“Captive Media”–Advertising Has No Limits - PTV - Wee and Pee Patrol– Ads and Games at the Urinal– And Send Your “Clever Dick” Scores to Twitter

This is correct and I do have to say the company picked the right name as when you have to go, that is if you are a male, you get ads about spirits and other goodies that begin as soon as you approach the urinal.  Oh boy…this is kind of the one place that has been sacred so far…well I can say for women we don’t have to worry about this yet…and frankly I don’t think we have the same parts to add in the game, but there certainly could be screens in the restroom stalls.  With all the technology we have there’s not going to be one moment missed by the marketers:)

The urinal chooses one of five games at random for you to play.  If you run short in the pee department, well tough luck.  Cocktail lounges and bars of course are one of the targeted areas for the product.  Does this mean like games make doctors better with new surgical equipment that this will do something for men in other departments?  I’m glad one of the games is hitting penguins and not ducks:)

An infrared is what detects the placement of the urine and get this you can use your phone to post your score…ah come on ..who cares.  It uses Windows Embedded and has multiple sensors.  The company says that 90% of the toilets can be retrofitted.  The next move from the company are screens on top of hand dryers so you can do something there too I guess.  You have to laugh as one of the games is appropriately named “Clever Dick”.  Watch how proud these guys are of their scores..if I see Clever Dick scores on Twitter with anyone I follow, it might be time that I consider not following any longer.



You can check out the Google map for their installations in the UK and I don’t think they are here yet in the US.  Talk about being constantly engaged! 

What do you want to bet that some lab contracts with the company to get in into healthcare here <grin>.  We see all these “gamification” software programs so someone will get this in there somehow.  BD

http://www.wired.com/business/2012/11/captive-media/

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HCSC Parent Company of Blue Cross in Illinois Hires Special Agent from Chicago FBI Office As VP To Head Up Fraud Detail

What else can you say other than the battle on fraud is getting serious these days.  Nobody likes fraud and perhaps with his expertise they can catch more of those folks, not the small billing folks but the big guys who seem to operate under the radar for so long.  As last reported on HCSC, they bought another Blue Cross/Blue Shield company not too long ago in Montana.  BD

Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Montana Purchased By Health Care Service Corporation–A Blue Cross Subsidiary and Western States Insurance, Yet Another Blue Cross Subsidiary Gets Purchased By Outside Financial Firm –Subsidiary Watch

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The parent company of Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Illinois has hired William Monroe, the acting special agent in charge of Chicago's FBI office, as vice president of corporate investigations. Mr. Monroe, 51, will oversee staff charged with preventing, detecting and investigating fraud at Health Care Service Corp., the Chicago-based health insurance company announced on Thursday.

http://www.chicagobusiness.com/article/20121115/NEWS03/121119859/in-brief-top-fbi-agent-in-chicago-to-join-health-insurer

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The Carl Icahn School of Medicine And the Icahn Genomics Institute at Mount Sinai? He Has Pledged $200 Million to the School

I don’t know about you and the gift is surely a very good thing, but there’s just something about the name Icahn and a Medical School that just sounds odd and I guess I think that way due to all the news about him over the past years being the one who battled corporate boards for years.  He does sit on the board and already has one building named after him at Mount Sinai so soon whether it’s a sports arena, drag racing strip or hospital research, they will all have new names in time.  BD



Nov 15 (Reuters) - Billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn has pledged a lifetime total of nearly $200 million to the Mount Sinai medical complex in upper Manhattan, and the Mount Sinai School of Medicine is being renamed in his honor.

The medical school will be called the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai after his most recent pledge of $150 million, the largest in Mount Sinai's history and "among the biggest ever given to a medical school," according to a statement by the hospital on Thursday.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/15/icahn-donation-idUSL1E8MF96Q20121115

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NBA (National Basketball Association) Gets an EHR and a PHR From Cerner Called “HealthAthlete”

This is a cloud based system to where both doctors and trainers will have access and in case of moving to another team, well of course their records go with them.  The players will also be able to communicate with their doctors and get refills on prescription. 

