ScienceDaily (Dec. 15, 2009) — Researchers at Rice University and Baylor College of Medicine (BCM) have created a single nanoparticle that can be tracked in real time with MRI as it homes in on cancer cells, tags them with a fluorescent dye and kills them with heat. The all-in-one particle is one of the first examples from a growing field called “theranostics” that develops technologies physicians can use to diagnose and treat diseases in a single procedure.

The research is available online in the journal Advanced Functional Materials. Tests so far involve laboratory cell cultures, but the researchers said MRI tracking will be particularly advantageous as they move toward tests in animals and people.
“Some of the most essential questions in nanomedicine today are about biodistribution — where particles go inside the body and how they get there,” said study co-author Naomi Halas. “Noninvasive tests for biodistribution will be enormously useful on the path to FDA approval, and this technique — adding MRI functionality to the particle you’re testing and using for therapy — is a very promising way of doing this.”
Halas, Rice’s Stanley C. Moore Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering and professor of chemistry and biomedical engineering, is a pioneer in nanomedicine. The all-in-one particles are based on nanoshells — particles she invented in the 1990s that are currently in human clinical trials for cancer treatment. Nanoshells harvest laser light that would normally pass harmlessly through the body and convert it into tumor-killing heat.
In designing the new particle, Halas partnered with Amit Joshi, assistant professor in BCM’s Division of Molecular Imaging, to modify nanoshells by adding a fluorescent dye that glows when struck by near-infrared (NIR) light. NIR light is invisible and harmless, so NIR imaging could provide doctors with a means of diagnosing diseases without surgery.
In studying ways to attach the dye, Halas’ graduate student, Rizia Bardhan, found that dye molecules emitted 40-50 times more light if a tiny gap was left between them and the surface of the nanoshell. The gap was just a few nanometers wide, but rather than waste the space, Bardhan inserted a layer of iron oxide that would be detectable with MRI. The researchers also attached an antibody that lets the particles bind to the surface of breast and ovarian cancer cells.
In the lab, the team tracked the fluorescent particles and confirmed that they targeted cancer cells and destroyed them with heat. Joshi said the next step will be to destroy whole tumors in live animals. He estimates that testing in humans is at least two years away, but the ultimate goal is a system where a patient gets a shot containing nanoparticles with antibodies that are tailored for the patient’s cancer. Using NIR imaging, MRI or a combination of the two, doctors would observe the particles’ progress through the body, identify areas where tumors exist and then kill them with heat.
“This particle provides four options — two for imaging and two for therapy,” Joshi said. “We envision this as a platform technology that will present practitioners with a choice of options for directed treatment.”
Eventually, Joshi said, he hopes to develop specific versions of the particles that can attack cancer at different stages, particularly early stage cancer, which is difficult to diagnose and treat with current technology. The researchers also expect to use different antibody labels to target specific forms of the disease. Halas said the team has been careful to choose components that are either already approved for medical use or are already in clinical trials.
“What’s nice is that every single component of this has been approved or is on a path toward FDA approval,” Halas said. “We’re putting together components that all have good, proven track records.”
Bardhan and BCM postdoctoral researcher Wenxue Chen are co-primary authors of the paper. Additional Rice co-authors include Emilia Morosan, assistant professor of physics and astronomy, and graduate students Ryan Huschka and Liang Zhao. Additional BCM co-authors include Robia Pautler, assistant professor of neuroscience and radiology, postdoctoral researcher Marc Bartels and graduate student Carlos Perez-Torres.
The research was sponsored by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research, the Welch Foundation and the Department of Defense’s Multidisciplinary University Research Initiative.

Rochester Institute of Technology offers an extensive list of PAID internship opportunities in biology and biotechnology. Many are now updated with 2010 information. Many may be open to non-US citizens.

What if you could know when and how you were going to die? Would you choose to remain ignorant, or would you prefer to confront the facticity of your own mortality directly? This question has engaged philosophers for millennia. Until recently, the question was merely a matter for personal speculation, eliciting intuitions about mortality, self-determination, and free-will. This has all changed. At least, so it seems.

A new industry has emerged, as a result of the last decade’s exponential technological advances in the field of bioinformatics. Now, a glimpse of our most likely personal Reaper is less than 100 dollars away (just two years ago the glimpse was ten times the distance and ten times more blurry). Gene sequencing companies have sprung up everywhere, like mushrooms after a rain. For a modest price, each of us can have our DNA analyzed, and receive a report of our personal predisposition to acquire a variety of potentially debilitating or terminal diseases. Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, lung cancer, breast cancer, obesity, and multiple sclerosis are but a few of the many worrisome conditions targeted by such DNA analysis.

