Exploring Exicure, Part 2 – Deep Dive on Tech Opportunity
As a rule, we follow the technological advancements of corporate giants in tech health to help inform those of us individuals choosing to define for ourselves who we are and what we want to be. That means knowing the world and those tracking us, good and bad.
Incredible advancements are made every day by health companies seeking to do good in the world, no doubt. However, we need to follow and examine them to enhance our own capabilities and positioning. We are not victims, we are active agents in our lives. In this new topic within the theme of Health, we are exploring a company primed to give us the safe/effective delivery of next-gen nucleic acid therapies right into our cells and tissues that we’ve been waiting for since the dawn of the 21st century.
So, What Exactly Does Exicure Do???
Last Health Post we offered a quick video from Jurassic Park showing that fantastic little DNA strand. We’ll those little bits, the nucleic acids, that make up those strands come in a variety of shapes and sizes. When we re-code these strands to treat disease, it can be difficult to get the body to take them into the cells and tissues. So Exicure came up with a fix. Its all about opportunity and a better mousetrap.
Exicure set out to maximize the uptake of a variety of therapeutics. So they went about redesigning the mode of transportation. Where linear models presented only a few options for uptake into a cell. Exicure’s SNA (Spherical Nucleic Acid) proprietary technology give multiple chances, due to the spherical structure, thereby increasing the likelihood that receptors in the body’s cells will match-up with the introduced therapy and that the cell will take in the proposed therapeutic. More importantly, because of its unique properties, SNA (Exicure’s Proprietary Tech) can enter into the tissues of a variety of organs beyond the liver (the conventional uptake organ). Now direct treatment can be applied to the Brain, Eye, Gastrointestinal Tract, Lungs and Skin.
The best part is it apparently does this without the added toxicity, or harmful side effects, of other treatments currently on the market. So sayeth the video anyway.
How is Exicure Tech Different
Bio-Med
What we are saying is that structure makes all the difference. Nucleic acids therapies are revolutionary in and of themselves but getting them applied can be difficult. Exicure seeks to change that. After all, all the great products of the world don’t have an impact unless someone can get them effectively from origin to our homes, and into our lives.
By providing a new means of delivery they say they can achieve three primary benefits: increased uptake, more stability (stays in the body longer), and can be applied to a number of different body tissues beyond just the liver.
So that’s the Bio-med side. As for the business side of things, benefit three is not only the most important but also likely to be the most profitable as we see it. Because it can be applied to a host of cells/tissues/organs, the technology can be licensed across a wide range of companies producing different therapeutics, the technology becomes ultimately scalable. Therefore… profitable.
The licensing potential of these opportunities is just beginning. With so many different tissue systems ripe for therapy the chance for scale increases dramatically. For instance the neurological applications are just now being put into clinical trial…
Exicure simply delivers better uptake. With 2x the level of health transfer, and 4x longer survival than its competitor, Exicure delivers a better mousetrap, hands down. Linear oligo therapeutics make way for Exicure, and SNA.
Exicure simply delivers more bang for the buck if you will excuse the parlance. Not only does their stuff get in better, it sticks around longer. Exicure provides therapeutic endurance.
So, what does this all ultimately mean. When you add up a number of health issues that have few therapies to treat them and add Exicure as a delivery model, you increase the odds of new therapeutics to have an impact. Meaning – better, more effective treatment. This makes lives better and treatment means profit, a win-win!
And Exicure, is definitely placing itself in the right spot within the field. Their business model is robust and is apparently setup with the cash it needs into the next year (2022).
Have we oversimplified the matrix??? Perhaps, but we don’t think so. Exicure is straightforward providing the axes and shovels to the miners, or perhaps a better analogy is providing shipping and distribution to Amazon. Hard to get right, you bet ya’, but look at what Amazon spends to do just that?!?!?
In any case, next week, we’ll continue our dive and breakdown the community buzz. We’ll look to see what folks around the business news community seem to be saying about Exicure and their proprietary tech.
As always, make sure we are thinking for ourselves out there, doing our own homework, and cyberize our lives with the best in disruptive tech. We aren’t doctors or professional investors, we’re just the average guy out there in the free flow of the masses looking for understanding and wanting to share. For those fueled by health-tech make sure to explore our BCB Cyber Health Section in more detail! See you next time on BCB Cyber.
As a rule, we follow the technological advancements of corporate giants in tech health to help inform those of us individuals choosing to define for ourselves who we are and what we want to be. That means knowing the world and those tracking us, good and bad. Incredible advancements are made every day by health companies seeking to do good in the world, no doubt. However, we need to follow and examine them to enhance our own capabilities and positioning. We are not victims, we are active agents in our lives. In this new topic within the theme, we are exploring a company primed to give us the safe/effective delivery of nucleic acid therapies right into our cells and tissues that we’ve been waiting for since the dawn of the century.
Cyberpunk is Loaded
Perhaps there are few elements as common to the genre of cyberpunk as the expansive and ever-growing list of drug therapies used to enhance any number of human characteristics. Don’t believe us, just check out the Big Book of Drugs created for Cyberpunk 2.0.2.0. And its not just about the feel good variety, much of it is dedicated to advancing human health and ability.
