Entering its 16th year, the Medical Design Excellence Awards (MDEA) competition is the premier awards program for the medical technology industry and associated suppliers. Sponsored by sister media outlet Medical Device and Diagnostics Industry (MD+DI) and MD&M East, the medical manufacturing event co-located with PLASTEC East, the MDEA competition recognizes outstanding achievements in medical product design and engineering. Entries are now being accepted for the 2016 MDEA competition; companies submitting an entry form before Dec. 31, 2015, can take advantage of a discounted early-bird rate.

Polymers and plastics processing technologies play a vital role in medical product design and engineering, so it's not surprising that suppliers of those materials and services often find themselves in the winners' circle. In 2015, Phillips-Medisize Corp., Gerresheimer, Flambeau, Coloplast, Polygon Co., Putnam Plastics and T.O. Plastics were among the companies named as participating in the development of winning products. (You can learn how Phillips-Medisize helped to bring a 2015 award-winning at-home cancer test to market here; a slideshow on the PlasticsToday site highlights all of the winners of the 2015 competition.)

MDEA finalists receive the following benefits, according to program organizers:

Products are judged according to design and engineering innovations, functional innovations, benefits to the patient, place in the competitive landscape and impact on overall healthcare in the following 10 categories:

To be eligible for entry in the 2016 MDEA competition, finished medical devices must be commercially available—able to be ordered or purchased—by Dec. 31, 2015.

For more information and to enter, go to the MDEA website. And remember: The early-bird entry rate expires on Dec. 31, 2015.