When Angelina Jolie opted for her double mastectomy after genetic testing, she publicized her personal health care plan. However, the company that funded the test she used may be sending the medical device industry backwards, not forwards.
In a CNN op-ed, Gayle Sulik of the Breast Cancer Consortium, points out that Myriad, which created the BRCAnalysis test that Jolie used for her diagnosis, owns the patents on BRCA1 and BRCA2, also known as the breast cancer genes. Myriad is the only company that can test for those genetic markers. The lack of competition in the marketplace has enabled a price spike.
Myriad isn’t alone; 40% of the human genetic code is patented, according to Weill Cornell Medical College. The state of patents on genetic code...
In recent years, many electronics manufacturers have been adopting the use of video inspection systems utilizing digital cameras to perform many of the visual inspection functions formerly performed with optical microscopes. Digital camera technology has improved to the point where their image quality now rivals that of optical instruments for many applications.The use of video instruments for the inspection of printed circuit boards, individual electronic components, solder joints, and conformal coatings, has been widely accepted. Some of the major advantages that video inspection systems offer is the software that gives the user the ability to capture, store, and share images and videos. They can also perform...