Technologically Enhanced Therapies
For the real-life version in the 21st century, perhaps there is no better use of drugs, than to try our hands at therapies built upon nucleic acids. You know the stuff at the center of DNA and RNA. After all, what better to help chance the course of humanity in terms of health than to tinker with our DNA and RNA, right? Even Jurassic Park taught us this…
Those core elements of DNA and RNA, nucleic acids, offer us the ability to provide new coding into our cells and create a pathway for new health therapies across a number of human ailments and desires. As far back as the year 2000, scientists were publishing in the scientific journal Nature describing that the impact of such technology in the area of immunology and cancer research using nucleic acids a vaccines would “undoubtedly be one of the most important advances in the history of vaccinology.” For the longest time, however, getting these therapies to uptake into the body’s cells and tissues was a difficult task.
Partnering to Produce
Fast forward twenty years and there are a number of publicly-traded companies that are working on exactly this problem and making dramatic breakthroughs.
The newcomers are quickly finding themselves a number of very willing and interested partners. More importantly, they are finding a quality stream of cash-flow to really push development.
Within this field of partnered-up biotechs, we also find Exicure. Their own partnership being with $187.378B Abbvie Inc’s (as of 3/9/21 on Yahoo! Finance) subsidiary Allergan, the maker of Botox.
Not limited to a single design technology in nucleic acid therapy, Exicure works across a number of them making the applications far more widespread and scalable. Ultimately, this means development into a number of fields including neurology, immuno-oncology (getting the body’s own immune system to fight cancer), dermatology, ophthalmology, GI tract, lung, and liver therapies.
Scratching the Surface & Closing, If Only For Today
While we’ve only just begun our investigation into Exicure we are going to leave off here for today. Always better to let new info settle in.
In any case, next week, we’ll continue our dive and breakdown the tech a little further. We’ll look to see what Exicure is proposing and how they are already making inroads to success.
As always, make sure we are thinking for ourselves out there, doing our own homework, and cyberize our lives with the best in disruptive tech. We aren’t doctors or professional investors, we’re just the average guy out there in the free flow of the masses looking for understanding and wanting to share. For those fueled by health-tech make sure to explore our BCB Cyber Health Section in more detail! See you next time on BCB Cyber.
In the name of staying up with the curve, we wanted to take this Gear Thursday moment to give you all a brief update. Back at the start of February, the 7th to be exact, we reviewed a fantastic little device known as Kardia Mobile, a personal EKG (a device dedicated to reading your heart), from AliveCor.
Then AliveCor demonstrated its dedication to continued development and released this announcement a few days ago.
Not only is this fantastic little EKG a quick way to tell yourself it just may be your anxiety talking, and we aren’t doctors so take this with a grain of salt, but now they are enhancing the completeness of the picture with a better, deeper understanding of our current heart health.
Ultimately, it’s still a push to get us onto their subscription service, KardiaCare. And there is still more to keep up to date on with health data moving to cloud storage.
However, there does seem to be a wholistic nature developing to the program when combined with Cardiologist examinations of the individualized data, that seems to offer sincere value to the user on a more reasonable basis than continued trips to the doctor’s office in person.
Still a winner in our books… btw still not sponsored save for that Amazon Affiliate link above, just love that cool tech that enhances our individual lives. Keep it coming AliveCor.
And for those who missed it, you can check out that initial review in its entirety below. Enjoy and see you next time on BCBCyber.com.
From 02.07.21 – Life is Crazy
In a world that keeps us running crazy, where tech can offer a little bit of peace, we should take advantage! For those suffering from anxiety, and concern for their heart health, AliveCor’s Kardia Mobile offers an effective aide.
With all the running from task to task, not to mention all the worrying we do in our daily existence about family, jobs, and all the extras we get ourselves involved in we have a lot of stress. For many of us, that means anxiety too.
Anxiety can be rough, leaving us feeling worn out and on edge. But more seriously it can become a positive feedback loop that further frays our nerves. More pressure, more stress, more anxiety, feel rotten, repeat… then you think you’re dying: our heart starts beating erratically (or at least we think so, our pulse races, we sweat, and oh yeah, get more nervous. Well, it certainly feels like you are having a heart attack or stroke anyway. In many instances, I myself have experienced exactly this.
With all the things we get ourselves wrapped up into in life and stress out about, I many times have been over-stressed to the point where I found myself sitting in front of a doctor in an emergency or urgent care unit only to find out that my anxiety/stress was causing my symptoms and inflaming my acid reflux disease (mostly brought on by stress and diet – also affected by stress and anxiety). No fun, do we see the terrible loops being created here???
I’ve been a worrier since I was a kid, but really this started in young adulthood. It never fails, from when this started in my twenties throughout my thirties and now into my early forties, I’ve experienced this. It all starts with chest pains and being terrified that I was having a heart attack or a stroke only to be told that it is my acid reflux or stress/nerve issues.
Despite being told over and over I continually find myself in that situation. Something had to change. With all the talk I do of technology, I’m taking things into my own hands for my health for my life, and for my family. Basically, because I want to be here for them in 30+ years.
I’m just an average guy, not a doctor, so please take this with a grain of salt and make sure to work it over for yourselves. And that means seeking professional help if you feel it necessary. But for me, I’m tired of just listening to doctors tell me that it is all those elements, and yet it always comes back to the point where I feel so much pain that I think I’m dying and then I stress more and more and end up in front of another doctor.
