Healthcare innovations on stage: KALCIO Healthcare organises major conference at Jaarbeurs

A huge truck was parked on the square at Jaarbeurs in early June. Not one for light and sound for a festival or event, but of a completely different calibre. Namely, it was a mobile MRI scanner. It was the eye-catcher of FMIR - The Future of Medical Imaging & Radiotherapy - a congress that helps transform healthcare by bringing innovations into practice faster.

Ellen van de Zande, Manager Communication & Events at Kalcio Healthcare, has to smile herself when she thinks back. Indeed, it reflects the creativity of the congress. "FMIR is our outgrown hobby. KALCIO Healthcare is a consultancy that first started small with some symposia spread throughout the year. And now we are five editions on and it has become a serious congress with eighty sessions, at least eighty speakers and more than 40 companies."

All disciplines together
KALCIO Healthcare helps healthcare organisations convert strategies to 'the floor'. FMIR is a great example of this. The congress brings together all disciplines working in medical imaging and radiotherapy: radiologists, oncologists, Nuclear Physicians, MBBs (Medical Imaging and Radiation Experts), clinical physicists, Technical Physicists, quality staff, managers and secretarial staff. "You need everyone to move healthcare forward," says Ellen. "A doctor can want something, but the MBB person has to create it and the manager has to facilitate it. By meeting each other, innovation accelerates."

Room to grow
That innovation came alive again in June, at the fifth edition of the congress. This time at Jaarbeurs, in congress centre Supernova. A conscious choice, says Ellen: "We grow by about 25 per cent every year and also attract visitors from Belgium. We were therefore looking for a location that could grow with us and is easily accessible. Jaarbeurs is centrally located, next to the railway station and is big enough to keep growing." She is also very pleased with Supernova. "Visitors called it more professional and businesslike. And the light wall in our own orange colour made it feel completely like our congress."

Collaboration and quick thinking
Ellen is also full of praise for the collaboration with Jaarbeurs . She describes it as “simply brilliant”. As she says: “With two organisations that have event organisation in their blood, everything runs very smoothly. Everything was ready on time. And if I had a question that our account manager Andrea couldn’t resolve straight away, she knew someone who could. Organising something here feels like an ‘all-in’ experience.” A concrete example was the MRI van parked outside. “You can’t just set up a machine like that: it needs high-voltage power and must never fail. Otherwise, it’ll break down. Jaarbeurs got involved, ran a cable from one of the halls and sorted everything out. Right down to the floor markings in our corporate colours to guide visitors.”

down to the last detail For Ellen, the value of FMIR lies not only in visitor numbers or the hard figures, but also in the subtle cues during the day itself. “At an event like this, I’m very much focused on that ‘fingerspitzengefühl’: non-verbal communication, the emotion. Ultimately, an event is all about the experience. Of course, you need a good educational programme, but everything else around it has to be right too. And it was. Everything was spot on – from the content of the programme to the healthy catering options. I saw a lot of enthusiasm.”

Croquette sandwich
A conference on healthcare innovation naturally calls for mindful choices when it comes to catering. This year, there was an even greater emphasis on healthy meals. That earned plenty of compliments, but there was one thing missing. “The croquette sandwich,” laughs Ellen. “We made a conscious decision not to serve it this year. But people did miss it. It might not be the healthiest option, but it’s secretly very tasty. Next year, we’ll reassess the balance: healthy eating remains important, but perhaps this classic will make a comeback on the menu after all.”

At the fifth edition of FMIR, everything fell together: the celebration of the congress' anniversary, the choice of a central location and the focus on health that Jaarbeurs itself propagates. This made Utrecht, and specifically Jaarbeurs, the place to be for this anniversary edition.

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