AdvaMed, The Medtech Association, wrapped up its four-day conference this week, hosting 3,708 attendees and representatives from 1,800 companies and 38 countries at the San Diego Convention Center. This year marked the highest member company participation ever, with many organizations sending their largest delegations to date. The 2025 conference also coincided with AdvaMed’s 50th anniversary, a milestone offering the ideal opportunity to explore the conference theme, “Medtech redefines the future of health care.”  

“No matter what I did, whether talking with attendees, experiencing the hands-on demonstrations  on the Medtech Campus, or learning from iconic speakers, I felt the enthusiasm and dedication of medtech innovators to make good health possible for as many people as possible,” AdvaMed President/CEO Scott Whitaker stated. “The MedTech Conference 2025 made it clear that medtech is the backbone of healthcare, and the great ideas and innovations needed to serve patients flow non-stop from some of the smartest, most creative people you could ever meet. Thank you to our attendees, speakers, sponsors, exhibitors, event co-chairs, and our California hosts for an inspiring, action-packed event.”  

The MedTech Conference 2025 was led by: Steering Committee co-chairs Lisa Earnhardt, executive vice president and group president, Medical Devices at Abbott; and Mick Farrell, chairman and CEO of ResMed; Program Committee chair Holly Sheffield, president of CooperSurgical; and the Host and Local Committee co-chairs, Shaye Exner, vice president, Events and Sponsorship of Biocom California; and Juliana Elstad, CEO of NuVibe Medical. 

The MedTech Conference featured hundreds of sessions and company presentations representing every aspect of medical technology. Program highlights:   

• Whitaker welcomed attendees with remarks and a dynamic video, highlighting patients whose lives have been transformed through medtech. 
• In headline keynote remarks, Zimmer Biomet’s Chairman, President, and CEO Ivan Tornos and Chief Movement Officer Arnold Schwarzenegger teamed up to deliver a call to action for the future of healthcare. 
• A keynote panel featured Earnhardt; Farrell; Shan Jegatheeswaran, global head, Johnson & Johnson MedTech Digital; and John Doyle, global chief technology officer, Healthcare and Life Sciences, Microsoft, moderated by Todd Mersch, general manager, U.S. Life Sciences and MedTech, Microsoft, on the ways artificial intelligence (AI) is actively reshaping the healthcare landscape. 
• MedTech Color hosted its eighth annual breakfast, featuring Dr. Jennifer Jones-McMeans, divisional vice president of global clinical affairs at Abbott Vascular Inc., who shared best practices for designing and executing clinical trials that expand access across the clinical trial ecosystem.  
• MedTechVets held its third annual Breakfast Networking and Panel, highlighting best practices for enhancing veteran visibility, elevating hiring and retention rates, and advocating for veterans seeking opportunities in medtech. 
• Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, Germany, Australia, India, Ireland, Brazil, Singapore, and other international exhibitors and speakers brought a global perspective, creating opportunities to hear directly from worldwide leaders. 
• The MedTech Conference spotlighted the ways digital health and AI are transforming patient care and business strategy. Sessions and activities featured leaders from companies across the ecosystem—including Dexcom, Google, Microsoft, Nanowear, and Oura—exploring everything from generative AI in research and development and clinical trials to connected care, wearables, and cross-industry collaboration. 
• AdvaMed hosted more than 170 company presentations across seven stages and session rooms, featuring the new Pitch & Pour: Start-up Competition and Happy Hour—a high-energy showcase for early-stage companies advancing innovations in military health. The winner was Cohesys CEO Michael Floros. 
• The event hosted hundreds of small and emerging companies and a series of events focused on helping them grow their businesses. The conference once again featured the Accel Leadership Seminar featuring topical panels on investment and financing and the Innovation Pavilion showcasing next-generation technologies. The vast majority of medtech companies are small businesses and startups, critical to developing innovation serving patients.  
• A town hall featured top leaders of the FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, including Dr. Michelle Tarver, director, for remarks and audience questions. AdvaMed’s Janet Trunzo moderated the session.  
• In the Patient Pavilion, attendees connected directly with patient organizations and saw the results for patients of leading companies such as Abbott, B. Braun Medical Inc., BD, Dexcom, Edwards Lifesciences, Johnson & Johnson MedTech, Olympus, Philips, Resmed, Smith+Nephew, Solventum, Stryker, and Zimmer Biomet. On the  Campus stages and in featured sessions, patients representing a wide range of conditions shared stories that remind everyone why medtech matters. These voices are the impetus for policy discussions and ground innovation in its ultimate purpose—improving lives. 
• The AdvaMed in Action series spotlighted the ways in which AdvaMed supports member companies and amplifies their impact. At this year’s conference, the series featured a session and a meetup focused on convening stakeholders across the medtech ecosystem to create consensus-driven standards that advance safety, quality, and innovation worldwide. 
• AdvaMed awarded its 2025 Lifetime Achievement Award, its most prestigious honor, to Mike Mussallem, former chairman and CEO of Edwards Lifesciences and former AdvaMed Board of Directors chairman.  
• MedTech Innovator gave out cash awards totaling $450,000 to five startup finalists competing in the Early-Stage Competition. The winner of the Grand Prize, Armor Medical, was selected based on a live audience vote and awarded $350,000, with each of the finalists receiving $25,000.  
• MedTech Innovator and AdvaMed Accel announced Wavelet as the winner of the 2025 MedTech Innovator Execution Award and the Virginia Shimer Rybski Memorial Award, which included a $25,000 cash prize and was determined by a live audience vote. 
• 365 current college students, recent graduates, early medtech career professionals, and veterans interested in medtech careers learned every aspect of medtech from panel sessions and programming and took advantage of special networking opportunities with career professionals to explore career paths.   

Next years MedTech Conference will be in Boston (Oct. 18-21) at the Thomas M. Menino Convention & Exhibition Center (MCEC).