Overheard at GMM HQ
"Luck is not a factor. Hope is not a strategy." - Holley Malia discusses the elements of successful market positioning in our latest blog.
WHAT THE INDUSTRY IS BUZZING ABOUT
MOVE OVER BOTOX, THERE'S A NEW INJECTION IN TOWN
A recent study out of John Hopkins University found that injecting microscopic beads that travel to the stomach and reduce the production of the hormone that signals feelings of hunger resulted in significant weight loss in severely overweight patients.
BEAT IT, OBESITY
The Bariatric Embolization of Arteries for the Treatment of Obesity (BEAT Obesity) pilot clinical trial was designed to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the injection process known as bariatric arterial embolization. Showing how they continue to find new therapeutic areas to insert themselves into, interventional radiologists perform the procedure under guided imaging.
THE 411
This weight-loss approach is far less invasive than surgery so could become the new lunchtime beauty fix. While more testing is necessary, we expect to see this popping up in Hollywood in three, two...
AUNT FLO GETS SMART
The definition of a wearable smart device just took a major turn—in the form of a Smart Tampon. Bet you didn't see that one coming. It's [about to be] a real thing though. It's not going to sync with your FitBit, but this latest wearable is set to revolutionize women's health.
FINALLY AN UPSIDE TO "THAT TIME OF THE MONTH"
Looks like we ladies have been flushing some valuable biomarkers during that time of the month. It turns out that the menstrual flow absorbed by tampons and then discarded holds all kinds of valuable medical information, including data about fertility, polycystic ovarian syndrome, ovarian cancer, uterine fibroids, and treatable infections, including chlamydia and gonorrhea.
THE 411
When Harvard researcher Ridhi Tariyal was denied medical testing to proactively assess her fertility, she founded NextGen Jane, built a smart tampon prototype, got some VC funding, developed the best elevator pitch of all time and now is set to turn the period into an exclamation point.
SUFFERING FROM OVER-EXPOSURE?
It may soon be time for Intuitive Surgical to share the stage after nearly 20 years. A new joint venture between Verily (formerly Google Life Sciences) and Johnson & Johnson called Verb has its bionic eyes on the next generation of robotic surgery.
ROBOTICS IS SO 3.0
Say good-bye to robotic surgery and hello to digital surgery. According to Verb President, Scott Huennekens, the company views their surgical platform as a 4.0 version “next era” of surgery. He claims that Verb’s technology will provide surgeons with advanced tools and implementation that will eliminate the existing silos of tools from one company, visualization from another, beds from a third and so on, thus creating a seamless solution with algorithms for decision-making. So a knee replacement may soon be easier than choosing which restaurant to go to.
THE 411
Currently, there's a lot of disparity in the way various surgical procedures are done. Verb aims to use information and standardized processes in surgery to increase quality, lower costs and make the outcomes more uniform. Obama Care approves.
GOOD TO KNOW
Honestly, who reads instructions these days? This may be just the thing to help with compliance.
