UBM Canon's Medical Design Excellence Awards, the MedTech Industry's Premier Awards Program, has announced Dean Kamen as the recipient of the 2014 MDEA Lifetime Achievement Award. Each year, the UBM Canon Medical Content Team and the MD+DI Editorial Advisory Board select a Medtech industry pioneer whose contributions have had a significant and demonstrable impact on technological, business, and cultural advancements in the medical design industry. Previous recipients include Dr. Robert Langer (2013), Dr. Thomas Fogarty (2012), and Alfred E. Mann (2011).
"I like to think I'm just getting going, doing more, and working harder all the time. I like to look forward not backwards. I hope this award does not turn out to be the pinnacle of the work being done by anybody here at DEKA. I hope it just incentivizes us to do more and better work in the future," said Kamen.
To date, Kamen holds more than 440 U.S. and foreign patents, many of them for medical devices. His innovations in the world of medical devices include the first wearable infusion pump and the first wearable insulin pump for diabetics. At age 30 he founded DEKA to develop its own inventions and conduct R&D for corporate clients.
"What most impresses about Dean Kamen is his restless imagination. He hasn't specialized; he just sees problems and innovates ways to fix them," said Pamela Moore, Senior Vice President, Content & Strategy, UBM Canon. "The MDEA's are all about that 'a-ha moment,' and Kamen is a most fitting capstone for the program."
Read more about Kamen's contributions to medtech innovations and his thoughts on the future of medical technologies on MD+DI's website.
Kamen will be recognized at the at the 2014 MDEA Ceremony held at the Jacob K. Javits Center on Wednesday, June 11, 2014 at 4:00-6:30 pm in conjunction with MD&M East, the largest medtech event on the east coast. During the ceremony MD+DI will also announce the winners in medtech categories including the Readers' Choice and Best-In-Show awards.
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