Medical Devices: Trade Shows and Innovation
Posted: June 13, 2012 Filed under: Blog Posts by Yours Truly.... | Tags: medical device, medical device companies, medical device innovation, medical device trade show, medical device trade shows, medical devices, medical technologies, top medical device companies, trade shows Leave a comment
Asian Medical Device Trade Show
Copyright 2012, Written by Will Blesch
Step right up ladies and gents to two of Asia’s biggest trade shows dedicated to medical devices. According to the Focus Taiwan News channel, 440 top medical device companies have registered to run over 770 stalls at the Taiwan International Senior Lifestyle and Health Care Show, and the Taiwan International Medical and Health Exhibition.
The events are scheduled to begin June 14 and will run through the 17th.
As stated by Sue Lu, an official with the Taiwan External Trade Development Council, “The highlight of the exhibitions will be innovative medical equipment such as an ultra-light wheelchair that weighs less than nine kilograms.” She went on to note that “A unique “experience zone” equipped with medical apparatus and instruments will be set up for interested members of the public.”
So, why is this interesting if you are not a member of the medical industry?
Well, according to the WHO (World Health Organization), “Medical devices help to save and prolong life. For example, surgical instruments and anaesthetic equipment are needed for surgery procedures. Cancer is treated by radiotherapy units. Premature babies can be warmed with incubators. Medical devices also improve quality of life. Vision is improved with eyeglasses. The loss of a limb can be compensated by a prosthetic device. Haemodialysis machines replace kidney function.”
Something new and wondrous that could benefit patients all over the world could be invented at any moment…and these trade shows are just the place for top medical device companies to show off what they’ve developed so far.
Medical Device
However, no one realistically thinks that medicine and the medical devices used to help both doctors and patients cannot be improved upon.
“Improved awareness of the need for medical device innovation and the identification of safe and appropriate solutions are needed to meet health care needs and improve the performance of health systems in countries.” – The WHO.
In other words, there is a constant need to improve product quality and dependability, shrink costs, improve patient safety, and hasten relevant medical devices to market.
Yet, according to the WHO, in high-resource nations (ala the USA and the EU in particular) one of the major challenges of medical device advancement has to do with reimbursement. For instance, the EU with its insurance-based-healthcare system has problems negotiating compensation for new medical technologies. In the U.S., a lack of government funding in general, combined with a lack of trained support staff is a major barrier to innovation.
Successful product design and development requires the ability to take an idea and translate that knowledge into useful, patentable, commercial products. I am sure that there are many scientists and smaller companies out there that are dying to get their ideas looked at and produced…they just can’t.
As with other fields in science and medicine, in my opinion there should be a widening of eligible criteria when it comes to funding which could allow individual scientists and smaller medical device companies to realistically compete with well established giants in order to pioneer and develop the next generation of ground-breaking medical devices.
That’s just my opinion. In the meantime, let’s check out these Asian Medical Device Trade Shows and see what’s being offered.
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Will Blesch is a freelance copywriter, professional blogger and media professional. If you’re looking for an experienced copywriter to take on a project, (ranging from full product launches to ghostwriting your organization’s blog) please get in touch and tell me how I can help.
will AT willblesch DOT com
Hepatitis C: Interferon Causing Depression?
Posted: May 6, 2012 Filed under: Blog Posts by Yours Truly.... | Tags: depression, HCV, Hepatitis C, hepatitis c depression, how can you get hep c, how can you get hepatitis c, how do you get hepatitis c, professional blogger, what is hepatitis c Leave a comment_-_en.svg)
Copyright 2012, Written by Will Blesch
Apparently, those suffering from a Hepatitis C infection are prone to depression. This is a problem, especially considering the fact that a new study published in the International Journal of Interferon, Cytokine and Mediator Research, shows that interferon, a standard treatment for Hepatitis C infection, can actually BE a cause of depression.
Sounds lovely doesn’t it? You’ve got a Hepatitis C infection, and that by itself is enough to bring on true, clinical depression, and now we learn that one of the drugs designed to fight the Hepatitis virus can cause depression too!
It seems if you’re infected with HCV, you are in for a triple whammy. Boom! You have a virus that can kill your liver. Boom! Depression is known to accompany HCV infection. Boom! One of the drugs meant to help you has depression as a side effect.
This is very heavy stuff. Why?
Because, according to the researchers, suicide has become a major concern for those treating Hepatitis C patients. Any patient who has a personal or family history of mood disorders, depression, or suicidal thoughts “should be carefully interviewed and referred to a specialist for assessment of suicide risk and treatment of the underlying disorder before treatment with interferon can be considered.”