The question – would you want to know? – is no longer limited to philosophical speculation. Today, it commands a real presence in the life of each individual. Some conditions, such as obesity, are preventable and treatable, whereas others, such as Alzheimer’s disease, may be neither preventable nor treatable. In all cases, however, it is only probabilistic knowledge that is available. So, what is the value of such information? This is a question for personal reflection. However, one thing is sure: We are all free to give up smoking and to keep a healthy diet, irrespective of our genetic predisposition for lung cancer, obesity, or diabetes. We should take advantage of that freedom. It is the only way that we can keep our personal Reaper at bay… at least for a little while longer.

See Sharon Begley’s recent article in Newsweek, It’s in Our Genes. So What?

Related articles:

Recent Work on Free Will and Moral Responsibility
By Neil Levy and Michael McKenna, University of Melbourne Florida State University
(Vol. 3, December 2008)
Philosophy Compass

Causation and Responsibility
By Carolina Sartorio , University of Wisconsin at Madison
(Vol. 2, August 2007)
Philosophy Compass

I’ve got a new story in the December issue of Popular Mechanics. The topic is a little gory:

Can Digital Tech and Insects Replace Cadaver-Sniffing Dogs?.

I do not generally post about medical technology. I feel I lack the expertise in many cases to truly divine the wheat from the chafe.

But even a blind man can see this is a big one:

http://www.gizmag.com/implant-cancer-vaccine/13462/

Obviously no human trials yet, but if it works as advertised this will be a powerful tool for all our health.

-Tech Dennis

I like many of you, was pretty surprised yesterday when a government panel of doctors and scientists decided that marching into our doctors office to have a mammogram when we turned 40…..really wasn’t necessary after all. We were just wasting our time….oh, except for the thousands of women who had breast cancer, and had it found and treated.

See where I’m going here? You will never, ever convince a woman whose  mammogram found her cancer, whether she was 45 or 35, say…”Well, I think that mammogram could have waited another 10 years.” No way.

So I just don’t get the thinking here by this esteemed panel of doctors who speaking in terms that sounds a little to me like a conversation(argument)I had years ago with a well-respected gynecologist in town, about Thin Prep pap test. At that time it was new, and you had to pay extra to have it done, but it was and is, a far more sensitive test at catching cervical cancer. This doctor said, “I just don’t think it’s cost-effective. It will catch more cancers, but not a high enough percentage more to make it worth the extra money being spent.” I understood what he was saying, but replied, “Yeah, but if it’s my cervical cancer that isn’t caught…for me, it’s 100%.” And he agreed that was true. Today Thin Prep is standard for all pap tests.

As I heard someone say today, “It’s easy to throw around numbers when you’re not one of them.  Isn’t that the bitter truth?

Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed type of cancer in women. An estimated 192,370 new cases of invasive breast cancer in women and 1,910 cases in men will occur in 2009. Some 40,170 breast cancer deaths will have also occurred during 2009.  The risk factors for breast cancer include age, high breast tissue density, confirmed hyperplasia, long menstrual cycles, use of oral contraceptives, having first child after the age of 30, never having children, inherited genetic mutations (BRCA 1 and BRCA 2), personal or family history of breast cancer, and having received high-dose radiation therapy to the chest for medical treatment.  We do know that breast cancer occurring before age 50, especially before age 40, carries a more dire prognosis for survival.

So the, what is a woman to believe?  In 2002 the same government body, with different members, came to a different set of conclusions.  Now the same the same federal agency with new members on it’s committee, comes to a very different point of view, although the actual data is not that different than it was 7 years ago.  It is undeniable that early detection reduces the risk of death from breast cancer.  It is also true, that we do not have definitive tests for almost any cancer when it comes to determining which patients will progress and which ones will not.  Additionally, we know that open screening, rather than informed, focused early detection, has lower yield overall when it comes to early detection and subsequent impact on lives saved from breast cancer death.  It is also not new that there are risks with all medical test and procedures, including mammography.  These include pain during the procedure, false positive results, possibly unnecessary biopsies based on those results and longer term effects of repeated low dose radiation exposure.

As such, we cannot oppose the new recommendations per se, though later it’s flaws will be exposed.  What needs to be said is that this reversal will change dramatically, and quickly, health insurance coverage decisions by both private carriers and Medicare. It also means that one MUST question if this data, not that different than previous data, is being viewed through a prism of fiscal priorities.  Did economics play a role in the promolgation of these guidelines?  If so to what extent?  If so, what was the calculus use to divine these recommendations from this board of all primary care based and oriented physicians?  Why does the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality not include in its review panel, breast surgeons, oncologists, radiologists and others who deal with the actual disease and the effects of early versus late detection?

