The 2012 Innovations in Biomedical Materials conference, hosted September 10-13, was attended by 170 reserachers, medical professionals and pharmaceutical manufacturers.
Plenary speakers for Biomaterials 2012 included Dr. Riad Salem, Northwestern University, presented Radioembolization with Yttrium 90 Microspheres; Larry Hench, University of Florida, presented Bioactive Glasses: New Approaches for Tissue Repair, Regeneration and Prevention; Delbert Day, Mo-Sci Corp. and Missouri University of Science and Technology, presented Radioactive Glass Microspheres for Medical Applications; Dr. Hyun Bae, Cedars-Sinai Hospital, presented Biomaterials in the Treatment of Spinal Ailments: Present and Future; and Alan J. Russell, Carnegie Mellon University, presented Bio Inspired Materials for Health and Defense.
Letter from the Organizer
The first Innovations in Biomaterials Conference was held September 10-13, 2012 in Raleigh, N.C. USA. Materials researchers, biologists, physicians, and commercial product manufacturers met, shared ideas, discussed the future of medicine, the current state of regulatory affairs, and new ways to bring innovative ideas to the clinic. Approximately 30% of the meeting attendees were an international participant, which indicates that the world as a whole is interested in developing new, cost effective methods of treating disease. Quality of life, especially with the elderly, was mentioned multiple times as a major focus and concern by the medical community, and is likely even more important that developing the ‘cure’.
Presentations by the plenary speakers were excellent. Delbert Day representing MO-SCI Corporation and the Missouri University of Science and Technology described yttrium-alumino-silicate glass microspheres used for treating inoperable liver cancer. Larry Hench representing the University of Florida talked about the areas of healthcare that are in significant need of new and effective treatment options. Riad Salem from Northwestern University shared clinical data from thousands of patients with liver cancer treated with Therasphere, a radiation emitting glass microsphere technology. Allen Russell from Carnegie Mellon University described bio inspired materials for health and defense. Hyan Bae from Cedars-Sinai Hospital described surgical outcomes from a variety of spinal implant materials in the human clinical environment. Views into the healthcare industry from these unique perspectives were phenomenal and generated much discussion throughout the conference.
The panelist discussion on the final day of the conference included David Greenspan of Spinode Consulting, Charenpreet Bagga from Prosidyan, Peter Ullrich from Titan Spine, and Barbera Boyan from Georgia Tech, debated several areas of healthcare including biomaterial development, the future of in-vitro testing, and the pros and cons of invasive vs. non-invasive surgery to name a few. Each topic discussed had several points of view and stimulated discussion and interaction between the panelists and the audience.
The conference dinner speaker was Jeff Farkas, Vice President of Health Policy and Payment for Medtronic, Inc. He described the new health care law, some background information on the law itself, and how it will potentially contribute to the healthcare industry in the United States of America. I would like to thank Mr. Farkas for taking the time to make the trip to North Carolina from Washington D.C. to share his perspective with the conference attendees.
Finally, I would like to thank everyone that participated in the conference and made it a success. The first time doing anything can be a learning experience, and this conference was no different. Fortunately, attendees that participated in the activities had a lot of positive comments and ideas for improvement for the future of this conference. The interaction and networking across disciplines and professional fields was unparalleled and is not currently duplicated by any other group or conference. The future of this conference looks great and the 2nd meeting will likely take place in 2014, so mark your calendars!