Once again, we at Pivot International will be attending the MD&M West Conference. In case you haven’t heard of it, it’s the largest medical technology conference in the world, held each year in Anaheim, California.

Going to conferences like this is a perk of being in the product development industry. It’s always fun to see some of the latest and greatest product ideas in one place, making connections with people who have incredible visions for new products of all kinds.

At MD&M West, we get to mingle with more than 20,000 engineers, business leaders, and product designers who work in the medical technology industry. And that’s just the beginning. Here are just a few of the reasons we’re excited to attend this year’s MD&M West conference.

1. Mythbusters‘ Jamie Hyneman is giving the keynote speech.

Science geeks everywhere know Jamie Hyneman from the Discovery channel show Mythbusters, on which he and co-host Adam Savage busted various myths by actually testing them scientifically. The fact that he’s speaking at MD&M West this year is definitely cause for excitement.

2. Smart manufacturing is a big part of the conference this year.

Manufacturing is undergoing serious, transformative changes right now. Robots are giving way to cobots, or robots that can work collaboratively with humans. 3D printing is entering the medical technology world in a big way. More and more devices are being connected directly to the internet, allowing for easier access to more data than ever before.

MD&M is offering a Smart Manufacturing Innovations Summit this year that will exhibit robots and cobots, plus offer lectures and discussions on topics related to the future of manufacturing.

3. The demos.

One of the best parts of any tech-related conference is the demos. Just ask anyone who tried out a virtual reality demo at this year’s CES in Las Vegas.

While there won’t be any virtual reality streetscapes to roam at MD&M West, there will be plenty of cool demos for things like cyclic block copolymer. It may not sound that interesting to you if you’ve never built a medical device before, but trust us – it is.

4. The talks.

MD&M also offers an incredible range of lectures, panels, and discussions on topics from product design to the industrial IoT, and AI to engineering to change the world.

We usually come away from these talks with all kinds of new ideas for ways to innovate, and get better and more efficient at what we do. It’s an incredible chance to hear about the amazing things that other medtech companies are doing.

5. The networking.

One of the most important reasons to go to any conference is, of course, the networking. It’s interesting – as our workaday lives become more and more digitized, face-to-face meetings seem to become ever more significant.

Most, if not all, of your average business partnership today can be conducted entirely through digital tools. While this is great in many ways, a digital relationship can never provide quite the same connection as an in-person one. There’s nothing like face-to-face networking to help cultivate your next game-changing partnership.

6. The ability to tour the massive Expo Hall directed by theme.

The Anaheim Convention Center is absolutely massive, and so is the number of exhibitors that will be set up on the expo floor. That’s why MD&M’s Innovations Tours can come in handy.

Tour leaders take groups around to visit exhibitors that are all focused on a specific topic, like packaging, robotics, or plastics. It sure beats wandering the hall on your own, trying to find number 4002 in an endless sea of booths.

Medtech is a big part of Pivot’s portfolio, which is why MD&M always makes up an important part of our conference schedule. Learn more about the medical devices we’ve created here.