University of Minnesota opening new state-of-the-art Medical Devices Center
Contacts:
Rhonda Zurn, College of Science and Engineering, rzurn@umn.edu, (612) 626-7959
Brooke Dillon, University News Service, bldillon@umn.edu, (612) 624-2801
Public open house is Tuesday, June 4
Media Note: A media-only preview tour is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. Monday, June 3, Mayo Building, Suite G217, 420 Delaware St. SE, Minneapolis. The Medical Devices Center director will be available for interviews. Please email bldillon@umn.edu or rzurn@umn.edu if you plan to attend. Media are also invited to attend the invitation-only VIP event with medical device leaders in industry and academia 4:30-7:30 p.m. Monday, June 3 with program and ribbon-cutting at 6 p.m. For detailed directions to the center visit, http://z.umn.edu/mdcdirections.
MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (05/30/2013) —The University of Minnesota is opening a new state-of-the-art medical devices laboratory and is letting the public have a first look during a public Open House from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday, June 4 at the University of Minnesota’s Mayo Building, Suite G217, 420 Delaware St. SE, Minneapolis. Guided tours are offered throughout the day. RSVPs are not required but appreciated and can be sent to Trisha Johnson at johnsont@umn.edu or 612-626-5642. For detailed directions to the center visit, http://z.umn.edu/mdcdirections.
The new state-of-the-art, 8,000-square-foot Medical Devices Center facility was specifically built for designing, prototyping and testing new medical devices. Researchers had outgrown their previous location in the University’s Shepherd Labs that opened in 2008 with 2,500 square feet and grew to 5,000 square feet in recent years.
The new Medical Devices Center, in the heart of the University’s Academic Health Center, will foster even greater collaboration between the University’s College of Science and Engineering, and Academic Health Center units in Medicine, Pharmacy, Dentistry, Nursing and Veterinary Medicine. State-of-the-art equipment and labs are used for designing and testing medical devices. Facilities include a 3D Virtual Design Lab, Imaging Lab, Anatomy and Physiology Lab, Mechanical and Electronic Fabrication Labs, Wet Lab, Brainstorming Rooms, and more.
During the tour, student and faculty researchers will demonstrate the new equipment, highlight past successes in developing medical devices at the University and explain how this new facility will enhance basic and translational research and development.
The center is known worldwide as the host of the world’s largest annual Design of Medical Devices Conference connecting industry and academia. The center is also a world-renowned model for turning research and development ideas into marketable products. Over the last five years, the center’s innovation fellows have filed 120 invention disclosures. Based on these invention disclosures, the University has filed 58 patent applications.
In addition to driving medical device innovation, the Medical Devices Center trains the next generation workforce. The center’s Innovation Fellows program draws medical and engineering professionals from around the world to train future innovation leaders in Minnesota. The center also provides support and training for more than 100 undergraduate and graduate students per year.
The Medical Devices Center is part of the University of Minnesota’s Institute for Engineering and Medicine (IEM) established in July 2007. IEM is an initiative jointly sponsored by the University’s College of Science and Engineering and Academic Health Center. The IEM fosters a wide range of high level, goal-oriented interdisciplinary research, uniting faculty in health sciences and various engineering, science and mathematics departments.