The Georgia Biomedical Instrumentation Society partnered with leaders in the biomedical engineering field to host the 2017 GBIS Technical Conference/Expo last month.

The executive director of biomedical engineering and manager of biomedical engineering at WellStar Health System, John Richards and Cecilia Byers, respectively, hosted the conference for the third time at the WellStar Development Center in Atlanta, Georgia.

The conference featured several educational courses on preventive maintenance for portable X-rays, fundamentals of sterilization and disinfection of equipment, cybersecurity, patient monitoring integration, and more.
The attendees were admitted at no cost and were encouraged to attend the educational courses, a silent auction for a charity fundraiser and a meet-and-greet event for networking. Health care technology management professionals also offered training for the attendees.

"Most health care institutions can’t afford to give HTM professionals the training involved in maintaining the numerous medical devices in their facilities," Horace Hunter, executive director of GBIS, said in a statement. "That is why being a part of a society like GBIS is so important."

Attendees were also encouraged to visit the exhibition booths. The vendors included Welch Allyn, Bayer HealthCare, USOC Bio-Medical Services, Spectrum Technologies, VIZZIA, Pronk Technologies and more.

Local associations in Georgia founded GBIS in the 1980s with the goal of improving the knowledge and growth of biomedical engineers in the state. Those groups included the Atlanta Biomedical Association, Central Georgia Biomedical Association, South Georgia Biomedical Medical Instrumentation and the Savannah Area Biomedical Society.

GBIS started with about 100 members, including biomedical engineering students, manufacturers, hospitals and colleges, and membership has increased each year during the annual conferences. For the past three years, GBIS has teamed up with MD Expo to host the annual event.

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