While learned men and women can debate the statistics from the various studies in England and Scandinavia (nations with socialized health systems) that were primarily used as the data base for these guidelines, we must question openly two recommendations.

First, what is the rationale for urging doctors to STOP teaching women breast self examination techniques?  Should not ANY patient who notices a change in their body – a lump, a mass – report that to their physician?  If they are to notice these things, should they not be aware of the proper techniques for self physical examination?  One would think so.

Second, what is the rationale for urging women to cease monthly self examination?  Or examination on any regular basis?  As noted above, early detection of lumps and masses, by a woman, should be the LEAST form of early detection we should expect.  So why the decision to pass on this?  Again, one must ask for the details of the “statistical models” that were used based on the data from Britain and Scandinavia, and wonder what economic modeling factors played a role.

The task force also seemed to feel that saving one woman’s life prior to age 50, did not warrant the added “risk” (or cost?). The task force concluded that 1 cancer death is prevented for every 1,904 women age 40-49 who are screened for 10 years, compared with 1 death for every 1,339 women age 50-74, and 1 death for every 377 women age 60-69.  Yet, that calculus yields that a woman, say age 40, who misses early detection and dies from breast cancer before age 50, based on today’s actuarial survival tables, will have lost perhaps another 40+ years of survival by missing her “window of curability”.

So, this new set of recommendations raises many questions.  Many of those questions go beyond the actual scientific data, go beyond the death rates and side effects, go to issues of the role of economics, financing and money.  Perhaps this is the new model to be expected as the proposed Comparative Effectiveness Commissions come into full operation.  While we welcome all advances in understanding of disease and its treatment, these guidelines take essentially similar data and rework the findings to meet a sensibility that appears to be in vogue within the federal health establishment.   Sadly, this argument has been used before, against recommendations to carry out more aggressive early detection.  The public, and worried women in this case, are caught in the middle of the confusion.  Most sadly, the actual determinant of payment for these tests may well be health insurers and federal health programs, as they will look at these new guidelines and match their payment policies to them.  This means that women will be facing more out of pocket expenses, insurers and Medicare will save money, but no one’s health insurance premiums will go down, that you can be sure of.

The Task Force grades the strength of the evidence from “A” (strongly recommends), “B” (recommends), “C” (no recommendation for or against), “D” (recommends against), or “I” (insufficient evidence to recommend for or against).  When one looks at their actual recommendations, and the grades THEY themselves assigned it gets more confusing.  Lets review them one at a time:

(1) The USPSTF recommends against routine screening mammography in women aged 40 to 49 years. The decision to start regular, biennial screening mammography before the age of 50 years should be an individual one and take into account patient context, including the patient’s values regarding specific benefits and harms. (Grade C recommendation).  This means NO RECOMMENDATION FOR OR AGAINST

(2) The USPSTF recommends biennial screening mammography for women between the ages of 50 and 74 years. (Grade B recommendation)  This means RECOMMENDED

(3) The USPSTF concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the additional benefits and harms of screening mammography in women 75 years or older. (I statement)  This means INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE TO RECOMMEND FOR OR AGAINST)

(4) The USPSTF concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess the additional benefits and harms of clinical breast examination beyond screening mammography in women 40 years or older. (I statement)  This means INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE TO RECOMMEND FOR OR AGAINST

(5) The USPSTF recommends against clinicians teaching women how to perform breast self-examination. (Grade D recommendation)  This means NOT RECOMMENDED

(6) The USPSTF concludes that the current evidence is insufficient to assess additional benefits and harms of either digital mammography or magnetic resonance imaging instead of film mammography as screening modalities for breast cancer. (I statement)  This means INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE TO RECOMMEND FOR OR AGAINST

So WHAT actually did this group come up with.  Apparently only TWO real things: first, they believe women age 50-74 should have mammograms every two years; second, they recommended against doctors and nurses teaching women how to perform breast self examination.  IN EVERY OTHER RESPECT, THEY EITHER COULD NOT MAKE A RECOMMENDATION FOR OR AGAINST, OR THEY ADMITTED THE EVIDENCE WAS INSUFFICIENT TO RECOMMEND FOR OR AGAINST.

