Sofía Vargas is business development manager at Intricon Costa Rica. Her mission is to bridge opportunity and technology for Intricon customers by creating new, impactful partnerships between the company and medical device pioneers in Costa Rica and beyond. Sofía joined Intricon as it announced plans to build a new state-of-the-art development and manufacturing facility in Costa Rica.

Before joining Intricon, Sofía was part of the team at CINDE. CINDE is Costa Rica’s private investment promotion agency, dedicated to supporting multinational companies as they establish operations in the country. Sofia worked exclusively for the Life Sciences sector, and she was integral in attracting new investment opportunities through international outreach, including consultation about Costa Rica’s Free Trade Zone Regime, supporting companies with real estate decisions, benchmarking, providing stakeholder relations, and supporting the establishment of businesses in the local medical device ecosystem. Prior to CINDE, Sofia worked with the Ministry of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica, as part of the Market Access Negotiating Team for Free Trade Agreements and on the country’s compliance with the World Trade Organization.

Sofía studied Economics in Universidad de Costa Rica and holds a Master’s Degree in Trade and International Markets. She has worked closely with companies throughout Central America, Panama, and the Dominican Republic on transfer pricing policies and transactions, as well as compliance with local legislation.

What initially attracted you to the medtech industry? How has your perspective on the industry evolved over the course of your career?

I’ve always liked to work for a purpose. Developing the life sciences industry in Costa Rica brings innovation that saves people’s lives and provides quality jobs to the Costa Rican people. My job has a double impact. That’s what attracted me to the industry, which keeps me focused and fascinated with the work.

The deeper I go in the industry, the more it amazes me. I’m always thinking about how to improve peoples’ lives, how to create a much less invasive technology for patients. At Intricon, we have a highly motivated team because it’s very easy to create passion around saving lives. I firmly believe that Intricon moves medical technology forward, bringing ideas that make a difference in people’s lives to reality.

What has evolved for me is understanding the importance of a resilient supply chain to medical device original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). That’s what Intricon’s new facility in Costa Rica will bring: the chance for customers to have proximity to this important supplier of sensor-driven medical devices, supported by  a cost-efficient manufacturing plant that allows OEMs to scale production of their devices to meet market demand.

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 drive toward miniaturization of medical devices for non- and minimally invasive procedures will continue. This will spur innovation from Intricon to make devices as small and smart as possible. Challenges that must be overcome include how to fit the required microelectronics into the smallest possible footprint, with the power required for the device to optimally function. Electromagnetic sensors for surgical navigation , one of the product categories that will be produced at Intricon Costa Rica, is an example of where such microtechnology is embedded into miniaturized devices.

Remote patient monitoring and hospital-at-home will become the norm, and innovation and production of wearable sensor-driven devices will need to accelerate to meet demand. These new realities will drive innovation in the design, development, and manufacturing of devices that will collect and transfer data between patient and physician.

We will see more consumer-like monitoring devices developed and manufactured for medical applications. I’m excited about this because our team at Intricon is focused exclusively on bringing patient-friendly, sensor-driven devices to the medical market.

From your experience, what are some of the key challenges that medtech professionals are likely to face in the coming years? How can professionals in the industry prepare for and navigate these challenges effectively?

Medtech engineers will face the challenge of designing highly innovative products that are small and smart – complex sensor-driven devices that incorporate advanced microelectronics for reliability, longevity, patient comfort, power, and data transfer capabilities. And they will have to do it while figuring out the best ways to keep costs low and meet aggressive timelines.

Luckily, medtech engineers at OEMs are increasingly partnering with specialists, like those we have at Intricon, early in their design process. When they bring us in at this stage, as micromedical experts, we can advise on ways to streamline the development and manufacturing of the device. We provide Design For Manufacturability (DFM) advice on how to reduce and eliminate cost and timeline risks of the entire production of the device.

Pressure for innovation, product acceleration, cost reduction, and product efficacy are heavy on the shoulders of design engineers as OEMs continue to compete in the market.

As technology continues to advance rapidly, how do you think medtech professionals can stay ahead of the curve and ensure they are equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge?

They can rely on trusted partners. They can centralize and deepen their partnerships with fewer vendors, those who are experts in the device they are creating and who can also provide value by helping them through regulatory requirements for new technologies and insight on current supply chains that will affect their product’s commercialization. Outside experts can be a wealth of knowledge because they’ve likely seen the opportunity or challenge before.

And, of course, they can stay ahead of the game by reading Medical Design & Outsourcing!

From a broader perspective, how do you see the role of medtech design and engineering in shaping the future of healthcare? What impact do you anticipate it will have on patient care and outcomes?

Patients will be able to enjoy of better-quality life with less invasive procedures, faster results, easy to use devices, companies more committed to sustainability in their manufacturing processes and design phases…

Considering the increasing importance of interdisciplinary collaboration, how do you think medtech professionals can effectively collaborate with professionals from other fields, such as medicine and computer science, to drive innovation in the industry?

I think this comes from an organizational culture that allows sharing across departments. Open communications and collaboration processes are key.

Again, I believe in partnering. Partners can share knowledge of what they’re seeing across OEMs – trends, patterns, best practices, etc. Outside knowledge vs. building up a large department allows for collaboration with a wider spectrum of people with various experiences and knowledge. At Intricon, for example, we advise customers on the differences between commercializing a consumer sensor device and a medical-grade sensor device. We help OEMs crack that code.

How do you think diversity and inclusion can contribute to the advancement of the medtech field? How do you foster a culture of innovation within your team or organization?

Interaction is very important. Innovation and creativity often emerge from the interaction and exchange of different perspectives, experiences, and skills. Create a collaborative environment where your team members can share their ideas and feedback and learn from each other.

It’s also important to generate spaces where creativity is promoted and opinions are validated, because a great idea can come from anywhere.

We are diverse people. I think you can be a better professional and person in a place that allows you to be the most real version of yourself.