Obviously new, innovative drugs and treatments need to be developed. However, right now there are some natural products on the market that claim to boost the immune system and help target the latent Hepatitis C virus without the side effects sported by interferon.
It’s been said that if you can lower the actual numbers of latent (dormant or sleeping) virus in your body, you won’t develop the symptoms of disease that active viruses can cause.
It’s pretty easy to do a google search on broad range, natural antivirals. As long as there are no side effects, what’s the harm in trying something natural? It might not cure you…but it sure won’t harm you either.
So what’s the risk?
*If you liked this post, and felt it was of value. Please Tweet about it or post it on Facebook. 🙂
References:
Depression and pegylated interferon-based hepatitis C treatment
Author: Papafragkakis H — Rao MS — Moehlen M — Dhillon S — Martin P Journal: International Journal of Interferon, Cytokine and Mediator Research Year: 2012 Vol: 2012
Will Blesch is a freelance copywriter, professional blogger and media professional. If you’re looking for an experienced copywriter to take on a project, (ranging from full product launches to ghostwriting your organization’s blog) please get in touch and tell me how I can help.
will AT willblesch DOT com
Can Sitting Kill You? (You Bet Your Sweet Butt it Can)
Posted: March 28, 2012 Filed under: Blog Posts by Yours Truly.... | Tags: Archives of Internal Medicine, death, Human papillomavirus, National Heart Foundation Australia, Obesity, professional blogger, sedentary, sitting 1 Comment
Copyright 2012, Written by Will Blesch
I’ve decided I’d like to take a break from focusing on HPV and other viral diseases and just talk about some general health concerns some people might have.
(Plus, I was getting a bit burned out on the whole HPV topic.)
With that in mind, I was browsing through various health news sources and I came across an Australian study which suggests that sitting around all day (11 hours or more cumulatively) whether in front of the television, or sitting in your car, or sitting at work, is extremely detrimental to your health.
According to this study, that was commissioned by the Cardiovascular Research Network and supported by the National Heart Foundation Australia’s NSW Division, it doesn’t even matter if you exercise in between sitting down. If you sit in total for more than 11 hours a day, the sitting is hurting you.
In fact, your risk of dying within three years goes up by more than 40%. That’s an incredible jump in risk of death, wouldn’t you agree?
It’s all about sedentary lifestyles, life habits, work habits, etc. It can lead to obesity as well as other health risks…especially in terms of risks to the health of your heart. The study’s leader, Hidde van der Ploeg, said “Watching TV, using computers and electronic games can involve sitting for long periods and have become a big part of leisure time. But, we know that people who spend less time on these things have better health than those who spend too much time on them.”
What’s the verdict? Get up, move, stop sitting if you can. Decrease the amount of time you spend on your tuchus (Yiddish for your butt….).
How will you do that? Feel free to clue me in on YOUR action plan.
*If you liked this post, and felt it was of value. Please Tweet about it or post it on Facebook. 🙂
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Will Blesch is a freelance copywriter, professional blogger and media professional. If you’re looking for an experienced copywriter to take on a project, (ranging from full product launches to ghostwriting your organization’s blog) please get in touch and tell me how I can help.
will AT willblesch DOT com
HPV Confessions (Are Women’s Mags Pushing an Agenda?)
Posted: March 20, 2012 Filed under: Blog Posts by Yours Truly.... | Tags: Anal cancer, Cervical cancer, Gardasil, HPV, HPV vaccine, Human papillomavirus, professional blogger, women's health, Women's magazines Leave a comment
Copyright 2012, Written by Will Blesch
Well, dear readers my pause has actually been a little more than a month rather than a mere week.
However, I am back!
As promised, this posting will look at some of the more popular women’s magazines in the U.S. and their coverage of any issue concerning the Human Papillomavirus (HPV) over the course of 2011.
Here’s the top five: “Women’s Health Magazine”, “Cosmopolitan”, “O, the Oprah Magazine”, “Glamour” and “Self”.
With titles like, “Would He Get an HPV Vaccination to Protect You?,”all of them pretty much touted the government line without doing any kind of journalistic digging. (What does one expect from magazines that are mostly built around fluff?) All of them that is, except for O, the Oprah Magazine.
O, at least had some material that was more for the thinking woman. This magazine had titles like “The HPV vaccination debate” and “You Might Be Able to Skip Your Pap Smear This Year.”
What does this mean? Why does it matter?
It means that the government’s line regarding HPV infection is strong, it’s constant, and it infiltrates all kinds of media.
The marketing message is this:
There’s an HPV epidemic! Women all over the place COULD get cervical cancer, and now, boys too can get oral and anal cancers due to HPV! You need to prevent it NOW…with the HPV vaccine.
