WeirdMedical™

Did you ever imagine as a kid, losing the ability to walk and getting a pair of robotic pants that your clumsily staggered around the house in?

Or…did you ever pretend you lost your eyesight and got a pair of ooky biomechanical “popping” eyes to peer at your friends?

Well, here they are 12 recent advances in robotics that even most kids did not imagine…

Advances In Medical Robotics

So goes the $6M Bionic Man…read on…

Summer is over tonight and no better proof then fall arriving on the rays of a Super Harvest Moon!

WeirdMedical is back at work…but let’s not think too hard. The article below well help us start out slowly.

Here’s another finding about alcohol – upon first blush it appears that anecdotal evidence is enough, but read on…

According to Paul Taylor at The Globe and Mail:

“The study published this week [week of July 29, 2010] in the journal Rheumatology, marks the first time that the frequency of alcohol consumption has been linked to the severity of this disease.”

Alcohol tames Arthritis

Taylor’s article goes onto comment about the benefit moderate alcohol consumption provides to the relief of arthritic inflammation in the joints (not as one would think with the neurological numbing of the senses)…

“In particular, X-rays showed there was less damage to joints, blood tests showed lower levels of inflammation and there was less joint pain, swelling and disability.”

Okay, so the research finding isn’t so obvious. Read on and enjoy…

“But honey, the < fill in here > made me do it!”

A meta-analysis of healthcare insurance claims has shown that middle aged men (40′s or older) who take impotence drugs have triple the rate of sexually transmitted diseases compared to their drug-free brethren.

The scientific theory, however, is not that the drugs make them more promiscuous but that perhaps the predisposition of the male mindset leads them to seek the path to more fun through pharmaceuticals.

Read on…

Apparently…even in this economy…medtech use is still way up!

According to Cole Petrochko, Staff Writer at MedPage Today, and a report from the National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) – the definition of medical technology – more succinctly “medtech” – is broadly interpreted beyond just medtech but clearly its usage trend is up…way up.

Mr. Petrochko and the NCHS go on to say, “Increases among those technologies from 1996 to 2007 included the following:

• Total knee and hip replacements for patients 45 and older increased by 70% and 60% respectively, as measured by hospital discharges. Although joint replacements were more common in those 65 and older, they increased at a faster rate among younger patients.

• The number of kidney transplants increased 31% (43.7 per million in 1997 versus 57.2 per million in 2006); liver transplants were up 42% in the same time span (15.6 million in 1997 versus 22.2 per million in 2006).

• Heart transplants declined 20% from 1997 to 2004, but rose slightly from 2004 to 2006. The 2,147 heart transplants in 2006 accounted for 8% of solid organ transplants, the third most common solid organ transplant, behind kidney at 16,646, and liver at 6,136.

• Outpatient colonoscopy rates tripled in adults over age 19 but increased in all age groups. The biggest gains were posted among those 45 to 64, although the procedure is most common in those 65 to 74. Similar gains were noted for upper endoscopy procedures.

• The change in stenting practices…”
  
• Additionally, the number of patients taking at least one prescription drug grew to 47% of the population in the 2003 to…“
• Read more >>
  • according to Mr. Petrochko
  • from the NCHS 2009 Stats Report with Special MedTech Feature Section
    

Clearly medtech, as well as biotech and pharmaceutical drugs, usage is way up – so let’s challenge ourselves, to ask:

“Why aren’t the U.S. medical industry service providers thriving and why are industry jobs becoming scarce?”

We’d like to hear your thoughts.

Tired of that drafty ol’ back door?

You’ll soon bee in luck!…perhaps the next time you visit your doctor’s office.

British patients scheduled for their next physical or ob/gyn examination may soon be treated with dignity. US-born top fashion designer, Ben de Lisi has said “enough!” to the traditional tie-in-the-back gown. He has designed a wraparound gown that is being tested in the city of Bristol, England. As of Tuesday, local hospital officials’ report that patient feedback has been positive.

(The Times Online)

The new gowns may not be quite what Kate Winslet or Demi Moore would wear floating down the red carpet at the Oscars. However, these utilitarian wraparounds will be unveiled next month, and the British government hopes to have them in hospitals next year.

And since most of us don’t have cute enough bumms, this design has arrived none too soon!

It’s  that time of year again for women to think about taking care of their “heart health”…

Friday, February 5 is Go Red for Women Day and has become a huge movement in the U.S. Originating in the 1990′s with the American Heart Association (AHA) many organizations have taken upon themselves to help expand the core message of heart health to all women across America and around the world. But sadly cardiovascular disease is still the #1 killer of women.

YOU can do something about it!

You can:

1) Download the Complete Guide to Women’s Health from the AHA, and…

2) Join a corporate, family or friends group – the AHA is now encouraging us all to raise awareness and funds for critical women’s heart disease research.

Click here –> to start a group, join a group or  download essential materials to present and encourage others to participate.

AHA’s new Go Red logo for 2010

3) …or Get heart healthy yourself by going to AHA Heart Makeover.

Do something for women around the world – get the word out!

It’s that time of year again…no, not pretty daffodils and tulips blooming…no, not the end to the (seemingly) never-ending and unpredictable snowfalls thanks to global warming…no, not bikini laden spring break…but…

Tax time – April 15th!

Nothing more predictable than the need to pay taxes and die…most often in that order. Unless, you are an appointed federal official. Despite what our fearless leaders chose to do with their capital gains, stock dividends and comfortable salaries, let’s do our fiscal and civic duty. Let’s file that income tax return today and pay our taxes…or get our refund…so we can bail ourselves out of the federal debt!

Here’s to us – the not-so-common, hard-working healthcare industry professionals!