A Technological Change
I’m changing things. This begins with tech, big surprise for me, I know. I decided I was tired of being in the dark and needed the information I can use to start changing things about my health.
Doing some research, I dug around for a good starting point. It wasn’t easy though as the anxiety mounted. One of my biggest issues, telling myself I’m not dying of a heart attack.
That begins with knowing more about my heart. Why, because that’s what my worries kept bringing me back to.
In order to do that, yes, I can go to the doctor twenty more times over the next 10-20 years only to keep being told the same thing, going home and starting to change things only to see myself go back to the same stress patterns that feed on themselves and end up right back with the doctor. Not to mention stressing myself and my acid reflux further and continuing to destroy my inner workings! The tougher part still, continuing to shell out several hundred bucks every time just to be told the same thing from a basic EKG at some doctors office. Then having more financial stress!
Yup, that’s what it comes down to though, the EKG and my heart. I go in, they pop on the electrodes, and bam I’m told my heart looks great. I’m either warned then of stress/anxiety or acid reflux and sent on my way. It relieves the stress temporarily, but it always comes back.
For those who don’t know, this scary looking chart is just a simple way to examine how the heart is working. Its the core tech of the human body and exhibits electrical evidence of its operation. Thanks to MINT Nursing.
Only now with the painful damage of acid reflux and the ever-present stress that getting older brings with it and all the talk of the world about heart disease. Again, the loop. Even talking about the loop, we end up in a loop. Aaaah! There is no escape… or is there?
Fixing all this means taking my health in my own hands, because let’s face it no one will care about my health more than me and putting tech to work in my life gives me the opportunity to do something about it. That’s cyber-fuel let me tell you.
The Oracle of Our Times: Amazon
So, like everyone else, I ended up on Amazon and now we are here. I was tired of paying several hundred bucks over and over for a couple of minutes on a machine, and a few seconds with a doctor to be told the same thing and end up in the same situations.
The only things that seem to give me relief are occasional massage therapy treatments and finally seeing the doctor so they can tell me that I’m not dying of a heart attack. So, while the massage therapy treatments will remain costly and infrequent, I figured there is something I can do about the peace of mind that comes with an EKG with all the tech advancements towards low cost, personally accessible devices and monitors that have flooded the market over the last several years.
So again, yeah, Amazon. I know its trite and overdone, but its popular for a reason. They are great at linking people and product.
In any case, there I was searching the site for things like “personal EKG,” “mobile heart monitor,” etc. Ya’ know, the SEO optimizing keywords!
In the magic that only Amazon provides a world of devices started cropping up before my very eyes. The one that kept catching my eye, in particular, was the AliveCor Kardia Mobile. I don’t know why other than it seemed popular, fairly low cost (under $100), and was a small, straightforward device. You can see it for yourself too (#CommissionsEarned). There is a fancier “6 Lead” variety too (#CommissionsEarned), but we didn’t test that one. A little bit of digging revealed this video.
Ultimately though, what sold me was the edifying statement that said this device was FDA cleared. So, I knew there had to be quality work behind ensuring its effectiveness and that the professional community agreed to that point. So much so, along with some of the reviews, that I said the hell with it and just bought the damn thing. Alongside a wrist-based blood pressure monitor too. Ya’ know, its Amazon and one thing leads to another… damn they’re good!
Ok, so you know the process, two-day shipping right. Yup, as always good to their word… notices, then a picture of the bloody thing at my doorstep.
So now it’s time for the review, nope… Then the stress kicked in, working the site (you are reading on it now), working full time (ok, for me that means basically four jobs in one 40 hour workweek – no not the side gigs I got rid of but my one “day” job that consumes most of your waking thoughts), worrying about trying to be a dad from four states away, worrying about my relationships, etc… things have been a little hectic.
Getting Down to Business
Needless to say, last month whipped by stress, and despite my desire to do the fancy unboxing and a video showing everything, I never had time. Instead, I just started using it, and have used the device a couple of times.
Promotional video does a great job of the actual experience. Very simple, loading the app, selecting to start a recording, and then putting fingers on the pads. It really is that simple. Thanks to AliveCor, Inc.
It keeps telling me things are normal. Yes, I still have the pain of acid reflux (working on that), and the stress that comes with worry, and I know the device tells me it doesn’t detect an heart attack, but the best thing about this little pad known as Kardia Mobile is that it gives me that small dose of peace of mind I would only find previously after a several hundred-dollar doctor visit and for less than a hundred bucks! And if my nerves are taking hold and pushing enhanced states of anxiety, I can take my EKG and send it to a cardiologist for even way less than previous visits $25.00. And, if I’m freaked out beyond that I can get more regular assurance for $10 a month! Even at $120 a year that still better than a single visit to the local doc! Of course, none of this precludes me from going to the ER if I’m maxed out on stress either.
So bottom line, it buys me a little peace of mind! And that is worth its weight in gold.
The only annoying part I’ve found is that you must be in a quiet room. Even in using it just a few times, you quickly notice that the device gets touchy when other noises are present. Since the device works on high-frequency sound waves, it does have an impact. Other than that, it does exactly what it says, it performs, charts, and analyzes an EKG of your current, individual condition.
