Monica Restorff has over 20 years of experience in positions of increasing responsibility, most recently as Director of Quality at Medbio LLC (formerly Polymer Conversions Inc.). Prior to that she was a Sr. Supplier Quality Manager supervising a staff providing supplier quality support to 15 facilities throughout the Eastern US and Europe for Integer (formerly Greatbatch Medical). Additionally, she has 5 years of experience in developing and implementing supplier quality systems in the highly regulated medical device industry. As a Six Sigma Black Belt, she has managed projects resulting in millions of dollars of savings from yield improvement initiatives, efficiency gains, and quality improvements. She started the medtech portion of her career doing research and development on batteries and capacitors for implantable medical devices such as pacemakers and implantable cardio-defibrillators (ICDs). Prior to working in medtech, she worked on semiconductor research in migrogravity supporting multiple experiments on the space shuttle. She has a strong background in materials processing with a B.S. in Metallurgical Engineering & Materials Science from Carnegie-Mellon University (CMU), and a Ph.D. in Ceramics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). She also studied French. Outside of the office, she likes to cook and bake and she often uses kitchen references to explain materials processing concepts.
What initially attracted you to the medtech industry? How has your perspective on the industry evolved over the course of your career?
After spending 7 years working on microgravity materials science experiments on the space shuttle, I realized that I wanted a change to something that mattered more in the immediate. The work that I was doing with NASA mattered to the advancement of science in the big picture, but the work I was doing on medical devices mattered to people’s lives every day. I liked knowing that I was improving people’s quality of life every day when I went to work and that has not changed. I still like knowing that if I do my job well, I can positively affect the lives of many others.
As a seasoned professional in the industry, how do you envision the future of medtech? What emerging technologies or trends do you believe will have the most significant impact?
Artificial Intelligence combined with robotics is going to drive rapid change. Specifically, the ability to use robots to present parts to cameras, that then use AI to determine if the parts are acceptable will drive Quality consistency farther than we’ve seen previously.
From your experience, what are some of the key challenges that medtech engineers are likely to face in the coming years? How can professionals in the industry prepare for and navigate these challenges effectively?
Cost pressures are going to impact most businesses and medtech is no exception. Everyone is going to need to be aware of the costs of materials, labor, waste, etc. People that develop skills in things like Lean Six Sigma will be best positioned for this.
In your opinion, what areas or applications within medtech have the greatest potential for growth and innovation? Why do you consider them promising?
There is great potential for growth in diagnostic testing and treatment options that can be provided in the doctor’s office. This reduces both the time commitment needed by the patient and the time to treatment. Once platforms are adopted and present in doctor’s offices, the potential to add additional tests and treatments to the same platforms is huge.
As technology continues to advance rapidly, how do you think medtech engineers can stay ahead of the curve and ensure they are equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge?
Continuing education is key. This does not have to be formal training. There is lots of information on the internet, including free courses. Everyone should be looking for ways to continue learning in multiple areas, including your subject specialty area, technology in general, and interpersonal skills.
From a broader perspective, how do you see the role of medtech engineering in shaping the future of healthcare? What impact do you anticipate it will have on patient care and outcomes?
Technology is going to make it possible for doctors to get point of care test results on many more health issues. Thus, diagnosis and treatment will start faster and should lead to better outcomes.
Considering the increasing importance of interdisciplinary collaboration, how do you think medtech engineers can effectively collaborate with professionals from other fields, such as medicine and computer science, to drive innovation in the industry?
Interdisciplinary collaboration is essential. In the area of visual inspection of medical device components for example, the quality engineer coordinates and validates the project, but computer scientists are necessary to train the artificial intelligence databank, automation engineers are needed to program the robots to present the parts to the cameras, and medical professionals are needed to assess the risk of different anomalies and to determine the impact of various potential failure modes. Similar collaboration is necessary for any major innovation. This collaboration may take place in person or virtually depending on the circumstances of the project.
How do you think diversity and inclusion can contribute to the advancement of medtech engineering? How do you foster a culture of innovation within your team or organization?
Every individual brings something unique to the table as a result of their individual life experiences. It’s the ability of different people to see things differently that leads to the fastest problem solving and best group brainstorming. I have always believed that if you treat everyone with respect, get to know them as an individual, and value their strengths, you can foster the growth of every individual leading to a great team.