The fact of the matter is that they neglect to tell you that 90% or people with an HPV infection will clear that infection naturally with NO medical intervention of any kind.
Moreover, the HPV burden of disease is largely in the male, homosexual community (I’m not making this up, it comes directly from the CDC.)
And, finally, the HPV vaccine is incredibly limited in the protection it is supposed to provide!
Bottom line, intelligent women need to do some of their own digging and should never rely on popular, commercial magazines for their health info.
Will Blesch is a freelance copywriter, professional blogger and media professional. If you’re looking for an experienced copywriter to take on a project, (ranging from full product launches to ghostwriting your organization’s blog) please get in touch and tell me how I can help.
will AT willblesch DOT com
A Week-Long Pause
Posted: February 10, 2012 Filed under: Blog Posts by Yours Truly.... | Tags: Cervarix, Cervical cancer, Gardasil, HPV, HPV vaccine, Human papillomavirus, womens health magazines Leave a comment
Copyright 2012, Written by Will Blesch
Dang! I didn’t realize this week would end up being so busy. It was actually a knockout though.
I know I promised an article talking about the leading Womens Health Magazines and what their coverage of the HPV vaccine, Gardasil (or Cervarix) was like over 2011. Sadly, my research is not complete. I have a ton of excuses…most of them legitimate.
However, I won’t bore you with the details except to say…I shot two commercials this past week and have been kept busy with some writing work for a particular client. The commercials are being edited now, and once they are complete I am sure I’ll have some links for anyone interested in seeing them.
(And hey…yeah you! If you think you might need some PR, commercial, or copywriting work done…listen, I do outstanding work. You should get in touch. Really. If I can fit you in to my schedule, I’m always looking to work with great, new people and companies!)
Anyway! Please bear with me, the article on Womens Health Magazines and their coverage during 2012 of the HPV vaccine IS coming as promised.
This is just a pause before the storm. 😉
-Will
HPV Stories in Womens Health Magazines?
Posted: January 29, 2012 Filed under: Blog Posts by Yours Truly.... | Tags: health, professional blogger, womens health magazines Leave a comment
Copyright 2012, Written by Will Blesch
Hi folks! It’s Sunday and I’m back on the prowl. Actually, I am in the process of doing some research to find out just how many womens health magazines have been publishing stories on HPV infection. I’m also interested in learning what slant the publications take in terms of vaccine promotion.
Before I even get started, I have to say that I am, right now, fairly certain that most womens health magazines are going to tout the official, Merck Pharmaceuticals line regarding Gardasil. (They say it’s safe, effective, and prevents cervical cancer.) Ever since Gardasil was FDA approved on June 8th, 2006 the majority of media in the U.S. have inundated the public with what amounts to free advertising for Merck.
Are those guys smart or what?
Anyway, while that’s my initial, pre-research opinion I’m really interested in finding out the truth about what information the major womens health magazines have published regarding HPV over the past year.
One thing I found out just before the weekend began though:
Merck acknowledged that in their controlled studies, a percentage of girls actually developed serious cervical lesions following Gardasil vaccination. The vaccine seemed to cause the most lesions in girls with pre-existing HPV 16 or 18 infections, but also in girls who had no pre-existing HPV infections!
Reference:
Tomljenovic L and Shaw CA, Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccine Policy and Evidence-Based Medicine: Are They at Odds? Annals of Medicine December 22, 2011;
And these guys are still allowed to market the vaccine AT ALL? I think we live in what the Chinese would call, interesting times.
Feel free to leave me a comment or email me with your thoughts. Also feel free to take the shortened URL to this posting here:
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Will Blesch is a freelance copywriter, professional blogger and media professional. If you’re looking for an experienced copywriter to take on a project, (ranging from full product launches to ghostwriting your organization’s blog) please get in touch and tell me how I can help.
will AT willblesch DOT com
Planned Parenthood Advocate Gets HPV Vaccine Info DEAD Wrong
Posted: January 25, 2012 Filed under: Blog Posts by Yours Truly.... | Tags: Cervical cancer, DNA, FDA, Gardasil, HPV, HPV vaccine, Human papillomavirus, Planned Parenthood, professional blogger 1 Comment
Copyright 2011, Written by Will Blesch
I just found out that Anna, the blogger who had challenged me yesterday is actually a blogger with Planned Parenthood: Advocates of Arizona.
I took a look at her blog found HERE…and noticed that she is posting supposed facts which are facts, and facts which are…well…less than fact and more like outright misinformation. (I’m being charitable.)
