Featured Speakers

Welcome and Keynote Session:
An Amazing Look at Our Future
Saturday, May 31, 12:30 PM–1:30 PM
Paul Root Wolpe, PhD
President, American Society of Bioethics and Humanities

AAMI is pleased to announce that Dr. Paul Root Wolpe will be the Keynote speaker at the AAMI 2008 Conference & Expo.

Dr. Wolpe is the founder of the field of “Neuroethics,” and is recognized as an expert on the impact of biotechnology and psychopharmaceuticals on human health and well being. In addition, he has served as the first Chief of Bioethics for NASA, has authored more than 100 articles and book chapters, and has earned numerous awards for his achievements.

In this session, Dr. Wolpe will provide a view of the future that is sure to inspire all who attend. He will take the audience on a visual journey through the latest scientific developments in medicine and biotechnology, and explain how those advances will revolutionize human life in the coming decades.

Don’t miss this opportunity to gaze into the future and to see how your life might be affected by the ongoing changes in medical technology.

Dwight E. Harken, MD, Memorial Lecture and AAMI Awards Luncheon
The Search for the U.S.S. Grunion
Sunday, June 1, 11:15 AM–12:45 PM
John E. Abele
Founding Chairman, Boston Scientific

Early on the morning of July 31, 1942, near the Aleutian Islands, a confrontation occurred between a Japanese freighter and the Grunion, a U.S. submarine commanded by Lt. Cmdr Mannert L. Abele. The sub was never heard from again. For more than a half a century, the U.S. Navy knew nothing of the confrontation and listed the fate of the submarine and its 70 crew members as “missing in action, cause unknown.”  Sixty years later, the probable location and account of that confrontation was finally discovered.

Please plan on attending this year’s Harken Lecture, where John Abele — the son of Lt. Cmdr. Abele and one of the founders of AAMI — will describe the recent search that he and his family led for the Grunion and the discoveries they made.

Don’t miss this fascinating tale in which historical research and current technologies converge.  

The luncheon also gives you the opportunity to relax with colleagues as we honor those in the biomedical technology profession who have made outstanding contributions to the field of medical instrumentation.

(The lecture is sponsored by PSICOR.)  

General Session:
A Proclamation for Change — The Voice of the Medical Surgical Nurses
Monday, June 2, 8:30 AM–9:30 AM
Marilyn P. Chow, DNSc, RN, FAAN
Vice President, Patient Care Services, Program Office, Kaiser Permanente

As Vice President of Patient Care Services for Kaiser Permanente and Program Director for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Executive Nurse Fellows Program, Dr. Chow has a unique perspective on the healthcare field — and the changes that could be made to improve patient safety. During this insightful presentation, Dr. Chow will share her ideas on the current state of healthcare in the United States and the role that nurses, biomeds, and clinical engineers will have to play to answer the call for constant improvement in the field.

Dr. Chow has served as the President of the San Francisco City and County Social Services Commission, and currently serves on the editorial advisory board of Nurses Week, and as an Associate Clinical Professor at the University of California at San Francisco. She also serves on a number of national boards, including the Joint Commission’s Board of Commissioners and the Joint Commission Resources (JCR) Board.