A new way of looking at the healthcare technology management and clinical engineering professions, a deep dive into medical device recall data, and the value of making small changes that can have a big impact on quality—these are the three articles published in AAMI’s peer-reviewed journal, BI&T (Biomedical Instrumentation and Technology), that shaped the health technology world in 2019.

AAMI and BSI (the U.K. national standards body and international standards developing organization) have teamed up to explore the ways that artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning pose unique challenges to the standards and regulations that govern medical devices and related technologies.

Several members of the health technology community will receive an AAMI award or scholarship and be recognized during the AAMI Exchange, June 12–15 in New Orleans, LA. Each year, AAMI and the AAMI Foundation recognize health technology’s best and brightest for their leadership, dedication, and contributions to AAMI and their fields.

AAMI has released emergency guidance documents to enable the rapid development of safe and effective emergency use ventilators and resuscitators, which are essential to treating patients with COVID-19 respiratory failure. Published as the first four AAMI Consensus Reports (CRs), this emergency guidance was developed by the AAMI COVID-19 Response Team, consisting of manufacturers, clinicians, and Food and Drug Administration representatives.

Healthcare organizations need to ensure that medical equipment is maintained by trained healthcare technology management (HTM) professionals, especially during this COVID-19 pandemic.

AAMI is offering students enrolled in nonprofit biomedical equipment technician programs who have been displaced by closures due to COVID-19 free access to its CBET eLearning Study Course.

In response to the growing Coronavirus (COVID-19) public health crisis, AAMI—dedicated to leading global collaboration in the development, management, and use of safe and effective health technology—is releasing three standards and technical information reports (TIRs) at no cost.

AAMI has released The Medical Connectivity FAQs, a free resource developed to help healthcare technology management (HTM), IT, and facilities management professionals understand the state of wireless tools and technologies, their use in healthcare, and how they can best be managed based on each profession’s responsibilities.

The International Organization for Standardization has released a redesignated and revised series of five standards that provide healthcare professionals and manufacturers with guidance for ensuring the quality and safety of dialysis fluids for hemodialysis and related therapies.

Cesar Caceres, cardiologist and former AAMI Board of Directors chair and president, passed away on Feb. 9, 2020. Caceres was known as the “father of clinical engineering” for his early work combining computers with healthcare.

AAMI is calling on innovators and startups to pitch their digital health solutions at the AAMI Xcelerator, where they’ll compete for $9,000 in prizes, expert mentoring, and access to business advisors.

The AAMI Foundation has teamed up with Johnson & Johnson to create the Kilmer Fund, which will award scholarships and research grants to students and professionals in the microbiological quality and sterility assurance community.

A new draft technical information report developed establish a common understanding of postmarket tools and activities for medical devices, AAMI/ISO DTIR20416:2020 Medical devices—Post-market surveillance for manufacturers, has been approved by the AAMI Standards Board and registered by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). 

As health technology becomes increasingly connected, coordination between the fields of healthcare technology management, clinical engineering, and information technology is more important than ever. That's why AAMI is joining forces with two other organizations to bring more IT-related resources to the healthcare technology management  and IT communities.

AAMI and the Parenteral Drug Association today announced their agreement to explore collaborations to further the missions of both organizations and enhance value to their members, stakeholders, and their respective communities at large.

AAMI has published its first consensus report—a new kind of document developed to provide concise, prompt, and practical guidance on narrowly focused topics of high importance to the health technology community.

The AAMI Fellow Program, which recognizes individuals who have provided substantial service and contributions to AAMI and to the health technology field, is now seeking nominations for 2020.

AAMI has unveiled its Health Technology Collection, a museum-like exhibit, housed at the AAMI Center for Excellence in Arlington, VA.