Mobile units are also being tested for the data platform with both the Android and Apple tablet and phone systems.  BD 

KANSAS CITY, Mo. and NEW YORK — Nov. 14, 2012 — Cerner Corporation (Nasdaq: CERN) is working with the National Basketball Association (NBA) to improve health care for NBA players by providing an easy-to-use, automated health care management system.

HealtheAthlete^™, a secure electronic platform, will enhance the standard of medical record keeping for all NBA athletes. For the first time, all 30 NBA teams will be connected in an integrated platform to manage the health of their athletes on and off the court.

http://www.cerner.com/about_cerner/newsroom/Cerner_to_Standardize_Health_Care_for_NBA_Players/

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Physicist Elected to House of Representatives, Some of His Technology is Used in the Big Collider at CERN–Hopefully This is the Start of a New Trend..Bill Foster

I wasn’t kidding in the title here and if the news we have had the last two years doesn’t speak for that, I don’t know what does.  He says we need more like him in Congress and I could not agree more.  There’s a short interview and below are a couple of the comments he made and one here of importance: 

Only 4 percent of those serving in Congress have a technical background!

Does the business world operate this way, of course not and this is why we get out butts kicked all the time and business has taken over the consumers and turned us into “data chasers”.    This will absolutely make my day if he can replace my Congressional rep who covers the OC in southern California that still does Town Hall meetings via telephone robo calls on the House Science and Technology committee .  Amazing isn’t it that Orange County is so full of busting technologies in biotech, general technology, you name it…we have robo calls, so again I would welcome Bill Foster replacing the robo call Congressman for sure.  He’s a real scientist too and not just a quant working on the “science of money” as we have enough of those around.  BD

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Only a handful of physicists have reached the halls of Congress. Bill Foster, a particle physicist and businessman just elected as a Democrat to the House of Representatives from Illinois's newly drawn 11th district, wants this situation to change. The Harvard graduate knows he is one of few in any technical field to hold national office. Foster plans to use his time in the public spotlight to serve as an advocate for bringing more of his peers to Washington.

Although Foster left a career in the laboratory to pursue politics, science is never far from his mind. He says he is continually thinking of new ways to inject the rigor of science into the often messy give and take that is the essence of politics.

”One of the fundamental principles is strength in numbers. I'm not advocating that Congress be dominated by scientists, but when I had a look at the composition of the U.S. Congress, even with a very generous definition of scientists, then roughly 4 percent have technical backgrounds.”

The economic damage from decisions to cut education and science research will not be felt for 10 or 30 years, and this is off the planning horizon of most politicians.

I will repeat my pitch for scientists and engineers to get along in this business. In a month or so when we have our office up and running they should contact our office. We will tell them everything that's easy and hard and fun and frustrating about spending part of your life in service to your fellow man.

Technorati Tags: Science,physicist,technology,Congress,politics,healthcare,biotech

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=physicist-elected-to-congress

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4 Dead and 17 Hurt When Texas Veterans Parade Float is Hit By a Freight Train

This is just so sad to be having a parade for the veterans and have a train hit the float.  There were 2 floats and the first one went over the train tracks ok and the second float was the one hit by the train. 
The floats were carrying wounded veterans and many were able to jump off the float in time.  This happened in Midland, Texas and is truly a tragedy when the parade is to honor our veteran heroes.    The big question that arises is what was the float doing on the tracks as initial reports said the train’s horn was working as well as the crossing lights.  BD
Dallas News | myFOXdfw.com
DALLAS (AP) — A freight train slammed into a parade float carrying wounded veterans on Thursday, killing four people and injuring 17 others as the float tried to get through a West Texas railroad crossing on its way to an honorary banquet, authorities said.