As for the data privacy side, from what I can tell I tell when data is released. The app has been very clear in asking for my email for continued communications. Since I ordered my product on January 13th, received it on the 15th, and signed up for the emails on the 17th, I’ve received a total of eight emails about the product (one of which was the Amazon receipt, and another Amazon following up to see if I was happy with the product). Six from AliveCor directly though, and each a simple, easy to understand and follow introduction to the device, applications, and links that direct me to their blog that further explains how I can become a better and more conscious actor in my own health.
With each of those communications, one thing that I am very happy with is that yes, they do collect data, but that they are very upfront about it and the privacy policy is always available as a link (as are terms and conditions).
While I’ve yet to use the service, customer support does seem to be at the ready. They have hours that include the weekends, yes both days, so the company seems to understand the nature of their product and the customer relation to it. In other words, it’s not just a Monday to Friday kind of relationship.
As for functionality, it was a quick download from the Google Play store that worked cleanly on my Samsung smartphone with Android. As for the big ol’ list of compatible devices, so you can make sure it will work for you, check it out here.
And, when it comes to extra information AliveCor has us covered there too with a specialized blog that includes a number of health-related articles that would allow us to better inform ourselves regarding not only the device but heart health in general. You can check that out here. We even found a great page on tweaking our diet for heart health. The best part, they don’t overwhelm you with info and give you a hundred recipes you have to race out and buy a bunch of fancy ingredients for. Instead, they simply offer straightforward nuggets of advice.
Nope, we haven’t signed up for any service or sent in for a review by a cardiologist yet. Yeah, that’s for future blog material, but hey you can’t have everything at once right? Otherwise, you wouldn’t come back. And we love when you come back.
Concluding Thoughts, For Now…
All in all, it does exactly what we hoped it would do. Gives a quick clean reading that I can compare to myself and other charts from my doctors in the past. Yes, it gives too a quick clean understanding of the app’s interpretation of my chart as well. That moment of relief I get from my doctor’s office for a hefty financial sum I now get for that one-time charge. And so far, I can get it on long battery life! No chargers or anything necessary and after several uses seems to be going strong.
This thing is definitely a keeper and just a reminder if you want to get yours you can do so here. Plus, full disclosure, we are not sponsored or promoted by any of the above save for the Amazon Affiliate Link (#CommissionsEarned), but as always, just love great tech. When we find something that worlds to add tech to our lives that makes a definite improvement, we want to share it!
Regarding future plans, we hope to keep on using this to fuel our tech passions in daily life, not to mention giving us a touch of calm in the frantic world we inhabit. In addition, we will look to do a review or two with a specialist and maybe even work toward the monthly plan AliveCor offers. And if we do any of that, we’ll be sure to share it with our community. But, for now, we are just happy with a little extra peace of mind.
So, please check back soon for more Cyber-Fuel to add to your daily tech passions with BCB Cyber. See you next time!
It does this with a better mousetrap. Exicure has improved the means of transport itself within the body. Targeting cells with greater efficacy of transmission (of an intended therapeutic), gives us more bang for our buck!
Which high tech, low life story will we write today?
For anyone who missed our health post this week, we’ve found some great new tech workout gear to check out. AI is a game-changer no doubt and now it’s dominating our gym… get to Crushing It with AI.
Punk up and get it done… We, as individuals, defineourworlds, not them. Not the government, not the corporate giants, not those telling us how to live our lives or what to think. We accept pain, not losses. We fight and we build.
As a rule, we follow the technological advancements of corporate giants in tech-health to help inform those of us individuals choosing to define for ourselves who we are and what we want to be in a world of powerful corporate and governmental elites. But where we can cut out and explore disruptive new tech that can add fuel to our passions, we dive all in.
Personalized challenges, corrective measurement/direction prepared by artificial intelligence, and a payment plan to match our hard-working, low lifestyles, what could be better! Investing in yourself is a no-brainer, and that begins with our health! We usually don’t recommend credit but this might be worth it. For without your health, what do you have?
A new product to the market is doing all this and much more. Tempo is a phenomenal new home fitness system that uses 3D sensors (forms only not spec data, or so they claim) and AI to analyze form and motion.
Thanks to tempo.fit, blended with a little cyber-fuel.
For those who didn’t catch it, PCMAG did a full spread on covering this health-tech AI setup and even made a video walking us through all the basics… Definitely worth checking out.
Just so you know, we are not sponsored by any of these products, companies, or organizations. We just love to share the coolest gear out there to self-cyberize and make our worlds our own! Make sure to come back soon and to check out more in Cyber-Gear follow this link!
Exploring the World’s Largest Medical Device Maker
As a rule, we follow the technological advancements of corporate giants in tech health to help inform those of us individuals choosing to define for ourselves who we are and what we want to be in a world of powerful corporate and governmental elites. That means knowing the world and those tracking us, good and bad.
Incredible advancements are made every day by health companies seeking to do good in the world, no doubt. However, we need to follow and examine them to enhance our own capabilities and positioning. We are not victims, we are active agents in our lives. Our Health is Our Own!
Under Final Consideration: In the News & Public Response
While we have already noted patient reaction in response to the technologies of Medtronic across the review of the company’s various segments and found the technologies themselves to be truly beneficial and welcomed, we’ve yet to go outside. Outside to the business, medical, and general public communities at large. In order to gain perspective, we now do just that and go wide.
