Medical Design & Manufacturing (MD&M) East, to be held December 7-9 at the Jacob Javits Convention Center, will host expert-led panels and sessions at the Medtech Education Theater free of charge to all registered attendees. Speakers will explore disruptive digital health device design, artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotics, combination products, and solutions to today's most pressing challenges. MD&M East will be co-located with EastPack, Automation Technology Expo (ATX), Design & Manufacturing (D&M) East, Plastec East, and Quality Expo East, collectively called IM Engineering East.

The show comes as the global medical device market is expected to reach $603.5 billion in 2023. "The medical device market is incredibly dynamic and is undergoing immense disruption as new medical-grade materials are introduced, sophisticated AI capabilities make healthcare more predictive, and reimbursements evolve and are reflected in federal policy changes," explained Steve Everly, group event director, MD&M East. "This rapid growth presents immense opportunities as well as challenges for device manufacturers, requiring a steady pulse on the latest industry happenings and industry-wide agility to adapt to new technologies. As such, we're thrilled to announce our keynote and speaker lineup for this year's edition that will facilitate conversation and ultimately, ideate solutions to today's challenges."  

Added MD&M East keynote panelist Stephanie Nelson Wimmer, who serves as vice president of health economics, policy, and reimbursement, medical surgical portfolio at Medtronic: "Continued education and peer-to-peer connection are critical in an industry such as ours that is constantly evolving, learning, and adopting new, highly complex digital solutions. As innovation progresses, the entire medical device lifecycle is impacted from design to reimbursement, requiring that industry build the clinical and economic evidence for solutions to overcome challenges that come with the introduction of exciting and often lifesaving technological advancements. I look forward to a productive discussion at MD&M East this December."

The MD&M East Keynote Lineup 

AI Will Change Go To Market Strategy - 4 Steps for Better Product Adoption

Moderated by Laurie Halloran, President and CEO at Halloran Consulting Group and Co-Founder of MedExecWomen

Panelists include Stephanie Wimmer, Vice President of Health Economics, Policy and Reimbursement, Medical Surgical Portfolio at Medtronic; Laura Randa, CEO and President of Sanguinity Health; and Robin P. Blackstone, Global Head, Pre-clinical and Medical Affairs at Ethicon, a J&J Company

AI solutions have started to enter clinical practice, and while software may have shorter development cycles than physical medical devices, the path to adoption can be just as arduous and lengthy.  Join the MedexecWomen panel of experts as they discuss the keys to driving adoption of SaMD and digital solutions into medical practice.

Sponsored by MedExecWomen

Creating a New Mind-Set for Combination Product Development

Speakers include Alie Jahangir, Ph.D., Senior Principal Engineer, Quality Engineering (QE) Combination Products, Product Quality Management (PQM) at Jansen Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson & Johnson; and Asmita Khanolker, Senior Director, Cambridge Pharma at SMC Ltd.

The pandemic has brought to light many new realities and challenges, leading towards a new mindset for the design, development, and validation of biologic/drug-device combination products. In this session, you'll hear from leading industry experts on how a significant technological paradigm shift in the healthcare industry is shaping and driving the new vision for combination products development and validation.

Designing an Elegantly Simple Medtech Solution

Moderated by Michael Wiklund, General Manager, Human Factors Engineering at Emergo by UL

Panelists include Tor Alden, Global Lead, Design, Development & Human Factors at HS Design; Dan Formosa, Designer at Dan Formosa, LLC; and John Gatzemeyer, Vice President of Design at Colgate

Healthcare is an incredibly complex industry, so patients, providers, and other stakeholders are always looking for any opportunity to make things simpler. Join Medical Design Excellence Awards (MDEA) winners and industry veterans who discuss how to streamline, simplify, and strip down their devices to make users' lives easier.

Additional Expert-Led Sessions at MD&M East

Understanding the Venture Capital Process: Funding Your Next Device

Understanding the way venture capital funding works can help entrepreneurs attract the capital critical to success. What attracts venture capitalists (VCs) to fund certain start-ups and entrepreneurs and not others? In general, VCs look for important characteristics when analyzing a start-up's potential, particularly sizable market opportunities, products that address unmet needs in innovative ways, and management talent. Preparing a road map of key milestones over time to determine when to raise funds and how much you need is critically important. Hear from top medtech experts about the best way to fund your next product.

What's Next for Artificial Intelligence, SaMD & Medical Devices

Artificial intelligence promises to improve healthcare and is already hard at work in numerous areas of the healthcare system. The future of AI and ML holds great promise, but there are challenges. To help medical device companies successfully implement AI, it's important to explore regulatory hurdles, potential commercial strategies for new products, venture funding opportunities, and next-gen applications in places like SaMD, digital biomarkers, and robotic surgery.

Solving Today's Challenges in Injection Molding for the Medical Device Industry

Injection molding for plastics has come a long way over the years, and new technology like sensors and IoT have given molders new tools for solving old problems with product quality. Join this panel of leading injection molding experts to hear their insights on how the industry responds to trends post-pandemic and bring your tough questions for discussion.

Why Digital Technology & Data Will Govern the Operating Room

In the last decade, surgical robotics has been a hot focus in the medtech industry, and various robotic platforms have been introduced to surgeons and hospitals that are transforming minimally invasive surgery. Surgeon training and skill tracking have been key to implementing these new tools, and technology is driving the transformation of these platforms into new opportunities for product development in the digital surgery and advanced surgical technologies space.

New Medical Packaging Research - Potential Contamination from Repetitive Handling on Sterile Packaging at Healthcare Facilities

Groundbreaking research has shown there are limitations of sterile packaging through repetitive handling before the point of use, not previously understood by manufacturers. After a healthcare facility obtains sterile items, they are handled numerous times before being used.  This repetitive handling may be due to items selected for a patient procedure (i.e., case cart), not used, then returned and placed back into storage bins. The effects of this repetitive handling on the sterile integrity of the package have not been scientifically studied until now. This research team, derived from the 2019 Kilmer Conference, researched the effects of repetitive handling on a sterile package in a healthcare setting.

The six-in-one expo floor featuring medtech, packaging, automation, design, plastics, and quality experts will include Caplugs, Prent Corp., DeRoyal, Foamtec International, IPG Photonics, Asahi Intecc, Invotec, B. Braun OEM Division, Delta ModTech, Nikon, Qosina, STERIS, Tessy Plastics, Zeiss, among others.

For more information on MD&M East, visit www.AdvancedManufacturingEast.com.

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