The Next Fifty Years: "Tomorrow's Technologies Showcase" to Highlight the Future of Technological Medicine
A small instrument resembling a mini chocolate grater. An ordinary-looking catheter tube with extraordinary properties. They may not look like much to the untrained eye but to biomedical engineers objects like these represent the future of medicine.
On October 10th, as part of its 50th Anniversary Symposium, the Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering (IBBME) is holding the "Tomorrow's Technology Showcase", a unique 'World's Fair' of biomedical engineering devices. The event is designed to give the public rare glimpse at the frontier of medicine and its roots in technological innovation.
The Showcase is part of a free, one-day international symposium called "Defining Tomorrow: Advancing the Integration of Engineering and Medicine".
With an emphasis on neurobiology and neuroengineering, international thinkers will present alongside University of Toronto leaders, including:
Milos Popovic
Molly Schoichet
Derek van der Kooy
Geoffrey Hinton
The Symposium also features speakers such as James Fawcett (Cambridge University), a world-leading researcher on nervous system and spinal cord repair, and Miguel Nicolelis (Duke University) a pioneer in neural interfaces for overcoming paralysis.
But not everything about the day will be academic.
Sponsored by the Ontario Brain Institute (OBI), the Tomorrow's Technology Showcase is about exploring biomedical devices that will be defining our future. Companies such as GE Healthcare, STEM CELL, and Octane Biotech, as well as IBBME's commercialization partners, not-for-profit organizations CCRM and the University Health Network's Techna will display devices and explore the uses of this technology.
The Aggrewell, a gadget that looks like a cross between a penny holder and a grater, is one such device. (see image at right.)
Developed by a former IBBME research associate as a tool to grow stem cells in uniform colonies, the Aggrewell is currently produced by STEM CELL, a company that primarily sells products to scientists conducting stem cell research in areas such as cancer, heart disease, and more.
Another presenter will be Interface Biologics Inc. (IBI), whose biomaterial product, Endexo™, has recently been cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in AngioDynamics’ catheter, the BioFlo PICC, in the United States. The catheter is manufactured using a biomaterial developed by IBBME's Director, Professor Paul Santerre. The biomaterial reacts to the catheter in such a way that it prevents blood coagulation, virtually eliminating the risks of blood clots—a serious danger for kidney dialysis patients—without drug additives.
Event details:
Location:
Chestnut Conference Centre (89 Chestnut St.), University of Toronto
Date:
October 10th, 2012
Registration deadline:
Space is limited for this free event, so register early and before October 1st. Registration and further information can be found on IBBME's website: http://ibbme.utoronto.ca/50th_Anniversary.htm.
For more information, please contact:
Erin Vollick, Communications Officer
Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering, University of Toronto comm.ibbme@utoronto.ca
(416) 946-8019
