Medtech Materials Front and Center at MD&M East

PHILADELPHIA, June 17--Taking place this week in Philadelphia, MD&M East will follow in the footsteps of its West Coast sibling, MD&M West, by offering a plethora of conference and seminar sessions on medical device materials.

Kicking things off on Tuesday at 1:00 p.m., the MedTech Innovate Seminars will feature a series of presentations devoted to bioresorbable materials, highlighting bioresorbable polymers and their role in the development of next-generation medical devices. Topics will include "Bioresorbable Strategy: Current Technology and Future Applications" by Robert Harten, global VP R&D--biomaterials at Synthes; "Using FTIR Microscopy and GC/MS Microanalysis to Successfully Bring Tiny Bioresorbable Implants to Market" by John Donohue, polymer scientist at Pentax Medical; and "Recent Innovations in Absorbable Medical Devices" by Rao S. Bezwada, president and CEO of Bezwada Biomedical.

The presenters will outline a range of issues, including the role of material selection in controlling MRI-implant interactions and the clinical benefits of bioresorbable materials in tissue engineering. In addition, they will address the need to develop a method to measure the elution rate of drugs from bioresorbable drug-eluting coatings, the importance of understanding cardiovascular drug delivery, and the wound-healing applications of absorbable polymers.

Under the rubric of "Design and Prototype," the MD&M Conference will host a presentation at 2:00 p.m. on Tuesday by Jason Clevenger, principal scientist at Exponent Inc. devoted to "Material Choices and Selection for Prototyping." Among other topics, Clevenger will discuss the characteristics and limitations of new alternative materials for prototyping applications and examine prototype material innovations in light of several medical device case studies.

Then, on Wednesday at 4:45 p.m., Shrojal Desai, manager, global consumables R&D at Hospira Inc., will address "Developing and Implementing an Effective and Robust Materials Selection Process for Medical Devices." In addition to reviewing the regulatory and safety considerations for the material selection process, Desai will explore how device requirements are translated into material selection criteria and assist design engineers in determining the output of the material selection process and producing a material selection worksheet to support the design history file.

Topping off the conference on Thursday at 9:00 a.m., a group of presenters will speak on the topic of medtech polymers. Beginning with Michael Drues, president of Vascular Sciences, the session will address "The Future of Biomaterials: Challenges for Future Medical Devices and Combination Products." Then, Ed Boarini, senior vice president, strategy and business development at Teleflex Medical OEM, will explore the theme of "Suture and Fiber Materials Selection for Cardiovascular Device Components," highlighting the impact of fiber technologies on the performance characteristics of cardiovascular devices, fiber colors and sizes, and the characteristics of monofilament and multifilament materials as well as braided and coreless suture configurations.

Concluding the session, Ashley K. Netravali, R&D group lead, BVS, at Abbott Vascular, will speak on "Meeting the Demands of Medical Device Performance Requirements with Polymeric Bioresorbable Vascular Scaffolds." After Netravali, Anthony Verrocchi, technical marketing engineer at Ticona, will address "Ultra-High-Molecular-Weight Polyethylene: Materials Properties and Applications."

Stay tuned for in-depth reporting on these and other events taking place at MD&M East.

Bob Michaels is managing editor of Medical Product Manufacturing News.