Minnesota Medtech Week brings together the region's two most important medical device and health technology events under one roof: The medical manufacturing tradeshow and conference MD&M Minneapolis, which is co-located with PLASTEC Minneapolis and organized by UBM Canon, and the Life Science Alley conference, presented by the premier medical technology association in Minnesota. The event will attract key players in the medtech industry to the Minneapolis Convention Center on November 4 and 5.

In addition to hundreds of exhibitors featuring innovations in plastics processing technologies for advanced manufacturing applications, the event will host two concurrent conference tracks exploring two of the most important medtech industry topics—market access and patient engagement—with sessions around advanced design innovation, medical reimbursement, new technologies and medical innovation. An additional daylong conference track will feature sessions on 3D printing, and another day will be devoted to a design innovation workshop presented by Chicago-based consultancy Insight Product Development.

The 3D printing session will explore advances in custom prosthetic devices, one of the sectors where additive manufacturing is making a huge difference in improving quality of life for patients while dramatically reducing costs, as well as developments in 3D-printing materials, which has been singled out as a drag on the technology's potential. Experts from Stratasys, Materialise, Proto Labs, AutoDesk and Deloitte will discuss these and related issues during the daylong session.

The Design Innovation Workshop, led by staff of Insight Product Development, will progress from an understanding of the role that research plays in user-centered design and converting that knowledge into actionable design inputs and guidelines to driving commercial success through risk mitigation techniques. Attendees specifically looking for design guidance related to medical technology are invited to attend "Design innovation for 21st century medtech businesses," where experts from Boston Scientific, Helius Medical, Ximedica and Olympus will reveal prototyping and iteration strategies, discuss design principles for manufacturability and much more.

All told, more than 50 leaders from medtech giants Boston Scientific, 3M, Medtronic, UnitedHealthcare, Olympus, St. Jude Medical and more will share their insights during the event.

"In a region vital to the global medtech industry and the home of the world's largest medical manufacturer, Minnesota Medtech Week brings the community together to demo new technologies, exchange ideas, meet new partners and ultimately provide inspiration to continue designing and manufacturing life saving devices," said Shaye Mandle, President and CEO of LifeScience Alley, in a prepared statement.

To learn more about how co-located events such as PLASTEC Minneapolis uniquely benefit attendees from advanced manufacturing sectors, read "The case for regional, co-located plastics events."