Publisher’s Letter

Future Healthcare Predictions

On September 10, 2013 at the Intel Developer Forum, Intel President Renée James highlighted the growth of connected, personalized healthcare and the merge of healthcare and computation. Human genome, which holds the key to personalized medicine, usually takes a long time to calculate and is very expensive. But the new high-speed computing power from Intel will…

The Med Tech Food Chain

The medical technology ecosystem is an ever expanding and complex food chain. Most noticeable are the manufacturers building medical devices of FDA class I, II and III such as EKG machines, blood pressure monitors, blood glucose monitors, insulin pumps, ultrasound systems, implantable defibrillators, wearable devices and all sorts of wireless monitors. The list goes on…

Interview of the LifeScience Alley & BioBusiness Alliance of Minnesota by MEDS

Introduction written by the publisher of MEDS (Medical Elec­­tronic Device Solutions), John Koon Minnesota has long been known as a major hub of life science and medical device activities. Many top companies such as GE Healthcare, St. Jude and Medtronic are in the area. One outstanding organization called LifeScience Alley & BioBusiness Alliance of Minnesota…

Interview of Qualcomm Life Fund by MEDS

Introduction written by the publisher of MEDS (Medical Elec­­tronic Device Solutions), John Koon New medical device companies continue to emerge at a rapid pace. Various sources have indicated that while there are more start-ups, the length of time for a company to go from concept to successful product launch with positive cash flow is increasing…

Publisher’s Letter: Who Really (Health) Cares?

by John Koon 2013 is upon us. What is ahead of us? Recently I asked a friend who is about to have his physical checkup, “Do you feel that your doctor really cares about you?” “No,” he responded without hesitation. I also read that some patients complain that their doctors (the primary physician) spent more…

EMF’s Guide for Medical Device Company Executives

How to develop better products, save money, meet FDA/CDRH requirements more efficiently, and avoid recalls, lawsuits and nasty criminal complaints that can put you in jail   Introduction: As a matter of full disclosure—and at the risk of appearing anachronistic—I am a veteran of the old FDA medical device wars and have the scars (and…

The Ever Changing World of ECG Devices

From Functional to… Portable… Handheld… Wearable. I have witnessed Mobile Health in action. Many ECG devices are portable, but now I have started to see wearable ECG. Last year I saw one by Imec. This year at CES I saw another wearable ECG using clothing as a sensor. It is made by Cardiosport based in…

Hopes and Dreams for 2012

Nobody likes to stay in the hospital. Not adults. Not kids. But it is so wonderful to learn that the Boston Children’s Hospital has added some fun to the otherwise dreadful experiences. Disguised as a Cho Cho train, a robot cart would deliver meals and medicines to various patients in the hospital. They are also…

Publisher’s Letter: Future Trends of Medical Electronics

Over the past twelve months, I have attended multiple conferences and panel discussions relating to Medical Electronic Devices. There are three recurring themes: 1. Healthcare cost is getting out of control and is growing faster than in other comparable industrial countries. What to do? 2. Mobile Apps and Wireless solutions are hot. What does it…

Publisher’s Letter: A New Era: MEDs Advance

The world of electronics has changed tremendously over the years. Much like computing technology, medical electronics have become more intelligent, compact, portable and wireless. Contrary to the high volume consumer electronic products that are driven by cost, application and style, medical electronics are less cost sensitive but demand quality, safety and reliability. What are the…