Medgadget Exclusive / Medicine / Net News / Pediatrics / Public Health

Diabetes Design Demo Day Semi-Finalist: GreenDot

by Nicholas Genes on May 22, 2012
Diabetes Design Demo Day Semi-Finalist: GreenDot

Next up in our coverage of semi-finalists for Sanofi’s Data Design Diabetes Demo Day is GreenDot, which used to be called Diabetes 3.0 (good idea on the name change, guys!)

GreenDot was started by two UCSF endocrinologists – Jenise Wong and Aaron Neinstein. We believe they’re the only doctor-originated company in this bunch. They were frustrated, and their patients were frustrated, with the overwhelming amount of data generated by pumps and glucometers. Data in its own format, and in nonstandard layouts, is challenging for patients to interpret and difficult for doctors to compare.

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Cardiac Surgery / Cardiology / Radiology / Vascular Surgery

OrbusNeich’s Combo Dual Therapy Stent Continues to Show Promise in Clinical Trial

by Brian Klein on May 22, 2012
OrbusNeich's Combo Dual Therapy Stent Continues to Show Promise in Clinical Trial

In November 2011, we reported the preliminary results of the REMEDEE clinical trial for the Combo Dual Therapy stent from OrbusNeich (Hoevelaken, Netherlands). The stent was developed to promote endovascular healing and cut the risk of restenosis compared to current bare-metal and drug-eluting stents. The randomized REMEDEE trial (Randomized Evaluation of an abluMinal sirolimus coatED bio- Engineered stEnt) found that the Combo Dual Therapy stent was non-inferior to the TAXUS Liberté paclitaxel-eluting stent based on in-stent late lumen loss at nine months.

More recently, at EuroPCR 2012, the company has announced the 12-month follow-up from the study. Data from that study indicate that the stent was associated with favorable clinical and safety outcomes over the TAXUS Liberté stent.

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in the news...

Presentations from Health Hack Day Now Available for Online Viewing

by Gene Ostrovsky on May 22, 2012 •

health hack day face Presentations from Health Hack Day Now Available for Online ViewingThis past weekend, Hoa’s Tool Shop and Psykologifabriken, two Swedish sister companies, hosted the Health Hack Day (really three days), an event in Stockholm where computer programmers get to spar in a challenge to develop new medical apps.

The organizers posted video presentations from the Health Hack Day participants and here is team Line HQ, the winner of the contest, presenting their app that reads urinalysis test strips and converts the results for easy reading by professionals and patients.

Link: Video presentations from Health Hack Day…

Flashback: Health Hack Day Invites Developers for an App Challenge

Geriatrics / Medicine / OTC / Rehab

Inclusive Pill Bottles for the Blind

by Gavin Corley on May 22, 2012
Inclusive Pill Bottles for the Blind

Here at Medgaget we are fanatical about all kinds of hi-tech gadgetry as it applies to healthcare. However, some of the most interesting and thoughtful innovations we see can often be surprisingly low-tech. A  new prototype prescription-medicine pill bottle for blind and visually impaired people is a case in point. Two University of Cincinnati design students, Alex Broerman and Ashley Ma have designed their “Inclusive Bottles for the Blind” in order to make identification and use of pill bottles more straightforward and affordable than existing hi-tech solutions.

The bottles were designed after carrying out a survey of existing products and end-users identified a number of limitations with available pill bottles. According to the press release, the key features of the design comprise:

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Medgadget Exclusive / Medicine / Net News / Pediatrics / Public Health

Data Design Diabetes Demo Day Semi-Finalist: iRetainRx

by Nicholas Genes on May 21, 2012
Data Design Diabetes Demo Day Semi-Finalist: iRetainRx

First up in our coverage of semi-finalists for Sanofi‘s Data Design Diabetes Demo Day is iRetainRx. Previous coverage here and here.

iRetainRx’s founder and CEO, David Parpart, began the pitch boldly, by saying, “We are going to save 500,000 lives this decade.” He then went on to describe how their interactive mobile system will allow caregivers, patients and pharmacists to collaborate on care plans. See, for every 100 prescriptions, only a fraction are filled, and only a fraction of those are even taken correctly. This attrition is particularly difficult with diabetes, where the regimens are complicated, the effect of the drugs can be hard to notice, and yet: noncompliance leads to huge extra social costs.

