AM Medical Creates Timely Forum Where Medicine and Technology Meet to Transform Lives

Technology experts and clinicians who are incorporating additive manufacturing (a.k.a. 3D printing) to improve patient care will gather in Minneapolis this spring to accelerate innovation at AM Medical: Additive Manufacturing & 3D Innovations. Hosted by the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), the first-of-its-kind event takes place May 27-28, 2020, at the Minneapolis Convention Center.

AM Medical is the only immersive event focused on 3D-printed medical applications that unites innovators who are changing the healthcare landscape. Presented as a technological hub, this interactive experience provides the forum for clinicians, engineers, and manufacturers to push the limits of 3D printing and advance personalized health care. Industry professionals will benefit from a dynamic event design that promotes business connections and technology insights through hands-on learning and interactive sessions with leading experts.  Programming features such as the Consult Station, Start-up Alley, InnoZone, and XR Center encourage discussion and co-creation.

Children with birth defects, soldiers with cranial injuries, conjoined twins, cancer patients and many others have been helped by 3D printing innovations. The value to individual patients is immeasurable. Every day, physicians including Dr. Juan Carlos Fernandez-Miranda of Stanford University and many others are using additive manufacturing technologies to improve patient care. Fernandez-Miranda will present a case study at AM Medical about how he and his team used 3D modeling and virtual reality to plan a recent life-saving surgery to remove a brain tumor from a two-year-old boy.

Meanwhile, as these inspiring stories about individual patients make headlines, 3D printing technology also is being used to more efficiently mass produce medical and dental devices, to create complex structures, and to produce innovative designs not possible with other existing technology. Nearly 150 medical devices that have been cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are produced using additive manufacturing, compared with just a handful of medical devices that are patient-matched with 3D printing at the point of care. The total value of AM machines, materials, software and services for medical applications is projected to reach $2.2 billion by 2024, according to a recent report from Global Market Insights.

However, achieving this growth potential requires collaboration between the manufacturing and medical communities to enable technology application.

“There is an incredible demand for advanced healthcare solutions that impact patient care and operational efficiency,” says ASME President Richard Laudenat. “We are fueling collaborations that will unlock future growth opportunities and improvements for patient care. There’s potential for exceptional applications to become accessible to more patients as device manufacturers harness the technology for production on a larger scale.”

Keynote presentations on the future of medical and dental 3D printing and effective quality systems for additive manufacturing will be delivered by panelists from thought-leading organizations including Medtronic, Stryker, Johnson & Johnson, Mayo Clinic, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute (ARMI), Dimension Inx, and the FDA. Attendees also can participate in guided tours of 3D printing facilities at Mayo Clinic and the University of Minnesota 3D Bioprinting Facility.

“At Johnson & Johnson, we are using 3D Printing technology to innovate at every touchpoint with patient specific, on-demand solutions that promise to transform the standard-of-care and to help more people access treatments globally,” says Sam Onukuri, head of the company’s 3D printing innovation and customer solutions, and a keynote panelist in the AM Medical session, “What’s Next for Medical & Dental 3D Printing?” on Thursday morning, May 28.

AM Medical participants will see and hear more about the latest advancements in 3D printing, materials, quality processes, scanning and visualization; new software solutions for post-processing, modeling and simulation; and more—all in one place. In addition to the keynote presentations, participants can choose from more than 30 technical sessions in four specialty tracks: medical device manufacturing, dental applications, 3D biofabrication, and point-of-care manufacturing and clinical applications.

Sponsors and exhibitors at AM Medical include industry leaders such as 3D Systems, Stratasys, EnvisionTec, EOS, SLM Solutions and Formlabs, along with Dimension Inx, Medical IP, and other companies making their mark in newer growth areas of 3D printing including bio-inks and artificial intelligence.

“Transformational technologies deserve new approaches,” says Debbie Holton, ASME’s managing director of industry events. “We’re excited to offer attendees a comprehensive look at 3D technologies with real-world applications that impact all of us. Our innovative event design engages experts and newcomers from all fields to drive technology forward. This conversation will continue beyond the AM Medical event as ASME will offer ongoing resources including online learning, webinars, and more.”