Medical Device Link.

So, you followed the trail of breadcrumbs from the cover and ended up here, anticipating a momentous announcement. If you got to this page by some other route, drop everything and make a U-turn back to the cover. I’ll wait.

Now that we are all on the same page—feel free to groan—an explanation is in order. The short version is that this is the last time you will read my missive here. In fact, this is the last time you will see this magazine. Ever. And here’s why that’s good news: In January 2010, we will introduce a brand new publication . . . with a distinguished past. European Medical Device Technology (EMDT) will combine the succinct, targeted sourcing information of European Medical Device Manufacturer (EMDM) with the in-depth technical articles of its long-standing sister publication Medical Device Technology (MDT) in one comprehensive magazine for the pan-European device industry. The editorial staff that you have come to trust from both publications will pool its expertise and talent in this exciting new venture.

EMDT will be published 10 times a year in addition to the annual Source Book, the premier buyers’ guide for Europe’s med-tech professionals. The EMDT portfolio also will absorb the many electronic products that you rely on including the English- and German-language medtechinsider blogs and newsletters and industry’s most comprehensive online suppliers’ directory at www.sourcebook.co.uk. Also in January, we will launch www.emdt.co.uk, a brand new website where the EMDM, MDT and EMDT archives will sit alongside our popular Ask the Experts feature and frequently updated original content. As publisher Colin Martin explained in a recent press release, the EMDT brand is designed to serve as a single source of medical device design and manufacturing information for engineers and other personnel in Europe’s medical device and diagnostics industry.

The editorial content of EMDT will provide readers with comprehensive technical information on all aspects of the design and manufacture of finished medical devices. The magazine also will report extensively on new products and services that allow engineers to develop and produce leading-edge medical products. As for industry news and other time-sensitive information, we won’t keep it under wraps until the next issue prints—that information will be distributed immediately to readers via the medtechinsider blogs and on www.emdt.co.uk.

In developing the EMDT portfolio, we made a firm commitment to use the various media at our disposal to distribute information in the most timely and effective manner. Hence, the decision to put breaking news online and reserve our print medium for in-depth technical articles and related editorial content that merits a more leisurely read.

As a valued subscriber, you will automatically receive EMDT, but we will be contacting you shortly to make a personal request for your annual subscription.

We are all very excited about our new portfolio of print and digital products built on the foundations of two highly respected 20-year-old industry publications. Come January, I think you will be, too.