OTWorld 2026 has closed its 50th anniversary edition in Leipzig with record participation, confirming its position as the world’s leading meeting point for prosthetics, orthotics, orthopaedic footwear technology, rehabilitation technology and technical orthopaedic care.
Held from 19 to 22 May 2026, the event brought together 21,400 trade visitors from 92 countries, 623 exhibitors from 41 countries and more than 300 international speakers. According to the official OTWorld final report, the 2026 edition focused on rehabilitation, training, integrated care, robotics, artificial intelligence and care provision in crisis and war zones.
For the IMEA region, the event’s message was especially relevant. Across the Middle East, Africa and South Asia, health systems are facing rising rehabilitation demand linked to ageing, diabetes, trauma, conflict injuries, neurological conditions, paediatrics and workforce shortages. OTWorld’s central question — how to enable mobility, independence and participation in a more digital, vulnerable and uncertain world — speaks directly to the region’s prosthetic, orthotic and rehabilitation challenges.
The anniversary edition was built around a clear theme: people set the pace, technology follows. OTWorld used its “50 Years – 50 Voices” campaign to highlight people whose daily lives have been transformed by appropriate care, mobility technologies and rehabilitation support. The opening also featured ambassadors including Tan Çağlar, Lara Wilkin and Hari Budha Magar, the double above-knee amputee who became the first person to climb the highest mountains on all seven continents, including Everest.
That human-centred framing matters for O&P professionals. The event’s record size was not presented as a celebration of technology alone. Instead, OTWorld positioned innovation around the outcomes that matter most: mobility, independence, participation, trust, dignity and daily function.
The trade show floor demonstrated how rapidly the sector is changing. With 623 exhibitors from 41 countries, OTWorld 2026 achieved the highest attendance in its history. Rehabilitation technology showed particularly strong growth, with more than 120 exhibitors. Across the exhibition halls, digital manufacturing met skilled craft, intelligent prosthetics met modern orthopaedic footwear technology, and robotics and AI were connected to practical clinical care.
For IMEA CPO readers, this shift is important because many regional providers are now trying to modernise service delivery. Digital workflows, 3D scanning, CAD/CAM, 3D printing, AI-supported documentation, robotic rehabilitation, pressure measurement and smart orthotic systems are no longer future concepts. They are becoming part of the global language of O&P care.
The new OTWorld.eSummit attracted strong interest and focused on how artificial intelligence, digital processes and networked systems can improve care in workshops, clinics, therapy centres and service businesses. Discussions covered patient management, documentation, service verification, digital workshop management, platform logic, software and AI. The core message was practical: digitalisation should reduce friction, improve collaboration and free more time for patient care.
This is highly relevant to the IMEA region, where service gaps are often not only about lack of devices, but also about weak referral systems, poor documentation, long travel distances, uneven follow-up and limited workforce capacity. Digital systems can help only if they improve the connection between clinicians, technicians, patients, payers, hospitals and rehabilitation teams.
OTWorld 2026 also placed major emphasis on care in crisis, disaster and war zones. International aid organisations described destroyed infrastructure, injured populations, missing support structures and the difficult path back to mobility and independence. The final report specifically referenced the relevance of prosthetics and orthotics for people in crisis zones such as Ukraine, the Gaza Strip and regions affected by natural disasters.
For IMEA CPO, this was one of the most important parts of the event. Conflict-related amputations, traumatic injuries, displacement and disrupted rehabilitation services are now central issues for the region. OTWorld’s focus on crisis care reflects a growing recognition that prosthetic, orthotic and assistive technology services must be treated as essential parts of humanitarian response, not optional later-stage interventions.
The World Congress ran alongside the trade show and brought together experts from medicine, technology, therapy, science and clinical practice. More than 300 speakers from over 30 countries contributed through symposia, workshops, lectures and poster presentations. Topics included rehabilitation, integrated care, training, interdisciplinary collaboration and how new knowledge can reach patients faster.
Congress leaders emphasised that the future of care will not come from isolated disciplines. It will emerge where medicine, therapy, science and technology work together around the patient. This is a key lesson for the IMEA region, where prosthetists, orthotists, physiotherapists, rehabilitation physicians, surgeons, podiatrists and technicians often need stronger systems for collaboration.
Education and workforce development were also prominent. OTWorld described the Youth.Academy TO as the world’s largest gathering of young professionals in the sector, bringing hundreds of trainees and students to Leipzig. For the first time, a dedicated Physiotherapists’ Day was also held, strengthening exchange between therapy and technical care.
This workforce message is essential for IMEA. Many countries face shortages of trained prosthetists and orthotists, limited continuing education access and uneven distribution of professionals outside major cities. International knowledge transfer, youth engagement and multidisciplinary training are therefore not side issues. They are central to building sustainable rehabilitation capacity.
Orthopaedic footwear technology also gained stronger international visibility at OTWorld 2026. The event highlighted how German expertise in orthopaedic footwear, insoles and related skilled trades is reaching broader international audiences. This has direct relevance for diabetic foot care, pressure management, partial foot amputation, sports orthotics and preventive mobility support across IMEA markets.
The presence of 57 medical societies, international professional organisations and patient associations through the OTWorld.friends network further reinforced the event’s role as an international community platform. ISPO President Sandra Ramdial emphasised the shared commitment between ISPO and OTWorld to advancing prosthetics, orthotics, mobility and assistive technologies through innovation, collaboration and professional exchange.
For IMEA CPO readers, the biggest lessons from OTWorld 2026 are clear:
The event also underlined the growing role of technical orthopaedics in outpatient care. OTWorld positioned orthopaedic technology as a bridge between hospital treatment, rehabilitation and everyday life, with the potential to intervene early before functional limitations lead to dependency, suffering and higher healthcare costs.
For the IMEA region, that framing is particularly valuable. Prosthetics, orthotics, orthopaedic footwear and rehabilitation technology can help reduce long-term disability, prevent diabetic foot complications, support early mobilisation, enable paediatric development and help people return to work and community life. Yet in many health systems, these services remain under-recognised and underfunded.
OTWorld 2026 therefore offers more than a snapshot of global innovation. It provides a roadmap for the sector’s next priorities: connected care, digital workflows, stronger training, crisis resilience, inclusive technology and patient-centred outcomes.
The next OTWorld will take place from 16 to 19 May 2028 in Leipzig. For IMEA’s O&P and rehabilitation community, the challenge between now and then is to translate the ideas seen in Leipzig into practical improvements across clinics, workshops, hospitals, training programmes and humanitarian settings.