I took a small selection from her posting on the HPV vaccine, Gardasil and that you can read in its entirety by clicking on the link above, and posted the REAL facts.
I’ve also cited my sources (which are authoritative by the way.)
Anna says:
“Myth: The HPV vaccine has caused death in some of its recipients.
Fact: While some people have died after receiving the vaccine, their deaths were not caused by it.”
Although she cites the CDC in this instance, she neglects to mention that while the CDC supposes that there is no relationship between HPV vaccination and these peoples’ deaths, a government watchdog group called Judicial Watch has uncovered 26 NEW deaths recorded by the FDA in relation to Gardasil vaccination between September 1, 2010 through September 15, 2011. You can read the entire report HERE:
Anna says: “Myth: There is human papillomavirus DNA in Gardasil.
Fact: Gardasil consists of empty protein shells. The infectious portions of HPV’s genetic code are not involved in its manufacture.”
She then cited sciencebasedmedicine.org which is apparently a blog maintained by a number of medically trained scientists. You can read the particular posting she cites HERE:
However, the blog she cited as well as her own posting are completely false!
Here’s what the FDA says (and although I myself am critical of the FDA, still I am sure most will consider the FDA more authoritative than a medical blog):
“The presence of DNA fragments is expected in Gardasil and not evidence of contamination.” And “Gardasil does contain recombinant HPV L1-specific DNA fragments, but these are not contaminants.” – FDA
You can read all the FDA’s info on DNA in the Gardasil vaccine HERE:
Thus, if you want to be factual, you must admit that Gardasil DOES contain rDNA (genetically engineered DNA) from the HPV virus.
- Myth: Cervical cancer is a relatively rare cancer whose rates have been declining for decades. Therefore, the vaccine is unnecessary.
Fact: Cervical cancer rates have been declining among women with access to Pap tests, but cervical cancer remains a leading cause of death in other parts of the world.”
Actually, The fact of the matter is that there are over 76,751,637 women in America. Only 12,000 will be diagnosed with cervical cancer, and of those, an estimated 4,000 will die.
That’s 0.02% (rounded up) diagnosed with cervical cancer. Of that number, 33.3% will die. That’s 0.005% of the numbers of HPV infected women in America.
Obviously, just one person dying is too many. However, you can see from the numbers that HPV caused cervical cancer deaths are extremely low.
Moreover, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says:
“In 90% of cases, the body’s immune system clears HPV naturally within two years.” – CDC
So again, I ask you…why the crazed push for EVERY boy and girl to get the Gardasil shot? Re-read some of my other blog postings.
I think the answer is obvious.
Will Blesch is a freelance copywriter, professional blogger and media professional. If you’re looking for an experienced copywriter to take on a project, (ranging from full product launches to ghostwriting your organization’s blog) please get in touch and tell me how I can help.
will AT willblesch DOT com
HPV Vaccine Under Fire, Class Action Law Suit Filed Against Merck
Posted: December 28, 2011 Filed under: Blog Posts by Yours Truly.... | Tags: class action law suit, FDA, Gardasil, HPV, HPV vaccine, Human papillomavirus, law suit, professional blogger, Vaccination 2 Comments
Copyright 2011, Written by Will Blesch
Dear All and Sundry,
Been away for a bit from the bloggosphere and may be away a bit longer, but I wanted everyone to know I shan’t be gone long. I should have a new posting of my own up in a day or two.
In the meantime, I felt that the following story merited being mentioned and so I’m linking to it.
It is entitled: HPV Vaccine Victim Sues Merck
It’s written by Dr. Mercola and again, you can visit the actual story by clicking on the link HERE.
With a growing number of girls and women reporting Multiple-sclerosis-like symptoms and neurological complications, including seizures, paralysis and speech problems following Gardasil vaccination…
It’s my personal belief that the sort of class action law suit described in this article should be replicated and filed here in the U.S.A post haste.
I also feel the FDA should be ashamed that it approved this vaccine in the first place. But then, when enough money is involved….
Will Blesch is a freelance copywriter, professional blogger and media professional. If you’re looking for an experienced copywriter to take on a project, (ranging from full product launches to ghostwriting your organization’s blog) please get in touch and tell me how I can help.
will AT willblesch DOT com
Mutated Bird Flu: Are Scientists Being Foolish?
Posted: December 21, 2011 Filed under: Blog Posts by Yours Truly.... | Tags: biosecurity, bird flu, flu, Influenza A virus subtype H5N1, pandemic, professional blogger, science, Scientific journal, viruses 2 Comments
Copywrite 2011, Written by Will Blesch
It is amazing to me that the U.S. government should need to ask scientific journals not to publish details concerning experiments in which scientists mutated a deadly, but usually not transmissible flu virus into a highly transmissible form.
