MDEA 2013: 15th Anniversary Retrospective

1998. Medtronic’s Model 5348 Single Chamber and Model 5388 Dual Chamber temporary pacemakers took home an MDEA in the critical-care and emergency medicine category. Medtronic (Minneapolis) has won eight other MDEAs over the years.

1999. HealthDyne Technologies (Marietta, GA) won silver in the rehabilitation and assistive technology category with its CPAP mask. Products for treatment of sleep apnea have won MDEAs at least four times

2000. The Cypress portable ultrasound system for cardiac imaging, made by Acuson Corp. (Plymouth Meeting, PA), won silver in the radiological and electromechanical devices category. A number of MDEA-winning products have followed the trend of portability. 

2001. The Grab ‘n Go III portable medical oxygen system, made by Praxair Inc. (Danbury, CT), won silver in the general hospital and therapeutic devices category. Products designed for portability have remained a trend over the years.

2002. Align Technolgies Inc. (Santa Clara, CA) earned a gold MDEA in the dental category for its Invisalign teeth-straightening system. In a recent earnings report, the company reported strong sales of the product.

2003. Stryker’s (Kalamazoo, MI) Rugged Stair-Pro lightweight emergency transport vehicle won silver in the critical-care and emergency medicine category. The company is a nine-time MDEA winner and a 2013 finalist.

2004. The ThinPrep imaging system, made by Cytyc Corp. (Boxborough, MA) won gold in the in vitro diagnostics category. The MDEAs have recognized numerous imaging products over the years

2005. The Waterlase MD dental therapy laser, made by Biolase (San Clemente, CA) won silver in the dental category. BioLase is a three-time MDEA winner.

2006. The Nucleus Freedom system, a cochlear implant made by Cochlear (Lan Cove, New South Wales, Australia), took home gold in the implant category. Cochlear had two products among the finalists this year.

2007. Coloplast A/S (Kokkedal, Denmark) won silver for its Conveen Optima silicone urisheath for males suffering from urinary incontinence. Coloplast is a three-time MDEA winner, as well as a 2013 finalist.

2008. The Genesis DM telehealth device, made by Honeywell HomMed (Brookfield, WI), won gold in the rehabilitation in assistive-technology category. Patient monitoring and telehealth were also trends among the 2013 finalists.

2009. Masimo (Irvine, CA) took home a silver MDEA in the general hospital and therapeutic products category for its Rad-87 pulse CO-oximeter. The company’s iSp02 product was a finalist this year.

2010. AccuVein (Cold Spring Harbor, NY) earned a gold MDEA in the critical-care and emergency medicine products category for its AV3000 portable, noncontact vein illumination device. The next generation of the device, the AV400, is a finalist this year

2011. The Vedera KXS vision correction device, made by Avedro (Waltham, MA), won gold in the radiological and electromechanical devices category. Devices for minimally invasive treatment have made a strong showing in the competition, winning at least 17 times.

2012. Planmed’s (Helsinki, Finland) Verity extremity scanner, a mobile 3-D imaging device, was the first-ever MDEA best-in-show winner. It also earned gold in the radiological and electromechanical devices category.