Medical technology is one of the most vital innovation sectors for healthcare, industry and society

Medical technology is present in almost every part of healthcare, from diagnostics and surgery to digital healthcare solutions, assistive devices and advanced treatment. At the same time, it is an area of industrial strength where technology, healthcare needs, patient benefit, expertise and international competitiveness come together. Swedish medical technology encompasses both advanced high-tech solutions and solutions that keep healthcare and social care functioning every day.

Medical technology, or medtech, refers to products, technologies, software and solutions that prevent, diagnose, monitor, treat or compensate for disease, injury or disability.

Eight categories of medical technology solutions

Success is rarely determined by the technology alone. A medical technology solution must address a genuine healthcare need, work within clinical workflows, be capable of being tested and validated, meet regulatory requirements and subsequently be procured, implemented and scaled. This requires effective collaboration between healthcare, academia, companies, innovation environments, public authorities and funders at regional, national and international levels.

Sweden combines industrial strength, technological excellence and an exceptionally broad innovation base

Sweden has a strong and diverse medical technology industry. Large global industrial companies operate alongside many small, specialised and research-driven companies. Together, they contribute both significant economic weight and a broad base of innovation, with clear Swedish strengths in areas including diagnostics and medical imaging, surgery, implants, wound care, dialysis and advanced patient management. Sweden has all the prerequisites to be an internationally strong nation in medical technology. A public market in which medical technology is essential to the functioning of healthcare, well-developed research and healthcare environments, large global industrial companies, and many small and specialised innovative companies. Almost 90 per cent of Swedish patent activity in medical technology is concentrated in six technology areas. The largest are diagnostics and surgery, implants/prosthetics/wound care, and dialysis, infusion and respiratory technology.

The figure shows Swedish medical technology in three dimensions: economic weight, employment and breadth of innovation. According to UC industry data, the sector generates approximately SEK 315 billion in revenue and comprises 2,100 companies employing more than 38,700 people directly in the industry.

The sector’s strength lies in this combination. A small number of large international companies account for significant industrial volume, while a broad base of small and specialised companies contributes innovation capacity and new solutions. The Swedish medical technology sector also encompasses both advanced, research-intensive technology and extensive manufacturing of products for everyday healthcare, mobility and patient management. Innovation also takes place across traditional industry boundaries. Expertise from areas such as telecommunications, AI, data and advanced industry is increasingly contributing to the development of digital health and health informatics. The public market is central. The public sector purchases significant amounts of medical technology each year (SEK 26 billion in 2023), with the regions accounting for the largest share. Healthcare needs, clinical validation, procurement and implementation are therefore not peripheral issues, but determine whether Swedish medical technology delivers patient benefit, more efficient healthcare and international growth.

An impressive system, but value is created only when the actors are connected

Swedish medtech is built on an extensive ecosystem of healthcare providers, research environments, companies, testbeds, innovation environments, public authorities and funders. A key strength lies in the complementary regional specialisations in areas such as medical imaging, radiotherapy, digital health, dialysis, wound care, biomaterials and implants. Connecting regional strengths to national functions and international networks enables local expertise to deliver patient benefit nationwide and strengthen global competitiveness.

An innovation ecosystem is more than a map of organisations. It is a dynamic system where actors, resources and relationships determine the ability to identify needs, develop solutions, generate evidence, implement and scale innovations. In medical technology, collaboration is essential. Solutions must be developed in close alignment with healthcare needs, clinically validated, meet regulatory requirements and work within reimbursement and procurement systems before reaching healthcare. No single actor can take on the entire chain or replace the function that holds it together.

A well-functioning medical technology ecosystem requires collaboration across multiple functions: identifying healthcare needs, developing knowledge and technology, testing and generating evidence, accessing capital and opportunities to scale, and navigating regulatory frameworks, procurement and international markets. Regional ecosystems perform many functions close to healthcare, patients and academia, while national actors provide funding, policy, regulation and shared resources that no single region can build alone.

International connections provide access to the markets and partnerships needed to scale. Innovation environments such as science parks, incubators, accelerators and innovation offices connect multiple functions. At the same time, Swedish medical technology currently loses momentum in the transitions between functions, rather than within the functions themselves, as we explore on the next page.

Regional specialisation is a strength but also requires national coordination. Expertise, clinical environments, testing infrastructure and industrial capacity are unevenly distributed across the country. With 21 self-governing regions, structures are needed to make knowledge, resources and solutions accessible across regions.

Sweden’s challenge is not a lack of innovation, but enabling more solutions to reach healthcare

Sweden is one of the world’s strongest innovation nations and ranks as the EU’s most innovative country. It has research, companies and regional medical technology environments of high international calibre. The challenge is therefore not primarily to create more innovations, but to bring more of them all the way to clinical use, patient benefit, scaling and international growth.

The figure shows the six stages of the innovation chain and the four gaps that repeatedly slow the path from need to scaled implementation. The gaps occur between healthcare and companies, research and implementation, regional strength and national scaling, and approved solutions and actual use. These gaps mean that promising solutions take longer to reach patients, potential productivity gains in healthcare are lost, and companies face greater challenges in growing from Swedish innovation to international markets, reducing Sweden’s competitiveness. They also mean that investments in research, test environments and innovation do not deliver their full socioeconomic return.

The gaps do not occur only once but recur in every innovation cycle. This requires an actor that actively connects the system by identifying shared needs, mobilising resources and driving innovations from idea to implementation.

A national function connecting the system

Sweden needs a national function that connects the system and complements, rather than replaces, strong regional and sectoral actors. A function that can see the bigger picture, identify shared needs and systemic barriers, connect expertise and infrastructure, and enable collaboration across organisational and regional boundaries.

This also involves building and developing shared national functions where individual actors cannot bear the responsibility alone. Examples include validation and testing, clinical trials, implementation and procurement, growth and internationalisation, and joint knowledge and project development. This can create a more connected path from need and innovation to use, scaling and international competitiveness.

This is a role that Medtech4Health has gradually built over more than ten years of the programme: an actor-neutral national arena with the ability to connect healthcare, academia, companies, patients, innovation environments, testbeds, public authorities, funders and international networks.

At the same time, experience shows that coordination is not the goal in itself. Value is created when it leads to action. When shared needs can be translated into initiatives, projects and structures that strengthen the conditions for medical technology solutions to be validated, implemented, scaled and reach patients and healthcare.

Webbinar: The launch of Sweden´s Medical Technology Ecosystem (in Swedish)