In the final analysis, this report from a medical perspective is very much open to criticism for its form, data collection sources and most notably for its supposed recommendations, which are really not there.   If our tax dollars are going to be used in this way, we will have expect much more from panels such as this.  This report does not clarify, it muddles.  Most worrisome, it opens a financial cans of worms for women of all ages as they deal with health insurers who are already looking for any way possible not to pay . . . ben kazie md

In Reversal, Panel Urges Mammograms at 50, Not 40 – http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/17/health/17cancer.html?_r=1&hp

New Guidelines on Breast Cancer Draw Opposition – http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/17/health/17scre.html?ref=health

US Dept of HHS: Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality – http://www.ahrq.gov/clinic/uspstfab.htm

Screening for Breast Cancer: U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Recommendation Statement – http://www.annals.org/content/151/10/716.full

American Cancer Society Responds to Changes to USPSTF Mammography Guidelines – http://www.cancer.org/docroot/MED/content/MED_2_1x_American_Cancer_Society_Responds_to_Changes_to_USPSTF_Mammography_Guidelines.asp?sitearea=MED

National Breast Cancer Coalition – http://www.stopbreastcancer.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=134&Itemid=62

UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center: KARLA KERLIKOWSKE, MD – http://cancer.ucsf.edu/people/kerlikowske_karla.php

Life expectancy at birth, at 65 years of age, and at 75 years of age, by race and sex: United States, selected years 1900–2005 – http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus08.pdf#026

Clinical Trials by Cancer Site:Breast Cancer – http://bethesdatrials.cancer.gov/breast_cancer/index.aspx

Breast cancer in the United States: Recent trends – http://www.ajho.com/breast-cancer-in-the-united-states-recent-trends/article/157162/

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As part of the body’s process of healing itself, scars are a natural result of trauma to the skin. When the skin is broken, the body’s response is to produce collagen in the affected area. Collagen helps to heal the area which is a good thing, however often the body will overproduce collagen. When this happens, the result is a buildup or pile of excess collagen which results in a scar. Certain areas of the body may be more likely to form visible scars and certain skin types, such as darker skin are thought to be more prone to visible scarring.

In most cases, scars are not painful. For many, the problem with scars is in how they look rather than any associated discomfort. While smaller, narrower scars will often heal neatly and fade over time, larger more unsightly scars often form as a result of wider wounds.

To many, visible scars are not an issue. To others however, they may be an unwanted reminder of an unpleasant event. Scars generally only need to be treated if they are either painful (physically or emotionally) or if they are bothersome due to their appearance. The rare scar may pose problems with mobility, for example if they form on an area such as a knee or elbow. But this is normally not a problem. There are several available medical treatments for scars, including surgical excision, steroid injections, laser treatment and cryosurgery.

For those that would rather not go through one of the available medical treatments, there are several topical products (creams, gels, sheets) available for the treatment of scars. These types of treatments are generally available without prescription from a physician. For topical treatments to be very effective, the scar should be active, meaning no more than 1 ½ to 2 years old. As is the case with other treatments, not all topical products are created equally. Those with silicone in them tend to perform the best. There have been numerous published studies showing that silicone based products are effective in scar remodeling. Also important to note is that these products won’t have the same effect on all scars. Factors such as skin type, scar type, scar location and scar size all play a roll in how effective they will be. For example, pitted scars such as those often associated with acne or chicken pox, are not good candidates for treatment with topical products.

Scarfade Scar Gel from Hanson Medical is one of the leading silicone scar treatments available. It has been around for several years and is recommended by plastic surgeons and other physicians to their patients. Scarfade has been used in published studies substantiating the effectiveness of silicone based products. For more information, including copies of studies, visit www.scarfade.com

Cruciate Ligament Surgery Patient courtesy of Flickr

Local medical tech startup gets funding! I can see Charleston drawing on its strong industry clusters: Medical research (MUSC), military (CAFB, SPAWAR, NWS), logistics (PORT), tourism and now also aeronautics (BOEING)!

“Mount Pleasant-based Ion Surgical Technologies has received $200,000 in its first investment of startup funds from SC Launch.

Ion Surgical, which was started in October, has developed products that aid in the healing from injuries the rotator cuff and the anterior cruciate ligament. The two main products are the PassTech Rotator Cuff Repair Kit and the PassTech ACL Fixation Kit…”  Read the full article, as published in the Charleston Regional Business Journal.