Global Recognition
When stepping back to try to get a grip on what the broader world thinks of this company, the first thing that comes to your attention is recognition.
Across the world’s biggest company’s, Medtronic is consistently recognized as being both admirable and one of the finest in its field particularly toward its efforts with regard to inclusive employment. They find themselves again on Forbes top listings.
Thanks to BeckerSpine for their referral of the recognition that demonstrates two of the top in the field.
Furthermore, Medtronic has self-published its record and been recognized in the industry for its efforts in “Global Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity” with regard to their employment practices.
Thanks to BeckerSpine for their recognition for and reporting on Medtronic’s efforts toward inclusion.
And when it comes to the tech itself, Medtronic is typically a cut above in performance.
Concerning the limited global response to many of its past efforts, Medtronic is realizing it must get more into the promotional game. As its technologies continue to push healthcare to new, life-changing heights, it’s recognizing the need to become a more visible player. The new CEO Geoff Martha has begun making specific references to this…
Pushing the cyberpunk limits of including technology into healthcare and move off the pill for physical enhancement is coming to fruition with the new drive of this company and CEO Geoff Martha talked all about the need to do exactly this on a Yahoo! Finance interview back in January 2021.
Changing Investment and Analyst Perspectives
With a focus on innovative robotic surgery, Medtronic is beginning to demonstrate its effectiveness and abilities in one of the biggest growth sectors, not to mention tech’d up body mod potential – ok for basic health, but its still a modification by robot – in medicine today. Better yet they are being recognized for these efforts…
And when the global health crisis began last year, Medtronic stepped up and shared out designs for ventilators at a crucial time with the world experiencing a dramatic shortage that was putting lives at stake. Medtronic came through with an unusual offering and opened up its designs to any company that could produce the product. This was definitely a clarion call to its commitment toward public health for the sake of public health and wellbeing.
Ok, so we admit we didn’t dig too deep into the far past of this company. But in our defense this is a company that has a new CEO, is promising new directions, has received a lot of attention for its recent efforts, and seems to be making a bunch of changes towards public accountability and responsibility. For us, it’s hard to deny that Medtronic is anything but a company dedicated to its “first and foremost priority… (being) … to contribute to human welfare.”
Having reviewed multiple aspects of this company we can definitely conclude that a high, powered global mega-corp, it absolutely is. High-end, disruptive medical technologies built on changing human health fuel this corporate giant without question. Is it powerful, does it make some strange statements, and does it command plenty of financial assets, you bet ya! But, in the end, Medtronic is a global health company with a heart, concerned with finding the path to aiding our lowly lives in Health! And the best part is, it does so rooted in advancing disruptive tech in healthcare that can further fuel and redefine our individual lives!
Exploring the World’s Largest Medical Device Maker
As a rule, we follow the technological advancements of corporate giants in tech health to help inform those of us individuals choosing to define for ourselves who we are and what we want to be in a world of powerful corporate and governmental elites. That means knowing the world and those tracking us, good and bad.
Incredible advancements are made every day by health companies seeking to do good in the world, no doubt. However, we need to follow and examine them to enhance our own capabilities and positioning. We are not victims, we are active agents in our lives. Our Health is Our Own!
While it may be the smallest group with the Goliath that is Medtronic, the Diabetes Group shouldn’t be counted out at it is a fascinating subdivision engaged in a unique approach to medical tech: the social angle.
A Core Principle
As we have seen in much of the rest of Medtronic, the device maker is very much centered on the patient’s relationship to the tech and the inter-connectedness of peripheral technologies to that relationship. When it comes to the Diabetes Group, their promoted aim is much the same. In their YouTube Group About Us page, the division announces its aim as to “empower you to take control of your diabetes while giving you flexibility and peace of mind.” The fact that we point out the YouTube page right of the front is not done at random, but we’ll get there in a moment.
Their goal: flexibility and convenience. Not only that, but to be made available to the whole family in an all-ages welcome kinda approach (save for those under 2). Their pump is an automated system whereby the device will adjust itself “every five minutes” as underlined in the graphic above.
The CARELINKTM™ Connect App is one of the most distinctive attributes of this system. Where we would expect to find insulin-related delivery devices and trackers (Continuous Glucose Monitors – CGMs) for diabetes, a way to collect, store, observe and analyze data, and a wide application, one of the most unusual aspects is that they provide a solution too built on expanding access for up to five people. Not just you and your doctor anymore. In addition, they are building software upgrades into the package for continuous connectivity.
Scouring around those sites one thing popped out, how helpful and impactful the technologies provided have become. Like the following we found on their Twitter links through the #MedtronicAmbassador links on their homepage:
Clawing through our high-tech, low life world its still nice to see when a child’s life is enhanced through tech!
Finally, An Observation
While digging through all the materials provided by Medtronic on this fourth group one interesting thing of note that we discovered without much additional detail was the partnership listed for this group: Blackstone.
Perhaps it’s nothing but am always fascinated by investment in medical companies as strategic partners when those partners don’t have specific ties to a particular medical issue at hand. For instance, The Foundry Half Moon Medical is an actual medical device incubator and has worked with transcatheters specifically, therefore making perfect sense as a partner.
