UBM Canon, the Global MedTech Authority, and the Medical Design Excellence Awards Honored Dr. Thomas Fogarty with the 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award

LOS ANGELES, June 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- UBM Canon's Medical Design Excellence Awards (MDEA), the industry's premier awards ceremony for medical device design and innovation, honored Dr. Thomas Fogarty with the 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award for his vast accomplishments in the medical device industry. Dean Kamen, an inventor, an entrepreneur, and advocate for science and technology, presented Dr. Fogarty with the award last month in Philadelphia, PA.

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"The 2012 Medical Design Excellence Awards ceremony was a momentous event," stated Heather Thompson, Editor in Chief, Medical Device and Diagnostic Industry. "Having two medical pioneers on hand with us was both an honor and a privilege. I thank both of them for joining us in celebrating the medical device industry's immense accomplishments."

Dr. Fogarty's has founded or co-founded more than 33 medical companies and holds 150 patents on surgical instruments, among them is the Fogarty balloon embolectomy catheter which revolutionized vascular surgery. Dean Kamen, a man worthy of the Lifetime Achievement Award himself, has more than 440 U.S. and foreign patents and invented the first wearable infusion pump and the first wearable insulin pump for diabetes.

"In my early days, Dr. Fogarty was kind of the poster child for an innovator in technology and now that I have gotten to know him over the years, he deserves that reputation," stated Mr. Kamen on the MD&M show floor before the MDEA ceremony on May 23, 2012. "I'm particularly excited to help recognize him for his enormous contributions." 

While presenting the Lifetime Achievement Award, Mr. Kamen continued to show his appreciation of Dr. Fogarty, "Dr. Fogarty, I'm not sure who gets the bigger honor; you for getting the award or me for getting to give it to you."

Dr. Fogarty humbly accepted the award and took time to thank the patients. In front of a full capacity audience of medical device professionals he stated, "Probably the real hero of innovation of the medical device industry and drug industry are our patients.  Those are the ones willing to take a risk and allow us to evaluate new technology and new drugs in themselves."

Before the MDEA ceremony began, Dr. Fogarty and Mr. Kamen participated in a Q&A panel led by Maria Fontanazza, Managing Editor of Medical Device and Diagnostic Industry. The two innovators answered questions regarding the ingredients for successful innovation, the FDA commissioner's role, and the current state of innovation in the United States in front of a live audience.

To view the full list of 2012 winners, please click here.

The 2012 Medical Design Excellence Awards are sponsored by Platinum Sponsor: Phillips-Medisize and Silver Sponsor: Teleflex Medical OEM.

About Medical Design Excellence Awards

Sponsored by MD+DI and organized by UBM Canon, MDEA is the premier awards program for the medical technology community. It recognizes the achievements of medical device manufacturers, their suppliers, and the many people behind the scenes—engineers, scientists, designers, and clinicians—who are responsible for the groundbreaking innovations that are changing the face of healthcare. MDEA-winning entries excel in the areas of product innovation, design and engineering achievement, end-user benefit, and cost-effectiveness in manufacturing and healthcare delivery.

About UBM Canon

UBM Canon, the leading B2B media company dedicated exclusively to the global $3.0 trillion advanced manufacturing sector, helps support the flow of information, commerce and innovation in such sophisticated segments as medical devices and pharmaceutical development. UBM Canon also addresses cutting-edge developments in broader areas of advanced engineering design and manufacturing, and manufacturing processes and packaging. UBM Canon is part of UBM plc (UBM.L) a global provider of media and information services for professional B2B communities and markets.

SOURCE UBM Canon