Chronic wounds are among the most difficult medical problems faced by physicians.  A variety of age old techniques ranging from basic local care, to exotic creams and tinctures, to various surgical procedures both simple and complex may be involved in caring for and hopefully resolving a chronic, slow to heal wound.  In the United States, where we have large populations with chronic cardiovascular disease and diabetes, chronic wounds are a challenge to the healer, the system and the economy.  Any advance in technique which may potential aid in the healing of these wounds is welcomed.  It seems that with the new therapy outlined below, there may be some additional help on the way.  Chronic leg wounds, such as venous stasis ulcer and foot wounds secondary to diabetic infections are among the most notorious of the slow healers.  The greatest risk in these cases is the that the wound, not responding, grows or becomes infected resulting in eventual amputation.  Often times, the amputation is actually a slow process with the patient looses a foot, then a lower limb, then the entire limb.   As always, the best treatment is prevention and patient and their doctors need to be vigilant in regard to any wound that is slow to heal . . . ben kazie md

Ultrasound is said to heal chronic wounds that don’t respond to other treatments

The treatment, called Mist Therapy, was developed by Celleration of Eden Prairie, Minn. It generated $10 million in sales last year for the ten-year-old company. Mist and biologically engineered skin grafts represent a new generation of what’s known as active wound healing technologies, aimed at the 6 million people suffering from chronic wounds. Mist is energy rather than a drug,” says Celleration’s technology chief, Kevin Nickels. Using a device that looks like a plant mister, physical therapists spray on the wound saline droplets that carry ultrasound energy produced by the device. Ultrasound is a high-frequency wave energy that, just like audible sound, travels more easily through water than air. Ultrasound dilates blood vessels and increases the flow of infection-fighting white blood cells and antibiotics. The energy also stimulates new blood vessel formation, which raises circulation, a crucial part of the healing process. It penetrates below the wound, where its high frequency vibrations destroy bacterial walls to fight infections.

Healing Power – http://www.forbes.com/forbes/2009/1116/health-wounds-medical-celleration-healing-power.html

Celleration, Inc – http://www.celleration.com/

MIST Therapy System – http://www.celleration.com/mist_therapy_system.html

MIST Therapy System – Acoustic Pressure Wound Therapy – http://www.celleration.com
/pdf/ML-66057_E_MIST_Therapy_Large_Sales_Presentation.pdf

Ultrasound Therapy for Recalcitrant Diabetic Foot Ulcers – Ostomy/Wound Management 2005;51(8):24-39 – http://www.celleration.com/pdf/Ennis_Ultrasound.pdf

Diabetic Complications and Amputations Prevention – http://www.footphysicians.com/footankleinfo/diabetic-amputations.htm

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The NZ Herald has an interesting article about a new way of monitoring people who have congestive heart failure.

Basically a set of scales and a blood pressure monitor are wirelessly connected to a cellphone: that’s the Bluetooth mentioned in the article, which sends data between gadgets via radio waves. The cellphone then sends the data to the hospital each day. If people forget to take their readings the hospital is supposed to chase them up.

One of the symptoms of heart failure is fluid accumulation in the body. People are supposed to weigh themselves daily and phone the hospital if they gain more than 2 kg overnight. Of course people do forget to weigh themselves, and the hospital won’t know if they’ve forgotten. A sudden worsening of congestive heart failure often leads to hospitalisation and/or death, but close monitoring and a rapid response to problems reduces the likelihood of these outcomes. That’s why this system has people weighing themselves.

Most people with heart failure are elderly, and it will be necessary to make the gadgets user-friendly and reliable in order to overcome unfamiliarity with and resistance to technology. Those patients who aren’t able to manage this form of self-monitoring are likely to have carers who can do it for them.