Blackstone however does have an investment focus in the life sciences but does not seem to offer publicly, at least on their website, any specific information on how the strategic partnership could be beneficial beyond access to capital.
Don’t get me wrong access to liquidity (an easily accessible cash flow) is always important for these big corporate players, but as so much of Medtronic’s story is focused around patient-centered outcomes and other partnerships seem to center on the tech and the issues at hand this one simply stands out as a bit, different if you will.
Closing Thoughts on the Fourth & Final Division
We realize the processes involved in healthcare are far more complicated than we present here, however, we see possibilities that are very real nonetheless and we look forward to seeing so much more in our exploratory journey through this company. And hope to give our audience the tools to help bring a bit of understanding of the different facets of technology in health along the way.
The Diabetes Group for Medtronic may be the smallest of the bunch but certainly impactful in its own right and making moves toward societal integration with tech. While there are some interesting connections that exist with this particular unit that we haven’t found elsewhere (not to say they don’t exist), we did also find that this unit seems wholly focused on improving healthcare for the patient, even if they “do not practice medicine or provide medical services.”
Join us next week as we wrap up our explorations of Medtronic as we look to see what the broader, interested community has to say and what the latest news is on the World’s largest device medical device maker that doesn’t practice medicine or provide medical services. Sorry, we just can’t get over that, yeah, yeah, we know it’s legal speak, but come on! We look forward to the last stage of our journey together into the world’s largest Medical Device Maker. See you next time.
In a world that keeps us running crazy, where tech can offer a little bit of peace, we should take advantage! For those suffering from anxiety, and concern for their heart health, AliveCor’s Kardia Mobile offers an effective aide.
With all the running from task to task, not to mention all the worrying we do in our daily existence about family, jobs, and all the extras we get ourselves involved in we have a lot of stress. For many of us, that means anxiety too.
Anxiety can be rough, leaving us feeling worn out and on edge. But more seriously it can become a positive feedback loop that further frays our nerves. More pressure, more stress, more anxiety, feel rotten, repeat… then you think you’re dying: our heart starts beating erratically (or at least we think so, our pulse races, we sweat, and oh yeah, get more nervous. Well, it certainly feels like you are having a heart attack or stroke anyway. In many instances, I myself have experienced exactly this.
With all the things we get ourselves wrapped up into in life and stress out about, I many times have been over-stressed to the point where I found myself sitting in front of a doctor in an emergency or urgent care unit only to find out that my anxiety/stress was causing my symptoms and inflaming my acid reflux disease (mostly brought on by stress and diet – also affected by stress and anxiety). No fun, do we see the terrible loops being created here???
I’ve been a worrier since I was a kid, but really this started in young adulthood. It never fails, from when this started in my twenties throughout my thirties and now into my early forties, I’ve experienced this. It all starts with chest pains and being terrified that I was having a heart attack or a stroke only to be told that it is my acid reflux or stress/nerve issues.
Despite being told over and over I continually find myself in that situation. Something had to change. With all the talk I do of technology, I’m taking things into my own hands for my health for my life, and for my family. Basically, because I want to be here for them in 30+ years.
I’m just an average guy, not a doctor, so please take this with a grain of salt and make sure to work it over for yourselves. And that means seeking professional help if you feel it necessary. But for me, I’m tired of just listening to doctors tell me that it is all those elements, and yet it always comes back to the point where I feel so much pain that I think I’m dying and then I stress more and more and end up in front of another doctor.
A Technological Change
I’m changing things. This begins with tech, big surprise for me, I know. I decided I was tired of being in the dark and needed the information I can use to start changing things about my health.
Doing some research, I dug around for a good starting point. It wasn’t easy though as the anxiety mounted. One of my biggest issues, telling myself I’m not dying of a heart attack.
That begins with knowing more about my heart. Why, because that’s what my worries kept bringing me back to.
In order to do that, yes, I can go to the doctor twenty more times over the next 10-20 years only to keep being told the same thing, going home and starting to change things only to see myself go back to the same stress patterns that feed on themselves and end up right back with the doctor. Not to mention stressing myself and my acid reflux further and continuing to destroy my inner workings! The tougher part still, continuing to shell out several hundred bucks every time just to be told the same thing from a basic EKG at some doctors office. Then having more financial stress!
Yup, that’s what it comes down to though, the EKG and my heart. I go in, they pop on the electrodes, and bam I’m told my heart looks great. I’m either warned then of stress/anxiety or acid reflux and sent on my way. It relieves the stress temporarily, but it always comes back.
For those who don’t know, this scary looking chart is just a simple way to examine how the heart is working. Its the core tech of the human body and exhibits electrical evidence of its operation. Thanks to MINT Nursing.
Only now with the painful damage of acid reflux and the ever-present stress that getting older brings with it and all the talk of the world about heart disease. Again, the loop. Even talking about the loop, we end up in a loop. Aaaah! There is no escape… or is there?
Fixing all this means taking my health in my own hands, because let’s face it no one will care about my health more than me and putting tech to work in my life gives me the opportunity to do something about it. That’s cyber-fuel let me tell you.
The Oracle of Our Times: Amazon
So, like everyone else, I ended up on Amazon and now we are here. I was tired of paying several hundred bucks over and over for a couple of minutes on a machine, and a few seconds with a doctor to be told the same thing and end up in the same situations.