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OTC / Pediatrics

New Pacifier Gets Premature Babies to Suck

by Shiv Gaglani on May 21, 2012
New Pacifier Gets Premature Babies to Suck

When you think of cutting-edge medical technology, a baby’s pacifier probably does not come to mind. However, Florida State University and Powers Device Technologies announced today the development and commercialization of an innovative, yet simple, medical device for infants born prematurely. The problem is that premature babies often do not develop a skill known as “non-nutritive sucking,” which is critical for breathing, feeding, self-comforting, and growing both physically and neurologically. This behavior begins developing when the fetus is at the 28 week stage, though continues to develop throughout to week 34; hence when a baby is born prematurely, it may not have developed proper form for a breathe-suck-swallow reflex.

The device, known as the Pacifier Activated Lullaby (PAL), is essentially a pacifier that plays music when the baby is sucking on it properly. According to the press release:

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Medgadget Exclusive / Net News / Public Health / Society

Dr. Oz, Practice Fusion Give Philadelphia a Physical (video interview)

by Shiv Gaglani on May 21, 2012
Dr. Oz, Practice Fusion Give Philadelphia a Physical (video interview)

What do one of the most recognizable doctors in America and a rapidly growing electronic medical record (EMR) start-up have in common? Apparently, a commitment to public health and fascination with health data. This past weekend Medgadget was invited to observe Dr. Mehmet Oz, of The Dr. Oz Show, team up with Practice Fusion to screen a few hundred Philadelphians at the Temple University School of Medicine. Dozens of physicians and medical students were on hand to provide a “15-minute physical” consisting of BMI, blood pressure, and waist circumference measurements as well as lab tests including a lipid panel (HDL, LDL, and triglycerides) and blood glucose, made possible by Alere‘s mobile lab device, Cholestech LDX, which synced directly to Practice Fusion’s EMR. This allowed Practice Fusion to generate a real-time “report card” for Philadelphia, which Dr. Oz then presented to Mayor Michael Nutter in addition to taking the Mayor’s blood pressure (135/80) and waist circumference.

We had the opportunity to catch up with Practice Fusion as well as Dr. Oz and his medical unit’s clinical event director, Mike Hoaglin (pictured above with Dr. Oz), to ask them about the screening and what excites them about collecting city-wide data.

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Net News / Ophthalmology

Zeiss Launches Online Vision Screening Platform (Medgadget Interview)

by Brian Klein on May 21, 2012
Zeiss Launches Online Vision Screening Platform (Medgadget Interview)

An online screening tool from Carl Zeiss Vision enables visitors to test their visual acuity, contrast vision, and color vision. Designed for people who wear glasses or contacts as well as those who don’t, the site was developed for the company’s “100 Years of Zeiss Precision Lenses” anniversary and as part of Healthy Vision Month. The site provides instructions that enable the user’s computer monitor to be configured to optimize the accuracy of the test, including instructions for how to achieve the correct settings for screen calibration, gamma calibration (brightness), and how far the eyes should be from the monitor. Results from the test come back within five minutes or less to let the user know if their vision is good, average or poor.

To learn more about the platform, Medgadget spoke to Jeff Hopkins, Carl Zeiss Vision’s senior manager of professional affairs.

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in the news... / Medgadget Exclusive

Data Design Diabetes Demo Day Coverage

by Nicholas Genes on May 21, 2012
Data Design Diabetes Demo Day Coverage

On Wednesday evening we had the chance to return to Blueprint Health HQ for the Sanofi-sponsored contest event called Data Design Diabetes Demo Day (brought to you DDAVP). Medgadget spoke with some of the judges last month about the challenges of diabetes care, the goals of DDDemo day, and their choices for the five semi-finalists.

Well, on Wednesday the five semi-finalists had their chance to present their plans for improving US diabetes care: Greendot, EnduringFX, LiveHealth, iRetainRx, and N4A Diabetes Care Center.

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