Hospital beds have changed a lot throughout their history. It is estimated that the first beds with adjustable side rails appeared between 1815 and 1825 in Great Britain. Today, hospital beds are prepared to operate in any context, have intelligent mechanisms and have become more practical, so that caregivers have their task made easier.

IMO is proud to be part of this evolution, contributing to the technological advances that have improved thousand of patient outcomes and helped caregivers around the world to offer the best possible service. Since its genesis, in the late 1940s, IMO has been linked to the hospital furniture segment, first through the production of autoclaves for hospital disinfection and later with the production of ward and medical office furniture and articulated beds. 

It was in the area of hospital furniture, mainly metal based and under the brand MóveLongra – L. de Sousa Gonçalves, that IMO specialized. At the end of the 70’s, IMO achieved the leadership of the national market in the healthcare sector, which it maintains until today. In 1986, IMO developed and produced the first fully electric bed in Portugal and one of the first in the world. The bed was produced for the newly opened Cardiothoracic Unit of the University Hospital of Coimbra.

At the end of the twentieth century, hospital furniture started to have a marked growth and began to be the object of international demand. IMO bet strongly on the design and durability of its products, reinforcing the industrial production of hospital beds.

The demand for technologies that better assist the provision of care does not stop growing, pushing the development of new technologies at an exponential rate.

Hospital beds are no exception, increasing the demand for specialised devices in the various areas of health, giving rise to bed models with certain characteristics. Examples of this are beds with extremely reduced minimum height, which arise to respond to the aging population and consequent increase of geriatric patients. Another example are the beds with safety alarms, introduced as an answer to support the management of health units, which have seen their professionals with an increasing number of patients in their care.

Nowadays, it is also relevant for the evolution of modern beds the need to improve the user experience to increasingly demanding patients, instigating the development of more visually appealing beds, with features that promote autonomy and, essentially, that provide fast and comfortable recoveries.

IMO continues to work daily to offer the best products and today exports to over 50 countries worldwide!