Remember when medical device companies gave the Internet a whirl?

The September 1995 issue of Medical Device & Diagnostic Industry Magazine featured a tour of medical device company websites, as the Internet had caught the fancy of some of the industry's larger suppliers. Much to our chagrin, the article literally called into question the value of the Internet, from a business perspective.

"How much value, if any, a presence on the Internet will add to their marketing efforts remains an open question," a former MD+DI editor wrote. "But for now, the prevailing attitude appears to be that the ease and low cost of establishing and maintaining a site on the Web justify the effort."

Interestingly, of the five websites featured in the article, only one (Qosina) continues to maintain and update its site using the original domain and URL. Another company listed, Medicom, has since moved, but the original URL does still redirect to the company's current site. The URL listed in the 1995 article for Avincenna Medical Systems does not redirect to Avicenna Medical's current website, but we were able to locate it with a simple Google search. We also found Protocol Systems' current website with relative ease (without a URL redirect), but it appears the company never fully embraced its online presence, as its site is about as minimalistic as they come. Finally, we think we found a current and active website for a company called Medmarket, but it's not clear if it is the same company listed in our 1995 article.

We hope you got a good laugh out of our poor prognostication regarding a tool that we all use on a daily basis now. It makes us wonder what predictions we're making this year regarding industry trends that will make us laugh a few decades from now.

These days there's no shortage of medical device manufacturers and suppliers online. The new Qmed+ platform, launched in September, offers an unrivaled, one-stop shop for sourcing components, materials, equipment, and services for the design, development, and manufacture of medical devices.

Check back next week for a new Trivia Tuesday question on our home page, and test your knowledge about the medical device and diagnostics industry!