The locomotive was sounding its horn and people were jumping off the decorated flatbed truck before the collision around 4:40 p.m. in Midland, according to witnesses and Union Pacific spokesman Tom Lange. A preliminary investigation indicates the crossing gate and lights were working, Lange said, though he didn't know if the train crew saw the float approaching

About two dozen veterans and their spouses had been sitting in chairs on the float, set up on the back of a flatbed tractor-trailer decorated with American flags and signs identifying each veteran, photos show.

http://news.yahoo.com/4-dead-17-hurt-train-hits-texas-vets-005400083.html

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Cook Medical Gets FDA Approval for Zilver PTX Drug Eluting Stent for the Treatment of Peripheral Arterial Disease (PAD)

The FDA has approved Cook Medical’s Zilver® PTX®, the first drug-eluting stent (DES) for treating peripheral arterial disease (PAD) in the above-the-knee femoropopliteal arteries. This is a new approach to treating PAD, and Cook Medical is the only manufacturer with a drug-eluting stent that has been shown to inhibit re-narrowing of arteries in the SFA by 50 percent. The key differentiator is the drug paclitaxel. This new treatment is going to change the way physicians treat PAD.

The stent has been approved in Europe already.  In addition another article of interest was an interview I did a while back with UCLA Dr. Peter F. Lawrence, Director of the UCLA Gonda Vascular Center who treats patients for PAD.   BD

The UCLA Gonda Vascular Center Treats PAD (Peripheral Arterial Disease)-Interview with Dr. Peter Lawrence Chief of Vascular Surgery

Also a while back I spoke with Rob Lyles at Cook Medical where we talked about PAD the at the time the up and coming Zilver stent.  These have to be a bit more rugged as the leg moves versus a stationary muscle like the heart for example.  

 

Cook Medical Interview Discussing PAD Leg Therapies– Rob Lyles, VP Peripheral Intervention Division

I did this interview way back when the Medical Quack was still fairly new and updates on the Zilver stent as they came along and I am guessing this is about 3 years worth of writing about the stent until the FDA approval was given today.  It makes you stop and think of all the time and expense needed today to bring a well needed product to market.  BD

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Press Release:

BLOOMINGTON, Ind.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cook Medical has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) marketing approval for the first devices in its Zilver® PTX® Drug-Eluting Peripheral Stent portfolio, company officials reported today. It’s the first time the FDA has approved a drug-eluting stent to treat blockages in a peripheral artery.

“Drug-eluting stents such as Zilver PTX will move quickly, in my opinion, to become the standard of care for PAD patients worldwide.”

“This approval marks the start of Cook’s program to bring the benefits of drug elution to U.S. physicians treating the peripheral arteries,” said Rob Lyles, vice president and global leader of Cook Medical’s Peripheral Intervention division. “No other company can match Cook’s commitment to this technology, and by the end of 2013, we expect to have a full suite of drug-eluting peripheral stents in the most commonly used lengths and diameters available to U.S. physicians.”

The Zilver PTX Drug-Eluting Stent is intended to treat peripheral arterial disease (PAD) in the superficial femoral artery (SFA).

In order to supply as many physicians as possible with this new technology, Cook is making Zilver PTX available initially in 80 mm lengths in 6 mm and 7 mm diameters. The products indications for use also allow two Zilver PTX 80 mm stents to be overlapped to treat longer lesions up to 140 mm. The FDA approval also includes 40 mm and 60 mm lengths, which will be introduced to the U.S. early in 2013. Cook expects to receive regulatory approval for 120 mm length stents in both diameters next year.

Data from Cook’s pivotal clinical trial indicate:

• Eight out of ten patients treated with Zilver PTX still had open arteries (primary patency) after one year¹. That compares to only 3 out of 10 patients treated with angioplasty alone.

• Patients who received a bare metal stent required more than twice as many reintervention procedures to reopen the SFA as patients who received Zilver PTX. ²

“After conducting the largest randomized controlled study of peripheral stenting ever undertaken, we now see remarkable results in patients treated with Zilver PTX,” said Michael Dake, M.D., a professor in the Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery at Stanford University School of Medicine and medical director of the Cath/Angio Laboratories at Stanford Medical Center, Palo Alto, Calif.

