MedTech Members Collaborate to Improve Cardiac Care, Longterm

Jan. 3, 2012 - PRLog -- BUFFALO, N.Y.—MedTech members recently met with clinical researchers from University at Buffalo during a roundtable discussion on topics ranging from significant gaps in cardiac care to the changing healthcare environment.

The event, hosted in Buffalo last month by Greatbatch Medical, was part of the Clinical Connections series facilitated by MedTech—the hub of Upstate New York’s bioscience and medical technology industry. Clinical Connections aims to address unmet or under-met healthcare needs via industry-clinician collaboration. MedTech’s president, Heather Erickson, said the association’s Science & Technology Committee specifically designed these forums to leverage Upstate New York’s strong academic medical centers for developing new research partnerships.

“It’s a special experience to interact in a relaxed environment with a variety of clinicians and industry leaders, especially such an experienced group who cares deeply about improving patient care, and fostering growth and innovation in Upstate New York,” said Ted Farrell, vice president of program management at Ortho Clinical Diagnostics, a Johnson & Johnson company. Farrell chairs MedTech’s Science & Technology Committee.

According to Farrell, participants of last week’s Clinical Connections program, which focused on cardiology, shared information in areas of interest that could lead to future research and development projects. This sort of collaborative effort coincides with the mission of Greatbatch Medical, a leading supplier of critical component technologies to the largest medical device companies in the world.

“From device battery longevity to size of implant to ease of use, Greatbatch Medical’s goal is to ensure our medical device partners continuously provide clinicians and patients with better treatment options,” said James Kubiak, strategic account manager at Greatbatch Medical and also a member of MedTech’s Science & Technology Committee. “As a critical part in medical device technology, our product development efforts directly influence the key feature sets our OEM partners design into their CRM devices.”

In addition to Greatbatch Medical and Ortho Clinical Diagnostics, members from Applied Sciences Group, Blue Highway, Carestream Health, Delcath Systems, Graphic Controls, InfiMed, KensaGroup and Welch Allyn contributed to the forum.

“There are both short-term and longer-term benefits from these types of shared interactions,” Farrell said. “Ultimately, it’s both personal connections and joint ideas that can lead to new collaborations and growth for the region.”

To learn more about MedTech’s role in connecting the bioscience and medical technology community in Upstate New York, visit http://www.medtech.org/about.

ABOUT MEDTECH

MedTech is an active association of pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical technology companies, their suppliers and service providers, and research universities. We boost the growth and prosperity of our members by connecting them for collaboration, offering educational programs, sharing news and information, and advocating for the industry with government and leaders. For more information, visit http://www.medtech.org.

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MedTech is an active association of pharmaceutical, biotech, and medical technology companies, their suppliers and service providers, and research universities. For more information, visit http://www.medtech.org.