Medtronic Innovation Center Is Like Medical Epcot

Here’s another report by Medgadget editor Dan Buckland from his trip to Minnesota to visit the headquarters of Medtronic.
To get a good idea of where Medtronic sees the future of medical information technology, go to Minneapolis and visit the Mounds View Bakken Education Center (note: you probably will need an appointment). It gives off the impression of Disney Epcot’s Tommorowland, complete with gift shop but with fewer kids around. The center is billed as a place where physicians come to meet with company employees to discuss products in development, partnerships and it’s where Medtronic demonstrates future concepts to gain feedback. Using high end computers, tablets, teleconferencing, advanced inventory tracking, and other tech, the Education Center speaks to the Medtronic’s prediction of the integrated OR of the near future. Open to internal Medtronic tours since October, the showroom places a heavy emphasis on a new IT infrastructure. A non-disclosure agreement prevents us from detailing the tech inside (a 2008 Star Tribune article describes it as having “two virtual catheterization labs to help train doctors and company field representatives”) but many non-medical tech brands are well represented and Medtronic has put together a very slick integrated health IT system from the looks of it.
Previously: Future Directions For Medtronic…