“With this approval, treating PAD in the U.S. will begin to undergo the same revolution that drug elution did for treating coronary artery disease,” added Gary Ansel, M.D., director for the Center for Critical Limb Care at Riverside Methodist Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, and an assistant clinical professor of medicine in the Department of Internal Medicine at the University of Toledo Medical Center in Toledo, Ohio. “Drug-eluting stents such as Zilver PTX will move quickly, in my opinion, to become the standard of care for PAD patients worldwide.”

Cook’s Zilver PTX stent is already approved for sale in more than 50 markets, including the European Union, Japan, Brazil and most of South America, Australia, New Zealand and Taiwan. The device is being introduced to the U.S. market in a five-step process designed to make this technology available to as many patients as possible initially.

(Drs. Dake and Ansel, who served as global principal investigators for the Zilver PTX clinical trial, are paid consultants to Cook Medical with respect to its medical devices.)

About Zilver PTX

How does Zilver PTX work?

A physician gains arterial access through the groin and guides a Zilver PTX stent to the narrowed artery with a catheter. The stent is deployed and expands like a scaffold to help keep the artery open after the catheter is withdrawn. The drug paclitaxel, which coats the stent, is taken up by the cells of the arterial wall to help prevent the renarrowing of the artery over time.

What are the main features of the device?

A combination therapy device, Zilver PTX both restores patency (blood flow) and provides targeted delivery of paclitaxel, a cell growth-limiting drug proven to reduce arterial restenosis (post-procedural blockages). This drug coats the stent without the use of a polymer, eliminating risks that may arise directly from a polymer. Zilver PTX is made of nitinol, a "shape memory" metal alloy, and is engineered to withstand the dynamic forces of the superficial femoral artery (SFA). Zilver PTX is the first peripheral vascular device that combines the mechanical support of stenting with the drug paclitaxel to reduce the risk of restenosis.

What data supports the efficacy of Zilver PTX?³

Two-year data from the Zilver PTX Randomized Controlled Trial of Paclitaxel-Eluting Stents for Femoropopliteal Disease indicate that the stent demonstrated 74.8 percent primary patency at 24 months in the PTX group, compared to just 57.8 percent for patients with optimal percutaneous transluminal angioplasty and bare metal stents in the 479 patient study.

What are other current means of treatment for PAD?⁴

Current treatment options for PAD include lifestyle changes, medication, exercise, angioplasty, bare metal stenting and bypass surgery.

What is Zilver PTX indicated for and what are the risks and contraindications for this device?

INDICATIONS: indicated for improving luminal diameter for the treatment of de novo or restenotic symptomatic lesions in native vascular disease of the above-the-knee femoropopliteal arteries having reference vessel diameter from 4mm to 7mm and total lesion lengths up to 140 mm per limb and 280 mm per patient. CONTRAINDICATIONS: Women who are pregnant, breastfeeding, or plan to become pregnant in the next 5 years should not receive a Zilver PTX Drug-Eluting Peripheral Stent. Patients who cannot receive recommended anti-platelet and/or anti-coagulant therapy. Patients judged to have a lesion that prevents proper placement of the stent or stent delivery system. WARNINGS: Persons with allergic reactions to nitinol may suffer an allergic reaction to this implant • Persons allergic to paclitaxel may suffer an allergic reaction to this implant • The safety and effectiveness of implanting more than four Zilver PTX Drug Eluting Peripheral Stents in a patient has not been clinically evaluated. PRECAUTIONS: To avoid involvement of the common femoral artery, the proximal end of the stent should be placed at least 1 cm below the origin of the superficial femoral artery. To avoid involvement of the below-the-knee popliteal artery, the distal end of the stent should be placed above the plane of the femoral epicondyles • This product is intended for use by physicians trained and experienced in diagnostic and interventional vascular techniques.

