Save The Date: RP Technologies and Trends

AZ Tech Council Connect Event: Overview of Rapid Prototyping Technology and Trends

February 26th, 2009 Morning , more details coming.

Rapid Prototyping has grown in the past 15 years to become a mainstay of product development. And every year there are new technologies, system refinements and material improvements that enable faster turnaround, stronger prototypes and reduced cost. PADT is pleased to host a seminar to update people involved in the development of physical products on where the industry is, where it is going and how to get the best return on investment in Rapid Prototyping. A presentation will then be followed by a Q&A session with industry leaders, a member of the Product Design community and PADT’s own in-house experts. Contact us for more information regarding this event.

Happy Thanksgiving!

The day before Thanksgiving we captured a picture of this rainbow. The building is PADT. Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Posted by Scott Klopfenstein

Incubate Your Startup Company at PADT

If you’re an entrepreneur looking for product development expertise and facilities to launch your company, consider incubating here at PADT. We are actively looking for startup companies that need a partner to develop and commercialize their innovative products. Specifically, we are looking for startup companies that will benefit from locating at our facility and taking advantage of the full spectrum of our product development expertise. If you are interested, we invite you to contact us to further explore this opportunity.

Since 1994, PADT has provided engineering and prototyping. However, to fuel our growth and support the commercialization of new technologies, PADT now is additionally looking for - and investing in - emerging companies. In the last year PADT has invested in two strong, local companies - KMI and Celerative. We are now looking to expand the way we help startups succeed by offering to incubate them here at our facility in the ASU Research Park.

This is a great opportunity for technology based startups that have an exciting business concept, enabling intellectual property, and the management expertise to make it happen. We will invest in your startup and partner in your success by providing the following support:

• Infrastructural support: Office space, conference rooms, telephone and web service, accounting support, etc.
• Engineering support including: design/engineering expertise, CAD, FEA simulation, prototyping, instrumentation, testing, and final assembly
• Commercialization support: Funding, strategic planning, manufacturing implementation, access to ISO 13485 compliant quality system.

To be considered, your company will have the following characteristics:

• An experienced management team with strength in marketing and financing
• A need for product development and engineering expertise.
• A clear business plan and rollout strategy for entering a substantial market.
• Attracting angel level investment in addition to PADT’s contribution.
• A product or medical device that has significant technical challenges - ideally one that benefits from our FDA compliant quality system.

We are excited about bringing this business opportunity to entrepreneurs in Arizona and look forward to hearing your ideas and concepts. If you are interested, we invite you to contact us to further explore the opportunity of incubating your startup company with us.

Join us for a Lunch discussion on Human Factors

PADT is sponsoring the next AZBio Peer to Peer Luncheon on Thursday, November 13. The topic is on the FDA's growing emphasis on human factors.

Next year the FDA is expected to adopt its newest and most comprehensive human factors standard. Patricia A. Patterson, CPT, President of Agilis Consulting Group and a Certified Performance Technologist, will provide a basic introduction to the topic including:

• The FDA's position on human factors and use error
  
• The 7 Common Mistakes the FDA sees manufacturers make regarding human factors
  
• What we can expect in HE 75: Human Factors Design for Medical Devices
  

Discussion questions include:

1. How would you describe your company's current compliance with FDA human factors standards and guidelines?
   
2. What, if any, challenges do you anticipate ensuring compliance with HE: 75?
   
3. What FDA - Human Factors experiences can you share and lessons learned?
   
4. How has human factors influenced your bottom line?
   

This is your opportunity to interact with colleagues and to have your questions answered by experienced peers in your industry. Space is limited - reserve your seat by registering here.

Key Points from Peer2Peer Discussion Group

We met last week to discuss how best to work with contract service providers in our AZBio Peer-2-Peer luncheon. The session took two perspectives – utilizing services and providing services. The following outline captures some of the key points that were brought out in the discussion.

• What important factors do you consider when selecting a service provider?
  
  • Clear needs?
    
  • Good capability match?
    
  • Cost competitive?
    
  • Delivery speed?
    
  • Total service offering (i.e. "package")?
    
  • Partnership opportunity?
    
  • Culture match?
    
• How do you maintain good communication with a contract service provider?
  
  • Verbal communications (face-to-face where possible)
    
  • Frequent communication
    
  • Open and transparent with issues
    
  • Multilevel communication
    
  • Taylor to match personal style/preferences
    
  • Be flexible with communication approach
    
• How do you ensure that service providers deliver on schedule?
  
  • Establish series of deadlines/milestones
    
  • Document expected deliverables
    
  • Do a good job defining the scope of work
    
  • Establish clear specifications
    
  • Document agreements
    
  • Use tools (online and email) to keep schedule visible
    
  • Establish contingencies
    
• How do you ensure service providers satisfy your quality expectations?
  
  • Set expectations at the outset
    
  • Keep Quality Control people in the loop
    
  • Perform audits along the way
    
  • Utilize certifications
    
  • Establish a quality agreement
    
  • Work with first with a good reputation
    
• How do you build long-term relationships with service providers?
  
  • …. Ran out of time.
    

Many of these ideas are common sense but it's good to be reminded of them. Feel free to add your comments to this list.

Simulating Your Next Back Surgery

The day is coming when your spine surgery will be performed virtually using advanced computer simulation to practice and plan for the real thing. PADT Medical is currently working with Neil Crawford, PhD at the Barrow Neurological Institute (BNI) to develop the Virtual Spine Surgeon software system. The program, which is funded by the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging And Bioengineering (NIBIB), has the ultimate goal to "improve the outcome of surgery, shorten the time under anesthesia, and improve the confidence of the patient and surgeon". PADT is providing software development, finite element modeling, and rapid prototyping expertise to help construct a system that will convert pre-operative images (CT or MRI) into a patient specific model that can be used to suggest refinements to the surgery and ultimately create templates and drill guides for intraoperative use.

Screen Grab from Virtual Spine Surgeon program.

Increasingly, finite element modeling is being used to predict surgical outcomes and device performance. Contact us If you are interested learning more about how we can help you accelerate your medical device development program using finite element modeling.

Join Our Team

Interested in joining the PADT Medical team? We are looking to build our local network of medical device development engineers. Click Here if you're interested in learning more.