Byron Hayes - Senior Scientist – Biomaterials R&D – W.L. Gore & Associates, Medical Products Division:  www.goremedical.com

Byron Hayes has leveraged his chemistry background with W.L. Gore for over 40 years where he has been actively involved in the early development and commercialization of Gore’s multiple absorbable implant products.  Holding 5 issued US and multiple foreign patents in this area and further leveraging his over three decades of focus on both the processing and evaluation of hydrolysable absorbable polymers and implants, he has been actively involved for over 2 decades in the development of medical device industry standards within ASTM Committee F04 (Medical and Surgical Materials and Devices), ISO Technical Committee 150 (Implants for Surgery) and ISO TC 194 (Biological and Clinical Evaluation of Medical Devices), the latter of which covers the ISO 10993 series.  Within these standards organizations he currently chairs the ASTM F04 Joint Task Group on Absorbable Polymers and Test Methods, Convenes the ISO TC150 Working Group on Cardiovascular Absorbable Implants, is Chair of the US Technical Advisory Group to the ISO TC150/SC1/WG5 Working Group on Plastics, and also acts as Liaison between ISO TC150/SC2 (Cardiovascular implants and extracorporeal systems) and the ISO TC194, with focus toward absorbable implant related topics - regardless of material composition.