Standard techniques for interventional vascular procedures should be employed • Manipulation of the Zilver PTX Drug-Eluting Peripheral Stent requires fluoroscopic control • Do not try to remove the stent from the introducer system before use • Ensure that the red safety lock is not inadvertently removed until final stent release • Deploy the stent over an extra stiff or ultra stiff wire guide • Do not push the hub toward the handle during deployment • Do not expose the delivery system to organic solvents (e.g., alcohol) • Do not use power injection systems with the delivery system • Do not rotate any part of the system during deployment • The device is intended for single use only. Do not resterilize and/or reuse this device • Repositioning of the device after deployment is not possible since the introducer catheter cannot be re-advanced over the stent once deployment begins.

POTENTIAL ADVERSE EVENTS: Potential adverse events that may occur include, but are not limited to Allergic reaction to anticoagulant and/or antithrombotic therapy or contrast medium • Allergic reaction to nitinol • Arterial aneurysm • Arterial rupture • Arterial thrombosis • Arteriovenous fistula • Atheroembolization (Blue Toe Syndrome) • Death • Embolism • Hematoma/hemorrhage • Hypersensitivity reactions • Infection • Infection/abscess formation at access site • Ischemia requiring intervention (bypass or amputation of toe, foot or leg • Pseudoaneurysm formation • Renal failure • Restenosis of the stented artery • Stent embolization • Stent malapposition • Stent migration • Stent strut fracture • Vessel perforation or rupture • Worsened claudication/rest pain. Paclitaxel: Although systemic effects are not anticipated, refer to the Physicians’ Desk Reference for more information on the potential adverse events observed with paclitaxel. Potential adverse events, not described in the above source, may be unique to the paclitaxel drug coating, including • Allergic/immunologic reaction to the drug coating • Alopecia • Anemia • Blood product transfusion • Gastrointestinal symptoms • Hematologic dyscrasia (including leukopenia, neutropenia, thrombocytopenia) • Hepatic enzyme changes • Histologic changes in vessel wall, including inflammation, cellular damage, or necrosis • Myalgia/Arthralgia • Myelosuppression • Peripheral neuropathy

About Cook Medical

A global pioneer in medical breakthroughs, Cook Medical is committed to creating effective solutions that benefit millions of patients worldwide. Today, we combine medical devices, drugs, biologic grafts and cell therapies across more than 16,000 products serving 41 medical specialties. Founded in 1963 by a visionary who put patient needs and ethical business practices first, Cook is a family-owned company that has created more than 10,000 jobs worldwide. For more information, visit www.cookmedical.com. Follow Cook Medical on Twitter and LinkedIn.

¹ ,² Dake M., et. Al, Paclitaxel-Eluting Stents Show Superiority to Balloon Angioplasty and Bare Metal Stents in Femoropopliteal Disease: Twelve Month Zilver PTX Randomized Study Results. Circulation: Cardiovascular Interventions, August 5, 2011

² Dake M. Zilver PTX Randomized Controlled Trial of Paclitaxel-Eluting Stents for Femoropopliteal Disease: Two Year Results, Presented at International Symposium on Endovascular Therapies (ISET), January 17, 2011, Miami Beach, Florida

³ Dake M. Zilver PTX Randomized Controlled Trial of Paclitaxel-Eluting Stents for Femoropopliteal Disease: Two Year Results, Presented at International Symposium on Endovascular Therapies (ISET), January 17, 2011, Miami Beach, Florida

⁴ National Institute of Health, National Heart Lung and Blood Institute. How Is Peripheral Arterial Disease Treated? http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/health-topics/topics/pad/treatment.html. Accessed August 10, 2012

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Doctors Without Borders Working On Their First US Mission in the United States After Hurricane Sandy

No this is not a 3rd world country where the group normally volunteers it’s right here in the New York and New Jersey areas.  They went to work in Queens to provide home visits to residents that had no electricity and running water.  People have been running out of their medications for diabetes, high cholesterol and other chronic conditions and they were there to bring the drugs and help fill prescriptions.  BD

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Nov 8 (Reuters) - Manhattan doctor Lucy Doyle has done stints with the global medical relief organization Doctors Without Borders in the Democratic Republic of Congo and Kenya. But her latest assignment is a real eye-opener: New York City.