The only things that seem to give me relief are occasional massage therapy treatments and finally seeing the doctor so they can tell me that I’m not dying of a heart attack. So, while the massage therapy treatments will remain costly and infrequent, I figured there is something I can do about the peace of mind that comes with an EKG with all the tech advancements towards low cost, personally accessible devices and monitors that have flooded the market over the last several years.
So again, yeah, Amazon. I know its trite and overdone, but its popular for a reason. They are great at linking people and product.
In any case, there I was searching the site for things like “personal EKG,” “mobile heart monitor,” etc. Ya’ know, the SEO optimizing keywords!
In the magic that only Amazon provides a world of devices started cropping up before my very eyes. The one that kept catching my eye, in particular, was the AliveCor Kardia Mobile. I don’t know why other than it seemed popular, fairly low cost (under $100), and was a small, straightforward device. You can see it for yourself too (#CommissionsEarned). There is a fancier “6 Lead” variety too (#CommissionsEarned), but we didn’t test that one. A little bit of digging revealed this video.
Ultimately though, what sold me was the edifying statement that said this device was FDA cleared. So, I knew there had to be quality work behind ensuring its effectiveness and that the professional community agreed to that point. So much so, along with some of the reviews, that I said the hell with it and just bought the damn thing. Alongside a wrist-based blood pressure monitor too. Ya’ know, its Amazon and one thing leads to another… damn they’re good!
Ok, so you know the process, two-day shipping right. Yup, as always good to their word… notices, then a picture of the bloody thing at my doorstep.
So now it’s time for the review, nope… Then the stress kicked in, working the site (you are reading on it now), working full time (ok, for me that means basically four jobs in one 40 hour workweek – no not the side gigs I got rid of but my one “day” job that consumes most of your waking thoughts), worrying about trying to be a dad from four states away, worrying about my relationships, etc… things have been a little hectic.
Getting Down to Business
Needless to say, last month whipped by stress, and despite my desire to do the fancy unboxing and a video showing everything, I never had time. Instead, I just started using it, and have used the device a couple of times.
Promotional video does a great job of the actual experience. Very simple, loading the app, selecting to start a recording, and then putting fingers on the pads. It really is that simple. Thanks to AliveCor, Inc.
It keeps telling me things are normal. Yes, I still have the pain of acid reflux (working on that), and the stress that comes with worry, and I know the device tells me it doesn’t detect an heart attack, but the best thing about this little pad known as Kardia Mobile is that it gives me that small dose of peace of mind I would only find previously after a several hundred-dollar doctor visit and for less than a hundred bucks! And if my nerves are taking hold and pushing enhanced states of anxiety, I can take my EKG and send it to a cardiologist for even way less than previous visits $25.00. And, if I’m freaked out beyond that I can get more regular assurance for $10 a month! Even at $120 a year that still better than a single visit to the local doc! Of course, none of this precludes me from going to the ER if I’m maxed out on stress either.
So bottom line, it buys me a little peace of mind! And that is worth its weight in gold.
The only annoying part I’ve found is that you must be in a quiet room. Even in using it just a few times, you quickly notice that the device gets touchy when other noises are present. Since the device works on high-frequency sound waves, it does have an impact. Other than that, it does exactly what it says, it performs, charts, and analyzes an EKG of your current, individual condition.
As for the data privacy side, from what I can tell I tell when data is released. The app has been very clear in asking for my email for continued communications. Since I ordered my product on January 13th, received it on the 15th, and signed up for the emails on the 17th, I’ve received a total of eight emails about the product (one of which was the Amazon receipt, and another Amazon following up to see if I was happy with the product). Six from AliveCor directly though, and each a simple, easy to understand and follow introduction to the device, applications, and links that direct me to their blog that further explains how I can become a better and more conscious actor in my own health.
With each of those communications, one thing that I am very happy with is that yes, they do collect data, but that they are very upfront about it and the privacy policy is always available as a link (as are terms and conditions).
While I’ve yet to use the service, customer support does seem to be at the ready. They have hours that include the weekends, yes both days, so the company seems to understand the nature of their product and the customer relation to it. In other words, it’s not just a Monday to Friday kind of relationship.
As for functionality, it was a quick download from the Google Play store that worked cleanly on my Samsung smartphone with Android. As for the big ol’ list of compatible devices, so you can make sure it will work for you, check it out here.
And, when it comes to extra information AliveCor has us covered there too with a specialized blog that includes a number of health-related articles that would allow us to better inform ourselves regarding not only the device but heart health in general. You can check that out here. We even found a great page on tweaking our diet for heart health. The best part, they don’t overwhelm you with info and give you a hundred recipes you have to race out and buy a bunch of fancy ingredients for. Instead, they simply offer straightforward nuggets of advice.
Nope, we haven’t signed up for any service or sent in for a review by a cardiologist yet. Yeah, that’s for future blog material, but hey you can’t have everything at once right? Otherwise, you wouldn’t come back. And we love when you come back.
Concluding Thoughts, For Now…
All in all, it does exactly what we hoped it would do. Gives a quick clean reading that I can compare to myself and other charts from my doctors in the past. Yes, it gives too a quick clean understanding of the app’s interpretation of my chart as well. That moment of relief I get from my doctor’s office for a hefty financial sum I now get for that one-time charge. And so far, I can get it on long battery life! No chargers or anything necessary and after several uses seems to be going strong.
