For our course, CHEMMAT 753 – Biomaterials and their applications, we regularly host guests from industry to help the students get a better idea of work environments which encompass the content of the course. This year, we hosted a lab dedicated to implant technologies which was attended by the following people:

• Scott Bolam: Orthopaedic Registrar and Research Fellow
• Mark O’Brien: Zimmer Biomet, NZ Country Manager
• Dan Burt: Johnson & Johnson Medical Devices, Senior Clinical Specialist

These guests were able to talk about implant technologies currently in use for orthopaedics such as hip and knee joint replacements, which was followed by an interactive demonstration by Dan Burt. The demonstration involved using surgical tools to fix a femoral fracture by inserting two metal pins to hold the (fake) bone in place while it heals. Students were shown all the tools surgeons would have access to while operating, and got to use them as well.

All the students had an excellent time, and a discussion of jobs in medical device companies was had between some of the students and the guest speakers. This was a great way to help the students see potential applications of their new knowledge outside of traditional engineering companies.