Prim Chanarat is the Assistant Plant Director at Infus Medical (Thailand) Co., Ltd, and has been with the company for 7 years. Her main responsibilities include overseeing the operations at both of the Infus facilities in Thailand, with a main focus on new product development. Prim works closely with all of Infus’ customers to ensure that their products are optimally developed and manufactured with quality, cost efficiency, and most importantly, patient safety in mind.
What initially attracted you to the medtech industry? How has your perspective on the industry evolved over the course of your career?
My undergraduate educational background is in architecture, but I was intrigued by the medtech industry and saw an opportunity to contribute to my family business, Infus Medical (Thailand) Co., Ltd., which was founded by my father and his partner over 30 years ago. The medtech industry is constantly innovating and evolving, improving procedures and patients’ safety and lives, making working in this industry extremely rewarding.
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?
The medtech industry today is so much more integrated in our everyday lives than it once was, ranging from the integration of data and AI to assist in diagnostics, to robotics to assist in manufacturing processes. Robotics will no doubt play a huge role in not only the physician and patient interface, but also in the manufacturing sector as well.
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?
One of the key challenges that medtech engineers might face is the use of AI to perform some of the tasks, taking over the role of some engineers. However, the tangible aspect of working in product development, whether prototyping, physically handling and manufacturing of the product is still very integral to the medical device manufacturing industry. There should be a healthy balance between the adopting of technology such as AI to assist in the process, and not letting the technology become the dominating mechanism.
In your opinion, what areas or applications within medtech have the greatest potential for growth and innovation? Why do you consider them promising?
I think medical devices that have new and advanced features to further improve the quality of the procedure for the patient and physician has promising growth. For example, disposable tubing sets with integrated sensors to detect the temperature at the surgical site, or smoke evacuation features for minimally invasive surgery will not only improve the outcome of the patient’s procedure, but also improve the environment for the personnel in the operating room.
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?
There are multiple sources of knowledge and experiences to learn from, whether from articles and podcasts or attending conferences and meeting other people in the field. I think medtech engineers should be open to reach for these resources and widen their horizon on what the industry and its people have to offer.
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?
I think it would be great to create an environment where medtech engineers can meet and have an exchange of ideas with professionals in other fields such as medicine and computer science. This could happen in the form of a conference or workshops to enable the interdisciplinary collaboration.
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?
Diversity and inclusion in the workplace allows members of the company to be exposed to multiple backgrounds, views, and opinions, enabling a culture for idea exchange. At Infus Medical, over 50% of our top management are women. Our engineering team for example, is over 60% women, and we have a wide range of ages and educational background. We do not recruit solely on a direct fit in terms of educational background, but also consider other factors that each member can contribute to the organization. When each member has a core competency on a specific knowledge, it enables a sense of respect and no doubt fosters a culture of innovation sustainably.
