Indianapolis, Indiana – October 14, 2025 – The American Academy of Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery Foundation (AAO-HNSF) is advancing its mission to foster meaningful industry partnerships and accelerate innovation in patient care through expanded offerings at the 2025 Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO. With the debut of both the Innovation Park in the OTO EXPO and the ENT Innovation Connection event, held on Friday, October 10, the Academy has created creating unprecedented opportunities for collaboration between the otolaryngology community and solution providers.
"The challenges facing healthcare today are too complex for any one entity to solve alone," said Rahul K. Shah, MD, MBA, AAO-HNS/F Executive Vice President and CEO. "By bringing together the collective expertise of our specialty with the innovative spirit of industry partners, we create a powerful ecosystem where breakthrough solutions can emerge and ultimately reach the patients who need them most."
Innovation Park: Where Breakthrough Technologies Meet Clinical Practice
Making its debut at the 2025 OTO EXPO, Innovation Park served as a premier showcase destination where cutting-edge medical technologies, devices, and solutions converged with the otolaryngology community. This dedicated exhibition space provided innovators and companies with an unparalleled opportunity to demonstrate their latest breakthroughs directly to practicing otolaryngologists, industry leaders, and decision-makers who actively seek solutions to enhance patient care.
Featured companies in the Innovation Park include startups at the forefront of ENT healthcare innovation: Intuit Medical Products, LLC; Medinotec Inc.; Materialize Bio; Sleep Mechanics, Inc.; and Spirair Inc. From emerging startups to established medical technology companies, Innovation Park created meaningful connections between solution providers and the physicians who implement these innovations in their daily practice.
ENT Innovation Connection: Fostering Strategic Partnerships
On Friday, October 10, the Academy hosted the ENT Innovation Connection, a specialized event designed to facilitate strategic dialogue between industry partners and Academy leadership. This forum provided a platform for discussing emerging technologies, identifying unmet clinical needs, and exploring collaborative opportunities that advance the specialty and improve patient outcomes.
The event exemplifies the Academy's commitment to building relationships that extend beyond traditional sponsorship models, instead focusing on partnerships that drive innovation, support professional development, and ultimately enhance the quality of care delivered to patients.
A Collaborative Approach to Healthcare Innovation
"When we align our goals with those of our industry partners – whether supporting physician education, advancing research, or improving patient outcomes – we create a synergy that benefits everyone, most importantly our patients," added Dr. Shah. "These new initiatives demonstrate our commitment to going farther together."
These initiatives reflect the AAO-HNSF's strategic vision that the future of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery depends on strong partnerships between clinicians, researchers, and industry innovators. By creating dedicated spaces and opportunities for meaningful engagement, the Academy is fostering collaboration that translates cutting-edge research and technology into practical solutions for everyday clinical challenges.
About the AAO-HNS/F
The AAO-HNS/F is one of the world’s largest organizations representing specialists who treat the ears, nose, throat, and related structures of the head and neck. Otolaryngologist-head and neck surgeons diagnose and treat medical disorders that are among the most common affecting patients of all ages in the United States and around the world. Those medical conditions include chronic ear disease, hearing and balance disorders, hearing loss, sinusitis, snoring and sleep apnea, allergies, swallowing disorders, nosebleeds, hoarseness, dizziness, and tumors of the head and neck as well as aesthetic and reconstructive surgery and intricate micro-surgical procedures of the head and neck. The Academy has approximately 13,000 members. The AAO-HNS Foundation works to advance the art, science, and ethical practice of otolaryngology-head and neck surgery through education, research, and quality measurement.