No system is foolproof (at the patient end or the staff end), but this looks like a simple and effective way of improving the management this condition.

~~~~~~~~~~

A large-scale trial will test whether software can identify depressed patients.

By Jennifer Chu

It’s a common complaint in any communication breakdown: “It’s not what you said, it’s how you said it.” For professor Sandy Pentland and his group at MIT’s Media Lab, the tone and pitch of a person’s voice, the length and frequency of pauses and speed of speech can reveal much about his or her mood.

Signal processing: Researchers at Cogito Health are developing mathematical models to detect vocal cues that may signal depression. The last graph represents the software’s confidence level in determining depression, from the beginning to the end of a vocal recording. In this example, the data shows a very high likelihood of depression. Credit: Cogito Health

While most speech recognition software concentrates on turning words and phrases into text, Pentland’s group is developing algorithms that analyze subtle cues in speech to determine whether someone is feeling awkward, anxious, disconnected or depressed.

Cogito Health, a company spun out of MIT based in Charlestown, MA, is building on Pentland’s research by developing voice-analysis software to screen for depression over the phone.

For years, psychiatrists have recognized a characteristic pattern in the way that many people with clinical depression speak: slowly, quietly and often in a halting monotone. Company CEO Joshua Feast and his colleagues are training computers to recognize such vocal patterns in audio samples.

Feast says the software could be a valuable tool in managing patients with chronic diseases, which often lead to depression. As part of certain disease-management programs, nurses routinely call patients between visits to ask if they are taking their medication. However, symptoms of depression are more difficult for nurses to identify. Feast says voice analysis software could provide a natural and noninvasive way for nurses to screen for depression during routine phone calls. “If you’re a nurse and you’re trying to deal with a patient with long-term diabetes, it’s very hard to tell if a person is depressed,” says Feast. “We try to help nurses detect possible mood disorders in patients that have chronic disease.”

A few years ago, the pharmaceutical giant Pfizer developed voice-analysis software to detect early signs of Parkinson’s disease. Pfizer scientists designed the software to recognize tiny tremors in speech. Such tremors offered clues to help gauge patients’ response to various medications.

I must say I’m worried that the Democrats are setting a trap for themselves on Health Care Reform by not really confronting the issue of cost inflation. Why does a CT Scan in America cost so much more than any other country. And it’s not just scans, it’s the whole range of services. Although it’s very hard to find, there is certain anecdotal evidence that part of the problem is an oversupply of hospitals and medical technology providers. Take Washington, DC for example.

The Washington, D.C., hospital sector has an excess of hospital beds and a concentration of services at the high end. Four community hospitals; three academic medical centers; a large, nonacademic tertiary care hospital; five specialty hospitals; and a public general hospital all compete to serve a city with a population of only 500,000. In addition, there are two military facilities. Forty percent of patients in this market are drawn from the adjacent Maryland and Virginia suburbs.

In the Libertarian’s “perfect market” pipe-dreams, an oversupply should drive down costs of individual services. But that’s not what happens. Each hospital that has invested millions in buying CT Scanners must amortize the cost over fewer patients by raising the cost of each scan. The same problem is plaguing Pittsburgh.

The region’s hospitals are trying to add nearly 1 million square feet of clinical space between 2006 and 2009 — a construction boom that is raising questions about a potential oversupply of costly hospital resources…

“There happens to be a lot of construction going on, but most of it deals with aging plants and the need to stay current with advances in technology,” said Ms. Riefner, who helps hospitals obtain financing for capital projects. “It’s not a matter of just spending money for the sake of spending money — they truly want to deliver the best possible care that they can.”

So all the region’s hospitals are caught in a technology arms race. No one is trying to figure out how many CT Scanners we need in a region and normal market mechanisms that would punish hospitals or clinics for spending too much on technology don’t work because we don’t have single payer system that disciplines the free market in every other developed country.

So are we about to pass a big giveaway to the hospitals, insurance companies, and pharmaceutical firms without any way to control the medical technology arms race?

This portrait of a young boy with a grinning skull is not an image you would like to see on the front page of your morning paper before breakfast. The sinister image is, if you ask me, associated with anti-nuclear protests were these kind of imagery is used to portrait the Armageddon which awaits the world if we go on using these kind of power sources.

Staring a little bit longer at the picture, it brought back memories of a trip to Florence. In the natural history museum ‘La Specola’ the most fascinating, beautiful and impressive anatomical wax collection in Europe and maybe even in the world is displayed in wooden showcases. A small exhibition room is dedicated to a couple of wax scenes made by Geatano Zumbo. These object are representations of the plague, syphilis and the triumph of time. Looking at the small wax sculptures it was not hard to imagine the smell of rotten flesh and decay.

