The winning products in this year's Medical Design Excellence Awards (MDEA) competition, sponsored by Canon Communications, received their gold or silver recognition at a ceremony held earlier this month during the Medical Design & Manufacturing East 2008 Conference and Exposition at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City.

MDEA is the premier awards program for the medical technology community. It recognizes the achievements of medical device manufacturers, their suppliers, and the many people behind the scenes—engineers, scientists, designers, and clinicians—who are responsible for the groundbreaking innovations that are changing the face of healthcare. MDEA-winning entries excel in the areas of product innovation, design and engineering achievement, end-user benefit, and cost-effectiveness in manufacturing and healthcare delivery. A comprehensive review of the entries was performed by an impartial, multidisciplinary panel of third-party jurors with expertise in biomedical engineering, human factors, industrial design, medicine, and diagnostics.

The 2008 jury selected 33 winners in 10 medical product categories, as follows. For additional coverage of this year's ceremony and more information on the 2008 award winners, look for MX's annual coverage of the event in the upcoming July/August issue.

Critical-Care and Emergency Medicine Products

• HemCon bandage (Gold)
• NetGuard wireless electrocardiograph system (Silver)

Dental Instruments, Equipment, and Supplies

• E4D Dentist system (Gold)
• The Single Tooth Anesthesia (STA) system (Silver)

Finished Packaging

• Veramyst and Avamys (Fluticasone Furoate) nasal spray delivery device (Gold)

General Hospital Devices and Therapeutic Products

• InTouch critical-care hospital bed (Gold)
• Panda iRes and Giraffe infant warmers (Gold)
• PowrSyringe injector (Silver)
• Tono-Pen Avia applanation tonometer (Silver)
• TotalCare Bariatric Plus therapy system (Gold)

Implant and Tissue-Replacement Products

• Akreos AO microincision lens, model MI60 (Gold)
• Peak Fx hip plate (Silver)

In Vitro Diagnostics

• Tube Rotator (Silver)

Over-the-Counter and Self-Care Products

• Gee Whiz male external condom catheter (Silver)
• Healthy Living ThinLine deluxe flat screen blood pressure monitor, model BSD-3007 (Silver)
• Natural Nurser Baby Bottle (Gold)
• NovoFine Autocover automatic safety pen needle (Silver)
• Uresta continence care kit (Gold)

Radiological and Electromechanical Devices

• Acuson P10 handheld diagnostic ultrasound unit (Gold)
• Microdose mammography system (Silver)
• Nuance full-field digital mammography unit (Silver)
• QuickLink loader (Gold)
• xCAT computed tomography scanner (Gold)
• XDS extravasation detector (Silver)

Rehabilitation and Assistive-Technology Products

• Fuze T50 Manual Tilt-in-Space wheelchair (Gold)
• Genesis DM telehealth device (Gold)
• The Hand Mentor Pro rehabilitation system (Silver)
• Plié microprocessor-controlled knee (Gold)
• REMstar Auto M Series continuous positive airway pressure system (Silver)

Surgical Equipment, Instruments, and Supplies

• Amaris excimer laser (Gold)
• InteguSeal microbial sealant (Gold)
• Patient Registration Mask (Gold)
• RealHand high-dexterity instruments (Silver)

The MDEA program is presented by MX's parent company, Canon Communications, and sponsored by Medical Device & Diagnostic Industry (MD&DI) magazine. For 2008, corporate sponsorship was provided by major industry suppliers Avail Medical Products Inc., Dymax Corp., The MedTech Group Inc., Millipore, Sebra, Sparta Systems, and Value Plastics Inc.

For more information about the Medical Design Excellence Awards—including additional details about the manufacturers and suppliers that created the 2008 MDEA-winning products—visit the MDEA Web site at www.mdeawards.com.

© 2008 Canon Communications LLC

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