Interview: Annabelle Drault, Paris

 
 “I’d like to improve the priorities listed above. I’d like also to help on bringing the 3DHEALS website to be an active platform for Q&A on which people could rely on and that could be a reference in the field.”
 
 
Community: Paris

3DHEALS members can get in touch with: Annabelle Drault here

Jenny: Tell us, what is one quote that represents you?
Annabelle: Be yourself, everyone else is taken
Jenny: Tell us a little about yourself. (Where are you from originally? Where are you located? What are you working on?)
Annabelle: I have a biological background and studied engineer sciences through medical at the Biosciences Institute of Paris (ISBS). I am based in Paris working in a promising startup with the vision of providing patient-specific planning solutions in the interventional field (BIOMODEX) as a global neurovascular product manager.
My goal is to ensure the communication with our clients as well as between all teams to lead the continuous improvement of our endovascular intracranial aneurysm solution (EVIAS) and integrate all the feedbacks. I started at Biomodex as a project leader in the ENT field where I developed temporal bones to help surgeons train on cochlear implantation.
Jenny: What made you decide to become a 3DHEALS community manager?
Annabelle: I like to meet different profiles and hear their stories. I also believe strongly in education and would like to help people to see clearer in that field.
Jenny: If you have already organized a 3DHEALS event, what were your experiences like? (Photos?) Anything unexpected happened?
Annabelle: I have helped the previous 3DHEALS Paris Community manager to organize the first event and really liked it. The panel was very diverse. Fortunately, all went well and the assembly brought interesting questions.
Jenny: What do you think of innovations in healthcare 3D printing or bioprinting? What do you hope to see in the next five years? 10 years?
Annabelle: They are so diverse and that is exciting! People start to own it in a very different way. It becomes a technology we couldn’t do without. As I said, I am very concerned about education and I’d like to see it in school taught as a matter on its own just like the IT courses I received when I was younger. From an application point of view, I can’t wait for the upcoming bioprinting and organs replacement to see if it keeps its promises
Jenny: If you have done 3D printing before, what have you made/designed? (Photos if available, preferably in healthcare application)
Annabelle: I started being in contact with 3D printing when I was in engineer school with the “My human Kit” project and dived really into it within my first company where I designed patient-specific guides for bone tumor resection (SLS technology). At that time, I was working on a research project on SLS 3D printed parts characterization. I am now at Biomodex where I work every day with multi-material 3D printers that allow me to be very creative mechanically speaking.
Jenny: Most of our community managers are entrepreneurial and adventurous, what risks/adventures have you taken that you’d like to share with us? Any hopes or regrets?
Annabelle: I remember applying for the job I have now with fewer experience than required but the project was such interesting and such corresponding to what I had done so far that I took the risk to apply and even more, I took the risk to come knowing they were waiting a lot and that was going to be challenging. I can tell now that I don’t regret it!
Jenny: Who would you like to find and to include in the 3DHEALS community you are building?
Annabelle: Obviously, Biomodex for its proposal in the functionalization of 3D printed replicas and the deep use of poly jet 3Dprinters resources.
I’d like to include also my former company that is doing a great job in the patient-specific area and that recently reshaped the strategy with a software solution for patient-specific planning follow-up. That’s amazing!
Jenny: What would you like to accomplish with this new 3DHEALS community in the future?
Annabelle: I’d like to be very present on education and organize talks around very specific subjects
Jenny: What do you think about the innovation environment (for health tech or for general technology) in your city? What can be done to improve it?
Annabelle: The innovation environment is developing a lot in Paris. We have very good incubators pushing innovation. I can think of new incubators like station F and the start-up garage from facebook. We have also big fab labs allowing to develop great prototypes given the facilities available. From a 3D point of view, I think they lack some 3D printers other than FDM ones. They probably could diversify this part.
Jenny: What are you most proud of about your city?
Annabelle: Paris is such a great place for culture access. I can’t think of any other cities with so many museums and theaters. It would be lying to tell that you can’t find an exhibition that interests you. Even with all those historical places, the city is always reinventing itself with modern and innovative architecture and exhibitions proposals.
Jenny: What are you most proud of about the innovation community in your city?
Annabelle: For some years now, the government is willing to push start-ups and innovation. A lot of investments are made to host those start-ups and give them access to mentoring. Big French family businesses (like Dassault systems and the 3D experience lab) are also proposing acceleration programs.
Jenny: What do you think are the top priorities in healthcare innovations for your city/community?
Annabelle:

1. The understanding between medical teams and engineers
2. Sharing experience
3. Integrate more innovations courses (means, applications) in schools, universities.

Jenny: What do you hope to accomplish through your role as the 3DHEALS community manager?
Annabelle: I’d like to improve the priorities listed above. I’d like also to help on bringing the 3DHEALS website to be an active platform for Q&A on which people could rely on and that could be a reference in the field.
Jenny: What do you do for fun?
Annabelle: I do film photography and like to capture people’s emotions. I am also into fashion with embroidery and leatherwork. I love to do things with my hands.  
Jenny: Anything else?
Annabelle: Looking forward to it!