MINNEAPOLIS — An old saying has it that clothes make the man, but one that rings even more true is that people make a company. That is, make it either good or not so good. A breakfast breakout session preceding the 12th annual MedTech Investing Conference at the Graves 601 Hotel drew a substantial audience of not-quite-bright-eyed attendees to hear three executives in the med-tech field discuss what they look for in new hires.

MINNEAPOLIS — There was a distinct good news/bad news vibe to the opening session of the 12th annual MedTech Investing Conference at the Graves 601 Hotel here on Wednesday, built around a question posed to the attendees by conference co-chairman Kevin Wasserstein.

Gregory Flamme, PhD, is an associate professor in the speech pathology and audiology department at Western Michigan University (WMU; Kalamazoo). He and a former student in the WMU audiology program, Nathan Williams, reported recently on a study they conducted on "Sports Officials' Hearing Status: Whistle Use as a Factor Contributing to Hearing Trouble," which was published in the January issue of the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Hygiene.

Eitan Machover is the newly appointed CEO of Wellsense, an Israeli-founded company whose U.S. operations are based in Nashville, Tennessee. Machover previously served as CEO of Ovalum Vascular. He was also a founder and managing director of MediTech Advisors, an advisory and venture capital group, and also spent nearly 15 years with General Electric in various corporate, capital and healthcare roles. He talked with MDD Senior Editor Jim Stommen about the company's work in developing the MAP System and the serious and costly problem of hospital-acquired pressure ulcers.