This thing is definitely a keeper and just a reminder if you want to get yours you can do so here. Plus, full disclosure, we are not sponsored or promoted by any of the above, but as always, just love great tech. When we find something that worlds to add tech to our lives that makes a definite improvement, we want to share it!
Regarding future plans, we hope to keep on using this to fuel our tech passions in daily life, not to mention giving us a touch of calm in the frantic world we inhabit. In addition, we will look to do a review or two with a specialist and maybe even work toward the monthly plan AliveCor offers. And if we do any of that, we’ll be sure to share it with our community. But, for now, we are just happy with a little extra peace of mind.
So, please check back soon for more Cyber-Fuel to add to your daily tech passions with BCB Cyber. See you next time!
Exploring the World’s Largest Medical Device Maker
As a rule, we follow the technological advancements of corporate giants in tech health to help inform those of us individuals choosing to define for ourselves who we are and what we want to be in a world of powerful corporate and governmental elites. That means knowing the world and those tracking us, good and bad.
Incredible advancements are made every day by health companies seeking to do good in the world, no doubt. However, we need to follow and examine them to enhance our own capabilities and positioning. We are not victims, we are active agents in our lives. Our Health is Our Own!
This week we return to our fourth installment in our investigation of the world’s largest device maker: Medtronic (Full Disclosure, we are long Medtronic, which means we are invested for the long term with this company). As we have already done a mini-introduction, a deeper first step into understanding this company, an exploration of the cardiac subdivision, and a quick shot analysis of minimally invasive therapies unit, this week we turn to the second segment recognized within this company and its third-largest, the Restorative Therapies Group.
Again, much like the Minimally Invasive Therapies Group discussed last week, discovering information about the Restorative Therapies Group is much like a patchwork detective case. The most accessible public face of Medtronic does not cleanly and clearly present these groups. However, we can begin to piece the puzzle together for ourselves with a bit of exploration.
The reorganization paved the way for fantastic improvements over the last several years. More specifically, a smaller, more focused division would pave the way for three distinct actions and a move toward a neuroscience portfolio built for attack with technological innovation.
One of the leading technologies in the field for spinal surgery that increases predictability and precision operations; including not only 3D planning tools and an intra-op guidance system, but a precision Surgical Arm that operates across a number of surgical levels.
Speaking in January 2019, then CEO Omar Ishrak spoke of overcoming ongoing issues but specifically addressed the navigation system that Medtronic used to enhance its acquisition of the incredible spinal surgery company Mazor Robotics and the future value the acquisition would provide for Medtronic.
One of the most unique aspects of the conversation that Ishrak spoke of clearly indicated the fact that Medtronic was moving toward an end to end application of Medtronic Technologies. Not only would they acquire Mazor and gain an incredible ability to perform spinal surgeries but that Medtronic added systems to create a holistic product that went from surgery to the implant used in the spine itself in a way that no other company could offer.
The product line itself seems very straight forward in its application to the Medtronic portfolio of products. A direct inline spinal implant that can assist with fusions that are clean, well oriented, and easy to install creates a clear sense of immediate value to current operations.
However, the most unique aspect of the technologies developed by Titan Spine, and thus acquired by Medtronic are the abilities to regrow bone using the science developed to create the new parts… No joke, you gotta check this out.
Perhaps the most revolutionary of the developments found within this division pushing human ability forward through technological enhancement however may very well be the Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) science fused with Medtronics Brainsense and Percept Technologies.
Thanks to NANS 2021 Medtronic Neurobodulation Investor Briefing by Medtronic
Working to develop systems that can overcome motor skill issues that develop from diseases like Parkinson’s, Medtronic now seeks to push the accepted science behind DBS. In fact, as of last month, Medtronic has now “launch(ed) First-of-Its-Kind Adaptive Deep Brain Stimulation (aDBS) Trial in Parkinson’s Disease Patients.” More importantly, the impact on patients with DBS, in general, is rather incredible as evidenced in one of the first test cases. Increasing the quality of the devices will make the patient value expand dramatically.
So not only does Medtronic have a path to increased medical health but they do so with efficiencies being built in to improve the quality of the device as well.
The future for the integrated portfolio certainly does look bright as new technologies are not only pushing science but doing so in a device to patient-centric way. Diminishing recharge needs and size reduce the impact on the patient and extent the device’s function. Each advantage is seemingly not only to the company’s health but to the patients as well.
Closing Thoughts on the Third Division
We realize the processes involved in healthcare are far more complicated than we present here, however, we see possibilities that are very real nonetheless and we look forward to seeing so much more in our exploratory journey through this company. And hope to give our audience the tools to help bring a bit of understanding of the different facets of technology in health along the way.
The Restorative Therapies Group is a unique set of technologically enhanced tools that can uniquely push human health to increased levels through technological innovation. Medtronic has developed a new core structure that not only has begun to work on and fix body issues that affect motor skills directly through surgical implants in end-to-end approaches but can also now begin to work on stimulating and manipulating nerves and nerve impulses themselves to increase the quality of life outcomes for the patients involved.
Join us next week as we explore the smallest unit for this tech giant, the Diabetes Group of Medtronic. We look forward to our journey together into the world’s largest Medical Device Maker. See you next time.