But let me return to the present. My colleague Conny from the financial department of the museum made this image after I asked her to do a photoshop job with some objects from our collections. I asked her because she showed some of the results while she was practising with the new piece of software she just had acquired. When I told her what my initial reaction to this photograph was she was surprised about my negative explanation. Instead she explained why this is a positive image. And that it has absolutely no connections with nuclear power what so ever! Since she started working in Museum Boerhaave she got impressed by the way the history of medicine is a story of closing the gap between life and death. “ It is interesting to walk around in the museum and find out that from the early days of the anatomical theatres towards modern day medical technology the basic story is that the more we know about the human body the narrower this gap” Conny told. Usually it is the curator who has a story to tell or a lesson to learn. But interestingly this was the other way around. Of course everybody may see something different in this photo, and I guess Conny wouldn’t mind if we do, but the real eye-opener here is that this photo is a brilliant piece of co-creation. Curators amongst themselves can create images like these as well. They even will agree what the universal meaning of such a photo should be.

Let’s face it, as a curator I would never have guessed my colleagues ideas! I would never have figured out that this could be a positive image as well. It made me realize that co-creation for curators and other people working in museums, is a powerful tool which can be used to get in touch with the audience, a tool even that should be used more often. When I look at this photo, there is a new mantra echoing in my brain:

I would never have guessed until I asked.

I would never have guessed until I asked.

 Bart

InformationWeek.com recently published an article on Keas, a startup company that syncs its subscribers’ electronic medical records with personalized healthcare advice. Through this service, patients are able to better understand their health data, set personal health goals and then make more informed decisions about their care. In the future, Keas even hopes for specialized applications for everything from exercise guidance to fertility monitoring. Will social media and online applications really play this big of a role in the future of health care? Dr. Clay Marsh, director of the OSU Center for Personalized Health Care, offers his comments on the new service below:

Clay Marsh, MD

The area of personalized health care is a disruptive innovation that will open up new commercial opportunities. Empowering the individual is a key element of personalized health care and this consumer-empowered medicine requires information technology, including internet-based information and social media-enabled resources, to put the right information in the right person’s hands at the right time. Integrated businesses like Keas meet an emerging need and opportunity by linking personal health records with the decision support tools to provide the information individuals need to make informed decisions about their health.

Click here to read the entire article online.

The Social Wendy Group was LIVE@ the Tekne Awards 10.22.09 creating social content for the Minnesota High Tech Association (MHTA).

The Minnesota High Tech Association’s Tekne Awards celebrate Innovation. The awards honor Minnesota businesses and individuals who are changing the face of the world through technology innovation.

The awards are organized in the following categories, including Small and Growing and Established Business subcategories where appropriate:

(this year’s award recipient is listed below each respective category)

ADVANCED MANUFACTURING AWARD
The Advanced Manufacturing Award is presented to companies that have excelled in the production of advanced materials and chemicals, machinery and equipment, electronics and components, measuring instruments, photonics, optics and lasers, computer and peripheral equipment. 
 

Advanced Manufacturing recipient is Minnesota Thermal Science LLC. The Plymouth, Minn.-based company has developed the Credo Cube,

CLEANTECH AWARD
The Cleantech Award recognizes businesses that manufacture environmentally sound products or solutions that reduce costs, inputs, energy consumption, waste or pollution.
 

Cleantech Award recipient is Minneapolis-based Vast Enterprises LLC. It is using new technology to transform recycled materials into an innovative composite material used for green building.

GREEN AWARD
The Green Award honors businesses that practice environmental awareness/responsibility and incorporate sustainability principles into their overall business model.
 

Green Award recipient is Ecolab Inc. The company develops products to help companies lower their use of water and energy while reducing the amount of chemical waste released into the environment.

 
INNOVATION IN TEACHING (K-12) AWARD
The Innovation in Teaching Award recognizes innovative classroom use of technology in K-12 Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education, expanding opportunities for students to be successful in technology-related careers.
 

Innovation in Teaching Award recipient is Laurie Toll of Weaver Lake Elementary School in Maple Grove, Minn. Laurie Toll lead the launch of a K-6 Science, Math and Technology magnet program.

 
INNOVATIVE COLLABORATION OF THE YEAR AWARD
The Innovative Collaboration of the Year Award honors a business/community/higher-ed/K-12 collaboration or partnership that has demonstrated leadership, dedication and excellence in delivering an innovation to the Minnesota technology economy and/or community in general.
 

Innovative Collaboration of the Year Award recipient is Fabcon Inc and VAST Enterprises LLC. Minneapolis-based VAST Enterprises LLC and Savage, Minn.-based Fabcon Inc. partnered to launch the first precast wall panel with a composite masonry exterior.

IT-SOFTWARE & HARDWARE, COMMUNICATIONS AND INFRASTRUCTURE AWARD
This award is presented to companies that have shown great success on software and hardware (Web-based software, Web 2.0, etc.), networking, communications and wireless equipment and products.

Small and growing company recipient is SearchAmerica. Based in Maple Grove, SearchAmerica created Charity Advisor and Medicaid Advisor to enable users to identify all uninsured patients who qualify for hospital charity programs or other government initiatives, and enroll them immediately.  

Established company recipient is CareerOneStop.org. Under the guidance of program director Mike Ellsworth, the state of Minnesota has redeveloped CareerOneStop.org, integrating a new Web content management system, a search engine, and a new information architecture and taxonomy.

