October 1, 2025 | 9–10 a.m. | Center Stage

Keynote: Patient-Centered Innovation: Transforming the Future of Design and Development of Medical Devices

As global trends reshape the medtech landscape, patients are emerging as powerful stakeholders—more informed, engaged, and vocal in their healthcare journey. In parallel, regulators, payers, and healthcare professionals are demanding greater trust, transparency and evidence-based innovation. In this keynote, Deborah Appleyard, Senior Safety Officer at Johnson & Johnson MedTech, will explore how integrating the patient perspective into every stage of the product lifecycle is essential to meeting these demands. She will highlight how a closed-loop safety system—leveraging insights from clinical and post-market environments—can inform early design decisions, close critical information gaps, and ultimately deliver safer, more effective products.