MedTech World is all set to bring the global leaders and varied startups together in Malta and bring in a wave of discussion on innovation, healthcare, medical technology, global solutions and more.
This next wave of healthcare innovation is preparing to take centre stage as 10 startups have been selected to pitch at the MedTech World Main Pitch, taking place during MedTech World Europe 2026 in Malta, from 11-13th November. The selected companies represent a diverse range of medical technology and healthcare solutions, bringing together founders working to address some of the industry’s most pressing challenges. Efforts like these are made possible with the support of Blue Goat Cyber, Prolucid Technologies, Malta Enterprise, and Ascend CRO, whose contributions help to bring such initiatives to life successfully.
The selected startups include:
Contour Medical, Anywhere, Wearable Dose, EncephaX, Steady Connect Technologies, Inoko Vision, Bilihome, Rea Diagnostics, KardioVis and Readily Diagnostics. Their innovations span several areas of healthcare, including cardiac care, radiation monitoring, neurosurgery, diabetes management, neonatal care and diagnostics.
Snapshot of the Startups
Of the companies shortlisted, Contour Medical (Vidur Sahney, CEO & Co-Founder; Kevin Makati, CCO & Co-Founder) is working on cardiac surgical ablation technologies, specifically around the Tampa 2 Maze. Wearable Dose (John Sanwo, founder) is focused on making radiation dose measurable in real time via precision radiation. EncephaX (Simon Lapointe, Founder & CEO) is working on the commercialisation of a range of novel neurosurgical technologies.
The cohort also includes Steady Connect Technologies (founded by Rachel Cluett) which is focused on technology for people with Type 1 diabetes, Inoko Vision (Anna Szkulmowska, CEO) which is working on non-invasive diagnostics, Bilihome (Margret Huenberein, CEO) with a focus on neonatal and maternal care. The other companies in the cohort are Anywhere (Nathalya Mamane, Co-Founder and CEO), Rea Diagnostics (co-founded by Loulia Kasem), KardioVis (co-founded by Gabriele Pieraccini) and Readily Diagnostics (co-founded by Liza Lof).
Panel Highlights
A global panel of seven judges spanning investment, entrepreneurship, healthcare innovation, and business development will be witnessing and evaluating the startups up close.
The panel includes Audrey Caruana, Relationship Management & Implementation Coordinator at Malta Enterprise, who supports the local startup ecosystem and mentors aspiring entrepreneurs; Jeremy Debono, Senior Associate at Elkstone, an investor in technology companies across Ireland and Northern Ireland, with a focus on MedTech, digital health and enterprise software; and Miguel Borg, CEO of Malta Venture Capital, who brings extensive experience in venture investment and innovation, including his involvement with the European Institute of Innovation and Technology.
The panel also includes Sebastian Guhrs (Partner at Ferys Capital), whose focus is medtech, diagnostics and digital health; Ileana Lindeman (Partner at NLC Health Ventures), an early stage investor and venture builder with over 20 years’ experience in strategy, clinical medicine and entrepreneurship; Eric Ulchaker (Managing Partner at Serial Stage Venture Partners), with a long track record of investing in startups and venture capital; and Sandeep Pultim (Chief Strategy Officer at Scrub Capital), with experience in clinical strategy and digital health, Larry Liu (Venture Partner at Heinz Ventures), with 15+ years of operating experience across interventional devices, robotics, AI SaMD, and digital health. Drawing from background at Stryker, Verb Surgical, and J&J MedTech, he applies an operator’s perspective to back pre-seed/seed ventures and advise at MedTech Innovator (MTI), Berkeley SkyDeck, Stanford StartX, and Stanford GSB and also Niko Dimitrov, who is a Founder and Managing Partner of Bavarian Capital Management, a private equity investment firm headquartered in Munich, Germany.
MedTech World Europe 2026 will be hosting over 2,000 industry leaders, startups and investors at the Mediterranean Conference Centre in Valletta. The Main Pitch will give the selected companies the opportunity to present their solution to an experienced panel, get some industry insight and make connections with potential investors and partners. As healthcare continues to move into the age of technology the Main Pitch will be featuring a number of new entrants looking to take their innovative ideas and turn them into real healthcare solutions. For all the companies selected it will be a significant opportunity to get their work out there and to engage with the international medtech community.
Beyond the pitches, the presentations and the investment conversations, the MedTech World Main Pitch is really about something else entirely, it’s an opportunity to take an idea and turn it into a real healthcare advance. We have For these startups, Malta is going to be more than just a platform to pitch their innovation. It’s an opportunity to challenge the status quo, to get conversations going and to move the needle onto their vision.
With an excellent panel of industry leaders on hand to listen, to assess and to engage, the potential for real dialogue that could shape the future of MedTech is there.
After all, the future of healthcare is not just imagined by innovators – it is built by those bold enough to bring their ideas forward.
More Startups You Should Know
The finalists are not the only startups worth knowing in Malta. Beyond the pitch stage, the Startup Village on the exhibition floor gives a wider group of early-stage companies a place to show their work, and on Thursday 12 and Friday 13 November it will be one of the best places at the conference to meet the founders behind them.
Past pitch winners Galenband and Aliform will be in the village, alongside SurgicalCue, Garland Surgical, Patiento Innovations, Surghive, Newmanbrain, Nano4Imaging and STARK NKD AI.
Seven of this year’s finalists will also have kiosks in the village: EncephalX, Wearable Dose, Anywhere, Readily Diagnostics, KardioVis, Steady Connect Technologies and Inoko Vision.
For anyone whose interest is sparked on the pitch stage, the conversation can carry on there long after the presentations end.
For investors and for companies across the MedTech ecosystem, the village offers an early look at the teams building what comes next, in a setting where a short conversation at a kiosk can be the start of something much bigger.
Explore the event now and witness the innovation up close.
