2010 Award Winners . . . Seven Honored for Contributions to Medical Technology
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Kelly VanDeWalker |
When leaders of the Indianapolis Zoo’s veterinary hospital needed medical equipment to perform much-needed surgeries on animals, they found an unlikely savior in Kelly VanDeWalker.
A biomedical equipment technician (BMET) V at Community Health Network in Indianapolis, VanDeWalker went to work repairing equipment at the zoo’s hospital and gathering surplus items at his hospital that could be donated to the facility, including incubators that can be used for lizards or birds that need a warmer climate.
His goodwill gesture — coupled with his work experience and efforts to educate and mold the next generation of biomeds — have earned him recognition as the 2010 AAMI/ GE BMET of the Year. He also has helped to donate equipment to the veterinary teaching hospital at Purdue University and has organized overseas equipment donations for humanitarian efforts.
Beyond his community outreach efforts, VanDeWalker is also highly regarded by former interns at Community Health who say he has gone out of his way to help them. “The simplest, but most important ideal Kelly showed me was that to become a successful biomedical engineer you have to have life-long learning and be willing to keep moving forward,” says Demetrius Dillard Sr.
In addition to VanDeWalker, the AAMI Awards Subcommittee has selected six other medical technology professionals as 2010 AAMI and AAMI Foundation award winners — all of whom will be honored this month at AAMI’s Annual Conference in Tampa. Here’s a look at their accomplishments.
Neal E. Fearnot: Blazing New Trails
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Neal E. Fearnot |
A combination of creativity and determination has helped Neal E. Fearnot, PhD, make medical devices that save patients’ lives. Fearnot holds 65 U.S. and foreign patents on medical devices, including the world’s first exercise responsive pacemaker and the first hand-held electrocardiogram (ECG) machine. For his leadership, Fearnot is the winner of the 2010 AAMI Foundation Laufman-Greatbatch Prize.
Fearnot also has served as founding president of three companies, including the MED Institute, Inc., Cook Biotech, Inc., and a recent start-up company. “I have known Dr. Fearnot since he was a student at Purdue University 35 years ago, and have had the great pleasure of seeing his truly marvelous creativity, innovation, and determination to bring important advances to medical care through engineering and technological breakthroughs,” says Willis A. Tacker Jr., MD, PhD, a professor with the Department of Basic Medical Sciences for Purdue University.
Binseng Wang: Challenging the Status Quo
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Binseng Wang, ScD |
Working for a major third-party medical equipment service such as ARAMARK Healthcare, Binseng Wang, ScD, has seen firsthand the need for proper equipment management at hospitals nationwide.
As ARAMARK’s vice president of performance management and regulatory compliance, Wang has contributed heavily over the years to projects related to medical equipment management. For his efforts, he has been awarded the 2010 AAMI Clinical/Biomedical Engineering Achievement Award.
Ted Cohen, clinical engineering manager for UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, says Wang is considered to be an expert in the development and evaluation of scheduled maintenance strategies. “He has worked with many of us on the interpretation of The Joint Commission’s Environment of Care/Equipment Management section, and is always available to provide wise commentary on Joint Commission and other regulatory agency changes or issues,” Cohen says.
Thomas Judd and Brad Carrott: Changing Lives Abroad
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Brad Carrott |
Thomas Judd, MS, CCE, and Brad Carrott never hesitate to help developing countries incorporate and use advanced medical technology.
For their extensive efforts, both men have been awarded the 2010 AAMI Foundation/ American College of Clinical Engineering (ACCE) Robert L. Morris Humanitarian Award.
Carrott, who is senior administrative director of biomed/security for Salinas Valley Memorial Healthcare System in Salinas, CA, has helped coordinate at least 15 major medical projects for developing countries since 1995. “The planning includes engineering the installation; and collecting the equipment, supplies, cabling, and accessories necessary to connect a 12-bed cardiac care monitoring system to a central station,” says Robert J. Pagett, president and founder of the non-profit Assist International, which organized the projects. “Careful planning must be done so that nothing is missing, especially when the project is 8,000 miles away. We are fortunate there has not been a problem, thanks to Brad.”
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Thomas Judd,
MS, CCE |
Judd, who is the national project director of clinical technology for Kaiser Permanente in Atlanta, GA, has led and coordinated workshops in more than 60 countries in an effort to spread the value of clinical engineering.
“He supported the initiation of clinical engineering practice in much-needed regions of the world, promoting development of healthcare infrastructure capacity and technology management among public, academia, and professional sectors,” says Yadin David, director of Biomedical Engineering Consultants LLC in Houston.
Elliot Sloane: Advancing Clinical Engineering
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Elliott B. Sloane |
Whether developing new information technologies, contributing to standards, or performing research, Elliott B. Sloane’s impact on clinical engineering is impressive.
For his many accomplishments, Sloane, PhD, CCE, FHIMSS, who is the director of health systems engineering at Drexel University and the founder of the Center for Healthcare Information Research and Policy, is the winner of the 2010 AAMI Foundation /Institute for Technology Healthcare Clinical Application Award.
Sloane has helped to introduce and implement information technologies (IT), including personal computer/ local area network business applications.
“He has been a significant bridge between clinical engineering and health IT through his work on the boards of Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE) and the Health Information Technology Standards Panel (HITSP),” says Ray Zambuto, president of Linc Health LLC in Holliston, MA.
Tomasz Tkaczyk: On the Cutting Edge
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Tomasz Tkaczyk |
Tomasz Tkaczyk’s miniature optical-imaging systems can have a big impact because they are inexpensive, portable, and adaptable to mass production. His efforts to improve these technologies are recognized in the 2010 AAMI/BD Professional Achievement Award.
As assistant professor of bioengineering at Rice University in Houston, Tkaczyk has conducted cutting-edge research that could lead to imaging systems used for basic research and clinical applications such as point-of-care diagnostics.
“On all levels, Dr. Tkacyzk has exemplified tremendous talent in building and promoting the use of practical advances in diagnostic imaging,” says Rebecca Richards-Kortum, PhD, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute professor.
AAMI News: June 2010, Vol. 45, No. 6