All those who plan to attend MUST let me know no later than 11/11/09. (If you do not RSVP, you will not be allowed through Philips’ security.)

The complete list of attendees will then be forwarded to Philips to perform a background check and you must provide a photo ID to Security on the night of the event.

Please note that these new requirements are due to stricter homeland security measures and are not negotiable. Thank you in advance for your understanding.

Please… you MUST RSVP to secretary@bmet.org to attend.

In planning the event last spring, the WSBA officers entertained some very ambitious ideas.  However, the initial commitment for attendance that we received from members was not enough to support some of these goals.  For example, we weren’t able to offer a class on x-ray basics taught by the good folks at Ditech. Although they were willing to support us, we didn’t feel we could ask them to come all this way if we couldn’t guarantee a minimum turnout.  We’re open to ideas that will encourage more participation.

In my opinion, the WSBA has two very solid strengths: a core group of members who show up, participate and pitch in willingly, and vendors who willingly and happily donate time, energy, and money to support us.

Finally, I’d like to recognize, on behalf the members and officers of the WSBA, Lynda Wilkinson for her tireless efforts to make sure we had a successful day of training and North Seattle Community College for continuing to support our organization.  And a big THANKS for all the manufacturer’s representatives who helped to make our 2009 Symposium a success:

David Sieminski
Philips / Respironics

Crystal Miller
Masimo

Corrie Schumacher and Jerry Norimatsu
Echoserve

Jerry Zion, Mick Daly, and Gary Hoffman
Fluke

Ashley Vogelsang
AVI

Greg Alkire
Pronk Technologies

Eric Willingham and Jeremy Skillicorn
Welch Allyn

Matt Tomory and Barry Horning
Conquest Imaging

Tim Dugaw
Baxter

Tom Winstel, Kristina Sutton Ermers
Medtronic

Jim Scott
Seattle Surgical

Seth Schnurman
BPI

Friday Night Meet and Greet Opening

Meet and Greet

Saturday Morning Opening

Ultrasound Basics

Table Top Autoclaves

Surgical Tables

Defibrillator Test Protocols

LP 20

Saturday Night Dinner

Lucky Winner!

Please RSVP by emailing: secretary@bmet.org

Location: North Seattle Community College

Start Date: 09-18-2009

End Date: 09-19-2009

Please RSVP by emailing: secretary@bmet.org

BPI also allowed members wander around their spacious work area, asking questions of those directly involved in the myriad repairs and refurbishments that is their specialty.

Thanks BPI for once again making the WSBA feel so welcome and well-fed!

The Chef

Winner!

The agenda for the evening included WSBA business regarding another group that attempted to form chapters in what they thought were underserved areas of  Washington and Oregon. By the time we met, this group had already ended its charter, leaving us still a bit unsettled, but relieved nonetheless. A big tempest in a small teapot.

The WSBA thanks Harborview Medical Center, Philips, and David Sieminski for an informative and interesting evening.

Pre-meeting meal and social

Some WSBA members

President and Secretary discuss WSBA business

David Sieminski opens lecture.

Christopher Cella presents.

Christopher Cella of Philips.

WSBA President, Sandy Whyte, opened the meeting with a discussion of the upcoming Symposium and the classes that might be offered.  He also requested  input from members about the classes they would like to have. President-Elect Mark Ruark, spoke about our website.  Thanks to Virginia Mason Medical Center and Echoserve for an interesting and informative evening and great food.  Thanks to Secretary Corrie Schumacher for organizing the meeting.

President Sandy opens the meeting.

Echoserve's Jerry Norimatsu.

WSBA members.

Courtney Allen, Radiology Applications Specialist with Virginia Mason

Secretary Corrie Schumacher.

The Washington State Biomedical Association met March 18 at the Allen Institute for Brain Science. It was a first-rate opportunity to see the equipment used to support cutting edge research.

After an excellent dinner of gourmet pizza and salad, the Engineering Manager, Cliff Slaughterbeck, PhD., gave a talk entitled, “This is Your Brain. This is Your Brain on the Internet,” which described their ongoing project of creating a three-dimensional map of active genes in the adult mouse brain. He also talked a little about an upcoming project to map the human brain. Afterwards,  he led two separate groups on a tour of the facilities, showing us the equipment (some of which he had designed himself) used to process and digitize the mice brains.

Much more information about the Allen Institute can be found at www.alleninstitute.org.

Information about the Allen Brain Atlas can be found at www.brain-map.org, where the Allen Institute research is made public. Both sites, especially the brain map site, are worth a look.

The WSBA would like to thank Viki Phillips, Support Engineer,  Cliff Slaughterbeck, Engineering Manager and the Allen Institute for Brain Science for such an informative and enjoyable meeting.

Enjoying some pizza.

Cliff Slaughterbeck starts a tour.

Cliff shows off some of his cool tools.

President Sandy Whyte opened the meeting and introduced the new incoming board members. Also in attendance from the board were Corrie Schumacher, Secretary, and President -Elect, Mark Ruark.

Steris surgical-table technician, Larry Hetzer, gave an interesting and informative talk on the 3080/3085 table, starting with an overview of the table itself. Then he discussed the PM process. A 3085 table was available so that members had an example of the systems Larry was discussing.

Thanks to Johnny Shuffield, and his team from Steris, for a great presentation!

Thanks to Kile Jackson, Regional Manager for Modern Medical Systems, for providing the food. Thanks also to those members who drove from Vancouver for making the effort to attend.

Don’t miss out on the March 18 meeting. RSVP today!

WSBA members view OR table

Larry Hetzer demonstrates techniques

Larry Hetzer from Steris

Please RSVP by emailing: secretary@bmet.org