MEDICAL TECHNOLOGY AWARD
The Medical Technology Awards acknowledge companies excelling in production of devices, diagnostics and equipment relating to the medical field.

Small and growing company recipient is Plymouth-based Nonin Medical Inc. The company is committed to extending healthcare solutions into the home, giving individuals more freedom and reducing medical costs.  

Established company recipient is Eden Prairie-based Starkey Laboratories Inc. The country’s largest hearing aid company offers a revolutionary new product, the S Series hearing aid.
TECHNOLOGY EXECUTIVE OF THE YEAR AWARD
The Technology Executive of the Year Award honors individual members of executive teams who are responsible for the advancement of technology and technology strategy within a company or organization. 

Small and growing company recipient is Phil Isaacson, chief technology officer and owner of Plymouth-based Nonin Medical Inc. Nonin began in Isaacson’s basement where the four founders started testing and prototyping their first pulse oximeter.  

Established company recipient is Joel Ronning, chief executive officer of Eden Prairie, Minn.-based Digital River Inc. Founded in 1994, Digital River Inc. is the world’s leading e commerce solutions provider and has eight global data centers and clients such as Adobe, Microsoft, EA, and Kodak.

TECHNOLOGY SERVICES AWARD
The Technology Services Award honors companies that succeed in innovative development and/or delivery of technology services, including consulting services, service providers and SaSS.

Small and growing company recipient is Eden Prairie-based Access Genetics LLC. Its Web-based software, laboratory materials and networked professional services have come together in its molecular information system, Access TeleGene.  

Established company recipient is XATA Corporation of Eden Prairie. Its product, XATANET, allows customers to analyze their fleet operations in order to improve procedures and cut costs while adhering to U.S. Department of Transportation regulations.

TECHNOLOGY USER AWARD
The Technology User Award recipient has shown innovative application of products or services resulting in dramatic business improvement or market advantage. 

Technology User Award recipient is Honeywell. The Golden Valley, Minn.-based company created a new wireless technology suite designed specifically for heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) that eliminates the need to run wires for many applications.

This advice is just as much for me as for anyone else who happens to read this.

As humans, we have almost always lived in some state of danger or uncertainty.  Living in a country like the United States in the 21st century, however, it is easy to forget just how dangerous the world can be.  With cell phones, the internet, medical technology, transportation, abundant food, and a huge amount of instantaneous satisfaction, it can be VERY easy for me to forget just how quickly all of this can be taken away.  I am NOT invincible, even though sometimes I would like to think I am.  Accidents can happen, mistakes can occur.  I am blessed with a tremendous amount of control over my life and my future, but even then, money and privilege can not but CERTAINTY.  I do not know that I will wake up tomorrow, for certain.  I do not know that my dorm room might burn down, for certain.  I do not know that my friends or family might be killed in a car accident, for certain.  These are terrible things to think about, which is why I think death is such a taboo topic in our culture – it makes us feel uncomfortable.  But I think it is far better to acknowledge these possibilities rather than live in denial.  I’m not saying be morbid, I’m simply saying that we shouldn’t take our lives for granted.

Recently, I have been taking my life for granted.  I have been taking the opportunities given to me for granted.  I would even go so far as to say I have been squandering them.  Despite my privilege and opportunity, I have not taken care of myself or the blessings I have in this life.  Staying up late, very late, with no real reason other than I do not want to sleep; I think I am too good for sleep.  As a reaction against my narcolepsy, with the help of my new medication, I think part of me thought I was invincible, that sleep was no longer that important.  It was a big mistake.

By staying up late, by increasing my sleep debt to an inordinate amount, I literally made myself sick.  At first I thought it was just seasonal allergies, but I’ve realized over the past few weeks this is a yo-yo effect: if I get a decent amount of sleep for a night, I feel alright the next day, but since my sleep is never consistent, the sickness soon comes back.  I had terrible, chronic headaches.  A bad cough and painful sinuses.  My muscles felt weak and stiff, and I was feeling cold shivers.  It was getting to the point where I was even starting to feel dizzy when I got up, almost falling over if I exerted myself too much.  And this was entirely my own fault.

Yes, I could easily blame seasonal allergies, the flu season, the demands of college, but deep down inside I know that I am the instigator of the suffering with which I am now contending.  I have taken life for granted, to the extent that I am causing myself harm.  Nothing outside of me has done this, so I must take responsibility.

This is perhaps a sobering entry, maybe more so for me as I type it than for those few who I know read it.  But I am glad I am saying it, because it is encouraging me to be accountable.  And my life is improving.  I have been insisting I go to bed at a sensible time and after several nights of good sleep, the improvement in my overall health is very apparent.  The key is to make such behavior a CONSCIOUS habit, just like any form of actor training.  It must become a part of my daily ritual, the same as brushing my teeth or doing my stretches.

My advice to all: please, take care of yourself.  No one else can do this for you, and no one else can help you recover until you take the initiative yourself.  Whether you are an artist or not, you will reap the benefits of good health through this behavior, which will also help you tackle the challenges outside of yourself, over which you may have little or no control.

Take care of yourself.