In the wake of Super storm Sandy, Doctors Without Borders has set up its first-ever medical clinic in the United States, and Doyle finds herself on the front line of disaster just miles from her day job.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/11/09/storm-sandy-doctors-idUSL1E8M90GK20121109

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Blue Cross in California Automatically Opts Doctors In for Insurance Exchange Participation And Reimbursement Looks To Be Around 30% Less Than They Receive Now For Individual Policies - Employer Provided Insurance Is Not Affected

This was from the CMA advising doctors on the progress with negotiating contracts with insurers to provide “Exchange Coverage”.  Well business provided health insurance does not get this cut, so we are down to the individual policy holders getting screwed again as some doctors might have the presence of mind to stop taking Blue Cross?  I have been saying these contracts are a bitch and they certainly are not getting any better it appears. 

Health Insurers in California Prepare to Negotiate Contracts with “Covered California” the Branded Name for the California Insurance Exchange–Complexities of Contracts Today Running on Corporate Servers 24/7 Opens the Door for More Sophisticated Algorithms

Health insurance companies live off those “algorithms” for profit as defined in their business models.  Speaking of business models, lets not forget that insurers are traded on the open market and they have Quants just like the banks do so if you want to see some of the fiction that goes into the modeling, check this out and watch the video.     This is real life with quantitiave numbers that contain items out of the air at times and no guarantee on the accuracy, but they are designed to make money.  It was also in the news today that HHS gives states more time to “design” insurance exchanges, heck the time is not needed for “designing” but rather for duking out contracts with insurance carriers:)  This stuff about rising to the occasion that I read today seems to be off base. 

From the CMA:

“According to the notice, Blue Cross will be creating a new provider network called the "Anthem Individual/Exchange Network," which will serve both individuals who purchase coverage through the exchange and individuals who purchase coverage from Anthem Blue Cross in the individual market outside of the exchange. In other words, the fee schedule would apply to all individual business, whether bought on or off of the exchange.

Blue Cross has clarified for the California Medical Association (CMA) that this fee schedule change will not apply to Small Business Health Options Program (SHOP) business purchased through the exchange.”

“Physicians who do not wish to participate in this network must notify Blue Cross of their intent to opt out by December 31, 2012. Opt out notices should be in writing and sent via certified mail, return receipt to the address specified in Section VI of the amendment.”

So as you can read, a certified letter must be sent by the doctors to opt out by the end of this year or they are in by default.  Now let’s not forget it’s getting close to the time of year when Congress has to deal with the the SGR reduction of 30% by Medicare and do what ever they are going to do.  Putting it off without a fix is making it worse. 

Here’s a quote from a doctor from my mailbox today…

”….I have always done pro bono work (i.e. free care) to uninsured patients in the hospital. Now these numbers are growing and I am doing more free work than ever. You would think the government should take this into account and be more compassionate with us instead of trying to kick us while we are down.”

So in a couple of years, who will have insurance that can provide enough doctors in network for patients?  That’s a good question right now.  We also have to remember that some of the IPAs are owned by insurance companies and how’s that going to work?  What if they want to opt out from the insurer that owns the IPA they are a member of for one example? 

Aren’t These Health Insurance Contracts a Bitch!

Best I can say here is that it’s time for a single pay option as by the time the complex stipulations are lined out nobody will know who covers what.  Besides there are several private exchanges popping up so it’s not like there’s a shortage on “where” one can buy insurance.  If insurers are going to pay doctors 30% percent less on their end if you are a consumer who bought insurance from an “exchange” well, how many will accept the lower compensation or how many will opt out in time. I can see this leading up to a lawsuit on the “opt out” clause here if someone decides to pursue it and if this goes through with Blue Cross, well you could almost bet that the other carriers will do the same or maybe worse. 

