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What Matters March: MedTech News You Need To Know

Overheard at GMM HQ

"Step 1: Get all the hottest models and influencers to endorse it. Step 2: Don't sell tickets to a music festival you are not prepared to host. #fyrefraud" - Mia Benenate on GMM's 2019 Social Media Marketing Guide for MedTech Companies.

WHAT THE INDUSTRY IS BUZZING ABOUT

(HEART)BREAKING NEWS

Khloe Kardashian isn't the only one suffering from a broken heart. It turns out that half of Americans have some form of heart disease, a big increase in recent years. After decades of steady decline, deaths rose by almost 4,000 cases from 2015 to 2016. Where's the paparazzi coverage of that, US Weekly?

WTF?

Before you totally freak out, it's important to note that the staggering increase is largely due to changes in blood pressure guidelines, with the Heart Association redefining hypertension as blood pressure of 130/80, lowering it from 140/90.

THE 411

Before you totally don't freak out, it's worth acknowledging the increased prevalence of obesity, diabetes, and sedentary lifestyle that led the Heart Association to change the guidelines in the first place. The goal is to "startle people into changing their lifestyles and that people go to the doctor to have some of their cardiovascular risk factors assessed."

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IF YOU GOTTA PROBLEM, YO, I'LL SOLVE IT

You may have heard recently (like, in the above paragraph recently) that heart disease is the leading cause of death in the US and is a growing problem. One possible solution? A new wearable heart monitor utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) to diagnose heart rhythm and respiratory problems in real time.

THEN WHAT?

Detecting atrial fibrillation before someone has a stroke is possibly the only way to prevent said hypothetical stroke altogether, allowing the wearer to seek appropriate medical attention ASAP, or, if they've opted in, their doctor can receive an alert transmitted directly from the monitor. Beep boop beep boop.

THE 411

The manufacturer is touting the Heartsense monitor as the "first patient-driven AI wearable device born out of real-life clinical practice, not an engineering lab." If it prevents even one stroke, we're fine with them calling it whatever they want.

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KIDS ADULTS TODAY

According to a 2018 Nielsen Report, adults ages 35 to 49 are more addicted to their smartphones than teenagers. In fact, the report found that adults spend more time checking email than their children check social media, even on vacation. Because there's nothing like sending off a snarky "as per my earlier email..." while sipping rosé by the pool.

SO WHAT?

If you've ever told your kids that TV rots their brains, your phone has some bad karma for you. New studies find that legitimate medical ailments resulting from smartphone overload include: Texter's thumb, digital visual dysfunction, smartphone insomnia, and text neck.

THE 411

The darkside of smartphone addiction isn't just teenagers and cyber-bullying, it's actual physical ailments that are perhaps more likely to pop in among your coworkers than your kid's classmates. The out of office setting is your friend.

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GOOD TO KNOW

The robots are being trained to read your mind. But don't worry, it's a good thing. The growing field of computational psychiatry is applying the tools of computer science to psychiatry with the hope that machine learning will lead to a more data-driven understanding of mental illness. We're intrigued.





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