Is The Economic Recovery Happening Now? A Snapshot of Audience Reaction at MD&M East

Futurist and trend-spotter Jim Carroll spoke fast and furious at the MD&M East Conference and Exposition Wednesday, exhorting the audience to recognize the key characteristics of world-class innovators.

To keep the audience engaged, Carroll used a texting and cloud-based service to record audience reaction to a simple question: When do they believe the recovery is coming?

And the audience obliged. Here's a shot of their sentiment (I apologize for the image - I was at a corner trying to grab the last shot of the live results)

  • A full majority of the audience—56%—responded that it is happening as we speak.
  • Another 22% said that it would...
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June 19th, 2013
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Here's How The Affordable Care Act May Affect MedTech Suppliers
 
 Jim Brown, Medical Business Unit Manager, Colder Products 

 

Thousands of medical technology suppliers converged at the MD&M East conference and trade show in Philadelphia on Tuesday, and the handful that I spoke with broadly agreed that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is not having a major effect on their businesses. Or, at least, not as of yet.

Cost has been a perennial issue, and major OEMs continue to want to squeeze suppliers on price, according to both Michael Kirschnick, national sales manager at Westlake Plastics,...

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June 18th, 2013
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FDA Isn't Prepared to Deal with Digital Health, Cybersecurity

Following his keynote presentation at MD&M East Monday, Qualcomm Life's Rick Valencia spoke with MD+DI about FDA's struggles with digital health and its recent safety communication regarding cybersecurity for medical devices, which has garnered a great deal of attention from the mainstream media.

"I don't think the FDA currently has the infrastructure in place to deal with…digital health, in general. But I think it's very mindful of the challenges that are in front of it and also the opportunity that digital health presents," Valencia said. "...

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June 18th, 2013
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5 Facts about UDIs: Hints from FDA on the Final Rule

Everything we know is based on the proposed rule, said Judy Bunch. However, FDA has provided hints to what changes we should expect. Bunch, a former FDA employee and current senior regulatory affairs consultant at QA Consulting, spoke to attendees at the MD&M East 2013 conferences on what to expect.

1. The UDI final rule is due this week, Bunch told attendees, but FDA told her it would NOT come out this week. We will see it sometime in June, however.

2. Bunch said FDA planned to release a user guide back in May. The agency missed that deadline as well, but hopes to have the guide released at the same time the final rule is released.

3. FDA has hinted that it will refine and streamline convenience kit rules to make it easier to label such...

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June 18th, 2013
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How 3-D Printing Is Helping Doctors Do Their Jobs
Adam Stegeman of 3-D printing firm Stratasys holds up parts that are aiding physicians

The world of 3-D printing is no longer a fantasy.

Scores of companies have gathered at the MD&M East Conference and Exposition in Philadelphia to display their capabilities of 3-D printing and applications in the medical world. Mainly, they can speed up R&D and prototyping.

But one company—Stratasys, which makes a range of 3-D printers—has found...

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June 18th, 2013
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3D Printing Can Help Doctors Communicate With Peers And Help in Doing Dry Runs

The world of 3D printing is no longer a fantasy.

Scores of companies have gathered at the MD&M East Conference and Exposition in Philadelphia  to display their capabilities of 3D printing and applications in the medical world. Mainly they can speed up R&D and prototyping.

But one company - Stratasys, which makes a range of 3D printers - has found other applications as well.

Holding up a 3D-printed half skull, Adam Stegeman, senior applications engineer at the Minnesota firm, said that doctors are using customized 3D-printed materials as communication aids.

"When doctors talk to each other, they can hold up a skull or a foot to talk about the procedure," Stegeman said at the expo Tuesday.

That is important especially when patients with unique conditions walk through their doors, he added. That is a big improvement from holding up two dimensional MRI data because now you can take that MRI data and convert that to an actual...

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June 18th, 2013
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At MD&M East 2013, Two Scales Inspire Product Design

Qualcomm’s Rick Valencia uses two scales to measure his weight at home. “I try to keep pretty fit, but sometimes I have a bad weekend. And I don’t want everyone to know it,” he told delegates during the MD&M East Conferences Day 1 keynote. “So I weigh myself first on a standard scale, and then, if I like the results, I step on my Withing’s scale.” As readers might already know, the Withings scale records Valencia’s weight and places the data in a usable format so he can track and measure his progress. It also posts to Facebook, if desired.

Some people might call that cheating or gaming the system, but to a designer, particularly Brian Mason, who leads the...

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June 17th, 2013
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If Superman Needs a Shave He Should Visit an OEM

A blatant marketing campaign by Gillette razors has actually turned up some interesting discussion.

So if you watch the trailer for Man Of Steel you'll probably notice that Clark Kent appears with a beard early on, only to emerge as a clean-shaven Superman later in the film (presumably for the ladies).
 

 
 
The question is: How does Superman shave? After all, a man with super-everything-else must surely have hairs far stronger than a mere mortal's.
 
Gillette posed the same question to the Internet and received some very unique (and actually informative)...
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June 14th, 2013
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Five Things You Should Know Before MD&M East

Any trade show floor can be daunting, and a big conference like MD&M East in Philadelphia is no exception. June 17-20 will be filled with people to visit, connections to be made, and important lessons to learn to benefit your company.

Working a show may not be an easy task, so it’s important to know the basics before you arrive to make sure you don’t waste valuable time. Here are five things that you should know and be prepared for as you arrive at the Philadelphia Convention Center:

  • The Expo Show Stage offers plenty of educational keynotes on the expo show floor, many of them free for attendees. Look out for futurist Jim Carroll to discuss...
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June 14th, 2013
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Supreme Court's Myriad Genetics Decision Prompts Two Perspectives On Innovation

The debate has already begun on the ramifications on Supreme Court's Myriad Genetics decision.  In it, the court ruled that isolated genes can't be patented but synthetic material that alters those genes - also known as complementary DNA or cDNA - can.

Not surprisingly, intellectual property lawyers are none too happy. As this article notes, they have declared while the decision will increase competition, it will lower the incentive for innovation. 

Konstantin Linnik, a patent attorney at Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP in Boston,...

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June 14th, 2013
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