Here’s a private exchange owned by WellPoint for example and will the doctors who use “their exchanged” get paid less like the State of California exchange…yes indeed more good questions as the “poke in the fanny” contract annihilation continues. 

WellPoint & Partners Buy Bloom Private Health Insurance Exchange From Their Own Venture Capital Company (Sandbox) –Subsidiary Watch

You wonder is California going to change their law to allow hospitals to directly hire doctors?  When the expense of keeping up a practice no longer generates an adequate income the doctors have to go somewhere, so what’s next an “exchange doctor group”.  Sure that sounds a bit out there but so does half of everything else out there today with insurance contracts.  Once the doctors opt out I don’t know if they have a change of heart and can opt back in or not?  If the insurers don’t make it on policy sales they have Health IT to fall back on as they are all gobbling up technology companies right and left and again with creating their own private exchanges and if the public is aware that their doctors are going to get paid less, where does this leave all of this?  Do we need exchanges by government?  When it was designed and the law was passed, things were different but by today’s standards of complexities, it might already be outdated. 

It seems like hospitals are on the edge of “becoming technology centers that have medical licenses, you think?  BD

Subsidiary Watch-Corporate Conglomerate Insurers Reduce Compensation Contracts Using One Subsidiary Then Market Same MDs With Another Subsidiary in Health IT

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Med-Tech Start Up Company in Minnesota Feels the Effect of Sandy As Their FDA Meeting Was Postponed And Could Take Up to 90 Days To Reschedule And They Are Very Low on Cash

This is a company that is very low on cash and the meaning derived from this story is the fact that it is expensive to bring a product to market and this company is getting close to running out of money.  Can they wait 90 days and will they have to wait is the question as the leader looks around as everyone except one person has been laid off. 

The technology to be approved is one that diverts blood from the heart to the brain to use with stroke therapy.  The technology, NeuroFlo has the CE Mark in Europe.  Right now as it stands they have burned through $70 million in VC funded money and is waiting to hear from the FDA if they can market the product for treating ischemic stroke.  BD

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Entrepreneurs didn't have to be in lower Manhattan to be hammered by super storm Sandy. A medical technology company in far-off Maple Grove, Minnesota, took a direct hit.

For Andrew Weiss, a meeting in Washington with the federal Food and Drug Administration that was postponed this week because of Sandy, could have life-or-death consequences for his business

http://upstart.bizjournals.com/news/wire/2012/11/02/sandy-slams-far-away-med-tech-startup.html?market=upstart&ana=rss_ubj_nr

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Man Pees on Pregnancy Test Stick And Finds Out He Has Testicular Cancer

The man pees on the test stick and it shows positive, but this does not mean he is pregnant of all things:)  He posts it on the web and the first comment to his story told him to get tested for testicular cancer.  Pregnancy tests check for a pregnancy hormone called Human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG).  Now men also have the hormone if they have this somewhat rare form of testicular cancer. 

Nobody really knows why this occurs with these types of tumors and it is very aggressive.  Good thing he came back and read the comment as a doctor found a tumor and treated it.  Lucky for the man this is one of those multi use tests out there, even if it was unexpected.  BD

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Rather strange news was bouncing around Reddit recently, and it all started with a man relieving himself on a pregnancy test stick. In case you don’t know how a pregnancy stick works, here’s a quick tutorial: remove stick from box, pee on stick, watch to see if a pink line, blue line, plus or minus symbol, or whatever symbol the instructions tell you to look for appears.  If the symbol appears, you are probably pregnant — that is, if you’re a woman.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/daviddisalvo/2012/11/10/how-a-pregnancy-test-told-a-man-that-he-has-testicular-cancer/

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