Boston Scientific Corporation co-founder and medical device pioneer John Abele presented the inaugural Stetson Technological Advances in Medicine Lecture on August 23, 2016 in Carpenter Auditorium at the University of Vermont College of Medicine. Roughly 150 people attended his lecture, titled “The Law of Accelerating Returns,” which focused on the challenges facing the medical field as a result of the exponential acceleration of promising technological developments. Link to a video of the presentation here.

The lectureship fund supporting this first in a series was established through a $100,000 estate gift from UVM alumni John W. Stetson ’56 M.D.’60 and Roberta B. Stetson ’57. A Rutland resident and UVM Wilbur Fund scholarship recipient, Dr. Stetson had a 39-year career as an orthopaedic surgeon. Two recent personal experiences highlighted the impact of technological advances in medicine and inspired him and his wife to create the Stetson lectureship at the UVM College of Medicine. The first was his own double-knee replacement in 2015 in Syracuse, N.Y. and the second, which occurred during his post-surgical rehabilitation, was learning about how an innovative and minimally-invasive procedure called TAVR (Trans Aortic Valve Replacement) had completely changed the life of an elderly woman who had formerly struggled to breathe.

“Medicine has gone from the horse and buggy of my grandfather to a supersonic technological revolution that is globally limitless,” says Stetson, whose generous gift will allow leading-edge thinkers and researchers from around the world to come to UVM for an annual lecture devoted to exploring how technology is continually advancing patient care.

Abele is the retired founding chairman and a director of Boston Scientific Corporation and a leader in the field of “Less Invasive Medicine.” He holds numerous patents and has published and lectured extensively on the technology of various medical devices and on the technical, social, economic, and political trends and issues affecting healthcare. His major interests are science literacy for children, education, and the process by which new technology is invented, developed, and introduced to society. Current activities include vice-chairman of the FIRST Foundation, which works with high school kids to make being science-literate cool and fun, and the development of The Kingbridge Conference Center and Institute, a conferencing institution whose mission is to research, develop, and teach improved methods for interactive conferencing: problem solving, conflict resolution, strategic planning, new methods for learning and generally help groups to become “collectively intelligent.”