Guestbook
People have sent us their memories of the past and visions for the future. Join them. Click here to fill out a simple form to share your thoughts and excerpts will be posted on this page.
Celebrating AAMI’s anniversary…
- As a biomedical engineer, I've had an opportunity to work on pioneering medical devices that have made a significant impact on people's lives through improved outcomes and minimally invasive procedures. AAMI is a professional organization that supports innovation, education and networking in the best sense of providing a forum for all of these activities.
— Eben Kermit
- One of the things I enjoy the most about AAMI is its multidisciplinary membership covering all aspects of medical instrumentation both nationally and internationally. Being able to share knowledge, learning, and developing friendships across the breadth of the medical instrumentation field is invaluable.
— Bill Betts, MBA, PE, CCE
- When I became active in AAMI, it was not clear that AAMI would survive as a standards developer. I am quite pleased to see her current role and position as a major developer of voluntary consensus standards in the medical device arena.
— Don Marlowe
- From a personal perspective, I think the most satisfying aspect is the number of talented and dedicated people I have had the opportunity to meet and work with over the years — both in the U.S. and in other countries through AAMI's international standards work. Had I not gotten involved in AAMI, I would never have had so many opportunities to work with real industry leaders. Today, some of my closest personal friends are people I met through the AAMI program.
— Chuck Sidebottom, PE, AAMI Chair-elect
- The most satisfying experience I’ve had during my association with AAMI has been the successful publication of ISO 13485. The experience of convening the working group that had an interesting mix of personalities from around the world was a bit like “herding cats”, but it nevertheless was do-able and very rewarding. The success of that standard in achieving its objective stands out as a highlight of my professional career.
— Ed Kimmelman, BME, JD
- AAMI participation allowed me to see a very broad picture of medical devices including clinical use issues, regulatory concerns, and technology past and future. The multidisciplinary membership and the educational mission of AAMI has been essential to this progress, building trust and respect between the various disciplines that has helped us all in doing our parts for the advancement of medical instrumentation.
— Bob Flink
- I have always cherished the memories of the wonderful people I was privileged to work with through my AAMI association. Beginning with the AAMI staff, I never, repeat, never worked with a member of the staff that I didn't think did an outstanding job and was a pleasure to interact with. And, I feel extremely fortunate to have met and be associated with so many outstanding colleagues. There were so many exceptional individuals.
— William S. Staewen CCE-E
- My involvement with AAMI has provided many fond memories of working with good friendly people serving in healthcare. The remarkable progress should stimulate the next generation to continue, if not to accelerate, advancing medical instrumentation.
— Charles A. Rawlings, PhD
- I was very fortunate to be at the forefront when the medical profession recognized the need for engineering expertise as a part of the practice of medicine. The acceptance by physicians and surgeons of the engineering specialties as an integral of both AAMI and into clinical aspect of medical care was most satisfying. It opened all the doors making the establishment and acceptance of the profession of clinical engineering by hospital administrators and nursing relatively easy.
— Tom Hargest, CCE-E
- AAMI has shown that innovation, maintenance, and standards along with people utilization and communication are necessary factors.
— Cesar A Caceres, MD
- Through involvement with AAMI, I learned that all the answers did not reside in the U.S. and that there were a lot of smart and dedicated people all over the world.
— Mort Levin
- One of the most intellectually satisfying aspects of working with AAMI was my opportunity to interact with scientists, engineers, and medical folks in developing voluntary standards.
— Al Berson, PhD
- I consider the most important progress is that medical devices are regulated by the FDA through a scheme different from drugs. The recognition by the FDA of the acceptability of the voluntary performance standards promulgated by AAMI and other groups in the submission of 510k's and PMA's is a major accomplishment.
— Carl W. Bruch, PhD
- Although AAMI only wanted to be recognized as the "secretariat" for clinical engineering and biomedical technology certification, it was clearly the vehicle that allowed it to happen. I thought the certification process was very important and it was personally satisfying to be involved in helping to establish the process.
— William S. Staewen, CCE-E
- When AAMI became active in development of standard for biocompatibility, the idea was very tenuous. Today standards for assessing biocompatibility of materials and devices are understood and appreciated by the global community
— Don Marlowe
Advancements in the field…
- Since I entered nursing in 1961, the changes have been phenomenal from sterilizers that were operated manually to pre-vacuum sterilizers that are efficient and provide evidence of sterilization parameters being achieved; from ANPRO canisters that produced lower temperature sterilization through ETO to plasma sterilization. Technology for cardiac surgery and total joint replacements has changed our ability to lengthen lives and provide pain relief for older adults. Neurosurgery now allows a surgeon to identify the specific location of a lesion and target its removal with minimal damage to normal tissue, or to implant a stimulator, or reduce the debilitating effects of Parkinson’s disease.
— Fran Koch, RN
- The advances made by the medical device industry over the last four decades are truly miraculous. People who would have died at an early age are living relatively normal lives with the help of medical devices like pacemakers, dialysis machines, stents, and orthopedic braces and implants. People who would have gone undiagnosed until they were too sick to survive are being diagnosed early and cured of those same diseases or are being maintained as useful happy individuals while still subject to those diseases.
— Ed Kimmelman, BME, JD
Looking to the future…
- The progress of AAMI during these past years of change were footprints in the sand, that left clear sculptured marks on healthcare professionals, researchers, and innovative developers of biomedical equipment manufacturers. The future decades will be anew with challenges, improving health care, and the impact of globalization. Regardless of the new problems, organizational structure, or policies of governance, it will all be the outcome---Change.
— Burt Dodson, CCE-E
- Healthcare professionals and organizations are getting squeezed into doing more with less while maintaining good quality, and in being inundated by paperwork for documentation. I think innovative technological solutions are our only hope, and AAMI is the leader in technology.
— Marcy F. Petrini, PhD
- I think that AAMI has been, is, and should continue to, focus its efforts on improving medical device technology by promoting cooperation and joint efforts of healthcare providers, suppliers, and regulators.
— Bob Stiefel
- Education and productivity are key user issues in which all parties have a stake. Information technology is both a solution and a challenge as devices incorporate more intelligence. Users and regulators as well as manufacturers have need to educate and be educated. To wit: they need AAMI.
— Bob Flink
Click here to fill out a simple form to share your thoughts and excerpts will be posted on this page.
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