The research is under review for publication in the journal Science.
What is even more amazing is that scientists actually felt the need to conduct a dangerous experiment like this in the first place. How irresponsible can a group of people get? The supposed benefits do not outweigh the dangers…particularly when we live in an age where technology and information is somewhat easily come by and evil people have the means combined with the desire to come by it.
If a U.S. biosecurity panel had to ask that details of the experiments be kept secret for security reasons, one should ask if the experiments were necessary to begin with.
Scientists said: “In the laboratory, it was possible to change H5N1 into an aerosol transmissible virus that can easily be rapidly spread through the air. This process could also take place in a natural setting.”
Basically, scientists didn’t want to wait around and see if the natural bird flu virus would mutate on its own.
Instead, they wanted to beat nature to the punch supposedly in order to develop a treatment in case the virus ever does mutate into transmissible, aerosol form.
The question is, who says that the virus actually would mutate into such a form. Just because it “might” doesn’t mean that it will. More to the point, even if it did mutate into a transmissible, aerosol form…who says that form would be exactly like that engineered by these scientists?
Now, they have to protect their work so that crazy freaks won’t get their hands on the data.
To paraphrase Jeff Goldblum in Jurassic Park,… “Just because you can genetically engineer something doesn’t mean you should.”
Will Blesch is a freelance copywriter, professional blogger and media professional. If you’re looking for an experienced copywriter to take on a project, (ranging from full product launches to ghostwriting your organization’s blog) please get in touch and tell me how I can help.
will AT willblesch DOT com
Hepatitis C Remedies: New Hope on the Horizon?
Posted: December 11, 2011 Filed under: Blog Posts by Yours Truly.... | Tags: Alios BioPharma, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Food and Drug Administration, Hepatitis, Hepatitis C, Hepatitis C remedies, Hepatitis C virus, Hepatitis remedy, World Health Organization Leave a comment
Copywrite 2011, Written by Will Blesch
Some very interesting things are happening when it comes to Hepatitis C Remedies.
Four different, large pharmaceutical companies have paired up to develop new treatments for those suffering from a Hepatitis C infection. All four companies put out press releases just this month, so this is an exciting time for those interested in antiviral research. (Like me.)
According to Hepatitis Central there is now “a collaboration between pharma giants Bristol-Myers Squibb and Tibotec … to investigate Daclatasvir plus TMC435 against Hepatitis C (HCV)genotype 1.”
Also this month, Canadian pharmaceutical company, Vertex and U.S. biotechnology company, Alios BioPharma teamed up to develop all oral regimens for the treatment of Hepatitis C.
In 2011 the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that approximately 170 million people worldwide (17 per cent of the world population) are infected with hepatitis C virus. About 80 % of the newly infected people develop chronic infection.
When someone is diagnosed with a Hepatitis infection, or if they are waiting on a diagnosis, that person may feel very anxious. They may doubt their future, their health, or themselves.
While there is a safe and effective vaccine for Hepatitis B, there remains no cure for Hepatitis C.
Because of health scares and images of patients with extreme tiredness, weakness, loss of appetite, swollen stomachs, and people with bruises all over their yellowed skin…many people with a Hepatitis infection imagine themselves ending up in a hospice or nursing home with no hope, and no future.
This is a subject that is near to me since my ex’s dad actually died of cirrhosis of the liver due to an HCV infection. That’s why I am in full support of biotechnology companies that pursue scientific, Hepatitis C remedies.
Considering the fact that in 2004, the FDA came out with a new category of drugs called “Botanical Drugs,” (a product that is used as a drug and that contains as ingredients vegetable materials, which may include plant materials, algae, macroscopic fungi, or combinations thereof. Botanical drug products may be available as (but are not limited to) solutions (e.g., teas), powders, tablets, capsules, elixirs, topicals, or injectables. – Center for Drug Evaluation and Research) new methods for fighting the Hepatitis virus should be explored.
By that, I mean that drugs that can be described as natural, or deriving from a plant source rather that chemically manufactured, should be researched and examined closely.
I don’t think that any of the above mentioned companies are developing botanical drugs, but I am still intrigued by the fact that these large pharmaceuticals are teaming up the way they are. I just personally wish that more pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies were working towards a natural, yet clinically effective Hepatitis remedy.
I know of only three companies that are working on botanical drugs at the moment. They are: BD Corp (Botanical Drug Corporation), PurGenesis Technology, and polyDNA.
Let’s wait and see what patented products they come out with, and whether any of them will end up FDA approved.
Health and Wellness 