iNEMI Workshop to Focus on Gaps and Challenges in Medical Electronics Technologies

Herndon, VA — February 18, 2011 — The International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (iNEMI), an industry-led consortium, is sponsoring a workshop focusing on the technical and regulatory challenges anticipated in the implantable, portable and imaging segments of the medical electronics industry.   This workshop, scheduled for May 4-5 in Santa Clara, California, will be used to identify the technology challenges and standardization gaps that can best be solved by collaborative efforts within the medical electronics industry.

“Aging of the developed world’s population has led to increased investment in innovative solutions for medical therapies, many of which rely on state-of-the-art electronics,” said Bill Bader, CEO of iNEMI.  “The explosive growth of implantable, portable and high-performance medical electronics is driving accelerated adoption of technologies that, in many cases, were initially used in other segments such as consumer electronics and telecommunications.  The confluence of continuous technology improvements with the medical industry’s high-reliability requirements presents significant challenges for medical OEMs and their suppliers.”
 
“iNEMI has roadmapped the technology needs of the medical electronics segment for several years and identified a number of areas where further development is needed,” continued Bader. “With this workshop, we hope to bring together companies from all medical electronic segments to identify the most critical needs and then determine which gaps are best resolved with jointly developed, industry-standard solutions.  Initial collaboration will be addressed by action groups resulting from the workshop.”
 
The iNEMI workshop will feature speakers from the full manufacturing supply chain: OEMs, EMS companies, and component/subassembly suppliers involved in medical electronics.  Discussions will cover leading research programs, regulatory requirements/processes, and technology deployment challenges. Some of the confirmed speakers include:
 

• Gelston Howell, Senior Vice President, Medical Division, Sanmina-SCI
• Koen Gieskes, CTO, Universal Instruments
• James Vetro, Global RoHS Engineering Leader, GE Healthcare
• Dr. Maaike Op de Beeck, Program Manager of HUMAN++, imec
• Jan Vardaman, President, TechSearch International

Registration
iNEMI members and workshop speakers can attend free of charge; non-members must pay a $250 registration fee. All participants are required to register.  

About iNEMI
The International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative’s mission is to forecast and accelerate improvements in the electronics manufacturing industry for a sustainable future.  This industry-led consortium is made up of approximately 100 manufacturers, suppliers, industry associations and consortia, government agencies and universities.  iNEMI roadmaps the needs of the electronics industry, identifies gaps in the technology infrastructure, establishes implementation projects to eliminate these gaps (both business and technical), and stimulates standards activities to speed the introduction of new technologies.  The consortium also works with government agencies, universities and other funding agencies to set priorities for future industry needs and R&D initiatives.  iNEMI is based in Herndon, Virginia (near Washington, D.C.), with regional offices in Shanghai, China; Limerick, Ireland; and Tokyo, Japan.  For additional information about iNEMI, go to http://www.inemi.org.