There’s an old story about a farmer who lost a horse, and the neighbor said “such bad news.” Then the horse came back with a bunch more in tow, and the neighbor said “such good news!” Then the farmer’s son broke his arm breaking one of the new horses and … well you get the idea. Sometimes you can tell the difference, sometimes not. With that in mind, we examine two stories appearing recently in the pages of Medical Device Daily. CMS; Trustees report is happy, happy The Centers for...

The merry month of May is just about kaput, so let’s ask ourselves how entertaining the past five months of May have been. Entertaining, that is, if you’re a med tech geek or wonk, and it’s a cinch you’re one or both of those if you’re reading this. 2008 The May 5, 2008, edition of Medical Device Daily included a story by MDD’s Omar Ford describing the decision by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services to cover the use of artificial hearts. The decision was a landmark for patients, but one...

The MedTech Investing Conference held each May in Minneapolis is one of the more interesting investor-focused gatherings on the calendar. It always earns accolades from attendees as representing one of the best opportunities to bring together venture capitalists, entrepreneur/innovators and corporate development types, the latter of whom are always happy to spread the message that they’re open for business. Held for the 12th year earlier this month, the conference offered quite the reminder of the range of emotions being felt these days by those involved with or interested in med-tech. During his welcoming comments, conference co-chairman Kevin Wasserstein, founder and principal...

If I had to describe Jamar Rogers in just one word it would be life. More than anyone else I have ever met or spoken with, Jamar Rogers is full of life. It was evident from the first time I saw him on the second season of NBC’s The Voice and it was reconfirmed last week when I spoke with him on the phone, that this is a guy who is truly living his best life. Jamar’s spirit and energy and courage shines through everything he does, on stage and off. One of the things that have allowed him to...

The latest news about the Internal Revenue Service does nothing to comfort those who have to routinely interact with the agency, but it does seem to tie in with other behaviors by the Obama administration, regardless of whether anyone at the White House “knew about it.” So what does all this mean? Let’s take a look at some recent developments and ask ourselves where exactly the problem in Washington is located. First, the IRS scandal, consisting of a systematic targeting of tax groups with words such as “tea party” in their names, makes clear the agency is not to be...

OK, I admit it, I love to sleep! If I need any more reminders that I am getting old – thinning hairline, constant aches and pains, the imminent arrival of reading glasses – the fact that I really enjoy going to bed early should be a sign. To me, nothing is more relaxing than a good book and some peace and quiet before nodding off; 10:00 is usually about right. Accompanying me on the bedside table is a sound machine which creates soothing background noise to help drown out the...

Remember when expectant parents would go around showing off their ultrasound pictures to 350 or more of their family, friends, co-workers, neighbors, and old classmates? Neither do I. Yet on any given day I can see 3-D ultrasound pictures posted by Facebook friends I only vaguely remember from school. Awe, it’s a picture of your uterus, you shouldn't have. No, really, you shouldn't have! Socially speaking, this trend is downright disturbing, especially when the mother-to-be makes it her profile picture. Now her fetus is available for the entire world to...

In a recent issue of Medical Device Daily, Integrity Life Sciences (ILS; Tampa) reported that FDA will investigate the use of robotic surgery, a move said to be sparked by a tripling of adverse events reports between 2008 and 2012. The company statement indicates that the more than 1,400 U.S. hospitals deploying surgical robots have filed enough reports to render a report rate that is a "higher than acceptable rate," although the announcement acknowledges that the data do not clearly disclose whether "the failure is attributable to the robot itself, operator error, the FDA marketing clearance process, or the training...

If someone would have asked me three years ago what Necrotizing enterocolitis (or NEC for short) meant, then my response would probably be a blank stare, followed by I'll have to get back to you on that. That's often the reply I give to people when I'm not sure of an answer. But if someone were to ask me today what NEC means, the answer would probably be a bit different. I think the first thing I'd say is, "Well how much time do you have for me to answer that question honestly?" For simplicity's sake, we can just say...

  The pages of Medical Device Daily are chock-full of outstanding content, but here are three stories from the month of April that caught my eye. Taking the eye out of ouch Seventh Sense Biosystems announced a registration trial for its TAP (touch-activated phlebotomy) device, which is one of those things that in times gone by was strictly the stuff of science fiction television shows. As my colleague Amanda Pedersen wrote in the April 3 edition, the TAP makes use of microneedles to obtain blood from the capillaries, and can dispense a...