve to better serve patients and innovators alike. Topics will include the use of real-world evidence to accelerate regulatory approval for AI-powered devices, the potential for adaptive regulatory pathways, and the need for greater international harmonisation.

Expect critical insight from stakeholders including regulatory agencies, policymakers, and MedTech leaders on how to create agile frameworks that keep pace with rapid technological advancement without compromising patient safety.

Designing with (and for) the Patient

Lisbon 2025 will go beyond the rhetoric of patient-centricity. Workshops will explore how to embed patient involvement throughout the product development lifecycle—from co-design sessions to interpreting patient feedback and usability testing.

There will be sessions on creating intuitive user interfaces tailored to diverse patient populations, and examples of how virtual and augmented reality are being deployed to enhance patient education and engagement.

Enabling a Truly Collaborative Ecosystem

Through networking events and partnership-driven sessions, Lisbon 2025 aims to accelerate collaboration across the value chain—from R&D to commercialisation and care delivery. Structured networking events will connect early-stage startups with MedTech giants, while panels will explore how public-private partnerships are advancing precision medicine and digital health initiatives.

Other sessions will highlight interdisciplinary cooperation among clinicians, data scientists, and engineers—showcasing how these synergies drive meaningful innovation in real-world care settings.
Securing and Unlocking Data

In a data-driven healthcare landscape, security and accessibility must go hand in hand. Sessions will explore how to protect sensitive health data in an age of rising cyber threats, with best practices for implementing robust digital defences.

Expect expert perspectives on federated learning, GDPR-compliant AI training, and privacy-preserving technologies that enable research and innovation without compromising confidentiality.

The ‘CEO #Nofilter Session’

A standout feature of Lisbon 2025 is the CEO #nofilter session—an open and candid dialogue with leading industry executives, including Annette Bruls (Edwards Lifesciences), Gavin Wood (J&J MedTech), Urmi Prasad Richardson (Thermo Fisher Scientific), and Roland Goette (BD). This session, scheduled for May 15th from 8:30 to 9:20 AM, promises to delve beyond polished presentations, offering unfiltered insights into the challenges, opportunities, and strategic decisions shaping the future of healthcare. Expect discussions on navigating regulatory volatility, scaling patient-centric innovation, building resilient teams, and shaping future-ready business models.

Spotlight: Vamstar’s Role in the Future of AI in MedTech

As a platinum sponsor, Vamstar is set to be instrumental in shaping the dialogue around the future of AI in MedTech at the forum. Our commitment to driving innovation and efficiency in the healthcare sector will be highlighted in our speaking session: “AI Unleashed: Strengthening MedTech Competitiveness in a New Industrial Age.“

This session will delve into concrete strategies for MedTech leaders to leverage AI for tangible competitive advantages in Europe’s dynamic healthcare landscape. Attendees can expect to gain valuable insights into navigating regulatory complexities, optimising routes to market, accelerating sales cycles, and mitigating cybersecurity risks—all while maintaining a crucial patient-centric approach.

Vamstar’s expertise promises to offer a practical roadmap for unlocking AI’s transformative power in the MedTech industry. Our presence will underscore how intelligent automation is already delivering measurable business outcomes across the MedTech value chain.

Will MedTech Lead, or Follow?

The MedTech Forum 2025 isn’t just a checkpoint—it’s a turning point. The decisions, alliances, and innovations shaped in Lisbon will define how the sector meets the next era of healthcare challenges. The question for every stakeholder is clear: Will you lead with AI, or simply adopt it? Will you drive change, or merely respond?

The future of healthcare is intelligent—and MedTech must decide what role it wants to play.