MD&M West: Finding My Way

Gary Boas

I'll resist the obvious opening lines about the Anaheim Convention Center and its proximity to Disneyland. I'm a better writer than that, a more responsible chronicler of all things photonic. Anyway, there's nothing Mickey Mouse about the joint. The place is huge, I mean really, mind-bogglingly big. Airplane hangars could throw a party in there.

Walking into the center yesterday, eager to explore the Medical Design & Manufacturing (MD&M West) trade show, I was overwhelmed by both the scale of the event and the breadth of the offerings. I saw regenerative blowers that looked like misshapen lawn mower engines; vertically mounted plastic bag sealing systems (whatever those are); and room-size automatic bottling apparatus, which made me think - quite fondly, really - of the opening credit sequence from Laverne & Shirley.

I decided after five or ten minutes that I was totally in the wrong hall. And I was beginning to suspect I was at the wrong show. I wasn't, of course. It's just that much of what I wanted to see was on the other side of the room - a football field or so away - or in Hall E downstairs. Optical metrology and digital microscopy systems; sources for laser cutting and welding, and for laser marking; fiber optic assemblies for surgical and diagnostic instruments. It was all there.

As I wandered, I was struck by the myriad ways in which optics and photonics have contributed to and advanced the medical device industry. Speaking with vendors, I began to see that the reverse is true as well.

I'll poke around some more today, and report back when I can.

Gary