Once a year, tech enthusiasts from Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine travel to Hanover, New Hampshire, to learn about innovations in northern New England.
The two-day conference is hosted by the MedTech Collaborative (MTC), an initiative created to encourage economic development in the medical device and healthcare technology fields.
Tracy Hutchins, executive director of the Upper Valley Business Alliance, explains: “MTC was started to promote and support the medtech industry — first in the Upper Valley and now in Northern New England. The conference is where companies and innovators exchange ideas and practical knowledge, share educational opportunities and community resources, and raise awareness of medtech activities in the region.”
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MTC started in 2020 with UVBA as the fiscal sponsor and supporting organization.
“As the medtech industry is important to the Upper Valley economy, UVBA was happy to provide the logistical and organizational support to launch the collaborative,” Hutchins said.
The focus, to start, was on the Upper Valley and the medtech activities taking place locally. As MTC evolved, the focus expanded.
“We hope to develop a Northern New England Medtech Hub with a consortium of more than 20 educational, research, and corporate organizations from Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine,” Hutchins said. “It would allow us to build a network of medtech companies and supporting organizations, such as education/research facilities, to support the growth of early and next stage medtech companies and create jobs.”
APD has been a supporter and sponsor of MTC since the beginning.
“Last year, Sue Mooney, CEO and president of APD, participated in a panel discussion focused on the social determinants of health. This year, Johanna Beliveau, the president and CEO at Visiting Nurse and Hospice for Vermont and New Hampshire, will be on a panel discussing the challenges of taking care of patients at home,” said Greg Lange, CEO of Lebanon-based Simbex, founder/president of MedTech Collaborative, and member of the board of directors at APD. “We try to bring topics to the medtech community that are central to providing exceptional care to our communities and panel discussions like these are specifically relevant to the mission of Alice Peck Day Memorial Hospital.”
Since MTC’s founding in March 2020, the collaborative has hosted educational events, social events, pitch events, and the third annual conference in 2023.
“Through this work we have raised awareness of the growing list of medtech companies and individuals working in the medtech space. More importantly, we have brought together groups in Northern New England to support the innovation ecosystem through our events, including hospitals, providers, academic institutions, accelerators, payers, and government representatives,” said Lange.
“Medtech is a growing industry in the Upper Valley that not only provides many jobs but is working on solutions to some of the top healthcare issues facing our citizens, such as access to healthcare, healthcare for rural populations, and equity in healthcare,” Hutchins said.
Learn more at medtechcollab.org