The International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative (iNEMI), an industry-led consortium, is sponsoring a workshop on the technical and regulatory challenges anticipated in the implantable and portable segments of the medical electronics industry. The day-and-a-half workshop, scheduled for September 16-17 in Berlin (immediately following ESTC, IEEE's Electronics System Integration Technology Conference), will focus on identifying the technology challenges and standardization gaps that can best be solved by collaborative efforts by the medical electronics industry.

"In the past 10 years, innovation has led to major advances in medical devices and the therapies they deliver," said Bill Bader, CEO of iNEMI. "The explosive growth of implantable and personal medical electronics is driving accelerated adoption of miniaturization technologies. Continuous technology improvements, the high-reliability requirements inherent in medical electronics and the unique necessity for compatibility with the human body, present significant challenges for substrate, packaging and interconnect technologies used in these products.

" iNEMI has roadmapped the technology needs of the medical electronics segment for several years," continued Bader, "and we have identified multiple areas where further technology development is needed. With this workshop, we hope to bring together medical electronics companies from the implantable, portable and imaging segments to identify the most critical needs, determine which needs are best solved through collaborative efforts and then form action groups to initiate the required work."

Workshop discussions will cover leading research programs, regulatory requirements/processes, and technology deployment challenges. The agenda will feature speakers from the manufacturing supply chain and leading research programs, including:  

• Dyconex
• Endicott Interconnect Technologies, Inc. (EIT)
• IMEC
• IZM
• Med-el
• Micro Systems Engineering GmbH (MSE)
• Reinhardt Microtech GmbH
• Sanmina-SCI

Registration

Early bird registration (by September 1) is $200 for iNEMI members and $375 for non-members.  After September 1, registration fees are $300 for members and $475 for non-members. For an agenda and to register, click here.

About iNEMI

The International Electronics Manufacturing Initiative's mission is to forecast and accelerate improvements in the electronics manufacturing industry for a sustainable future.  This industry-led consortium comprises more than 70 manufacturers, suppliers, industry associations and consortia, government agencies and universities.  iNEMI roadmaps the needs of the electronics industry, identifies gaps in the technology infrastructure, establishes implementation projects to eliminate these gaps (both business and technical), and stimulates standards activities to speed the introduction of new technologies.  The consortium also works with government agencies, universities and other funding agencies to set priorities for future industry needs and R&D initiatives.  iNEMI is based in Herndon, Virginia (near Washington, D.C.), with regional offices in Shanghai, China; Limerick, Ireland; and Tokyo, Japan.  For additional information about iNEMI, go to http://www.inemi.org.