Major players sign up for MDT Forum

Over 300 participants - medical device and in-vitro diagnostic designers and manufacturers, clinicians and healthcare managers - are expected to attend the Forum. There, they will be able to enjoy a tailored mix of plenary sessions and briefings, sponsors’ presentations, clinician-led think tanks, tightly focused roundtable discussion groups, pre-arranged one-to-one meetings and showcase displays. For the event’s leading sponsor, Pearson Matthews - the designers behind many innovative medical devices, including Clearblue, the world’s first one-step pregnancy test – the Forum will be a prime opportunity to discuss the role brands and partnerships have in the growing medical device market. Mike Pearson of Pearson Matthews says: “10 years ago the medical device industry was similar to the 1920’s motor industry: a series of cottage industries each championing their own technology, paying scant attention to user needs – and with no clear brands. Today, it is more like the 1970’s showing signs of convergence and consolidation. Players in the market have got to think about how they work together and how they create medical brands. Designers – with their ability to see the bigger picture - are perfectly placed to make that happen.” Another key Forum sponsor is Connector. Its senior executives, combined with its network of partners and associates, put medical device manufacturers in touch with the companies they need to make their developments happen. For Matthew Bergmann Smith, Managing Director of Connector, the Forum will present it with the perfect opportunity to do what it does best: “A lot of businesses are very internally focused and have limited contacts to draw upon,” he says, “at the Forum we hope to show companies how we can provide all the connections they need. For instance we recently helped a start up company who was having major difficulty getting funding and traction. By introducing a technology platform to support their IP, we were able to raise funds for product development in a very short time. “The Forum should be the ideal place for us to meet many such medical device manufacturers, both large and small, who are equally looking for ways to accelerate their business plans.” Connector will be joined at the MDT Innovation Forum by two of its business partners, Teleca, which specialises in the design and development of complex medical devices, especially analytical instruments for IVD applications plus Jaltek Systems, a low to medium volume EMS Provider. TransCAT PLM will be showing how it supports companies who need to get their innovative products to market quickly. It offers innovative document management and information solutions which among other things, enable regulatory compliance with the minimum overhead and effort. Similarly, Unimatic will be focusing on its micro actuation, micromotors, particularly its piezo nano technology, and electromechanical micro-systems. It will also highlight its rapid prototyping rapid manufacturing capabilities – in particular a 3D wax printer. In addition to keeping pace with new technologies and services, the Forum will enable manufacturers to network with healthcare managers and clinicians. For instance the eminent cardiologist, Martin T Rothman, professor of interventional cardiology and director of cardiac research and development at Barts and The London NHS Trust, will deliver one of the Forum’s five plenary sessions. He will outline what the next-generation of devices need to deliver if they are to support the groundbreaking techniques being deployed in cardiology. Dr Mark Fisher, innovations unit manager, at Ventures for Health, at the Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust, will explore some of the trends and developments emerging from the NHS Innovations Hubs. Neil Griffiths, lead category manager, clinical consumables at the NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency will outline some of the routes to meet NHS medical device requirements. Preventative care and assistive living present massive areas for product development. In another of the plenary sessions, Dr Diana Hodgins, managing director of European Technology for Business will outline what is currently being developed and what is still required – looking at the role of implantable, wearable or attachable technologies. Dr Hodgins will be joined by several other speakers, who specialise in mobile and local network communication and wearable technologies While for the many early-stage entrepreneurs at the Forum looking for commercial partners and backers, there will be crucial financial advice at hand. For instance, Aris Constantinides, investment director at NBGI Private Equity will explain what investors look for in a start-up’s business plan. Similarly, Gareth Davies, business development manager polymers and Tim Rowe, practice leader for medical engineering, both from Pera Technology, will present case studies highlighting the funding options open to innovation-led companies looking to make that critical transition from the drawing board to the market place. Commenting on how the Forum is taking shape, Karen Parks, Managing Director of Octo Media, the company behind the MDT Innovation Forum says: “When you think about the thought provoking debate, market insight, networking and product showcasing on offer, I can’t think of a single manufacturer or supplier working within the medical device sector who can afford to miss this Forum.” To find out more about attending, sponsoring or exhibiting at the event visit www.mdtforum.com or call 0208 987 0937TS