Podcasts about ethicon

It's In the News.. a look at the top headlines and stories in the diabetes community. This week's top stories: A new Austrailian study aims to prevent type 1, the new twiist pump will integrate with Eversnse CGM as well as Libre, diabetes deaths are down in the US, Dexcom U is looking for college athletes, and more! Find out more about Moms' Night Out  Please visit our Sponsors & Partners - they help make the show possible! Learn more about Gvoke Glucagon Gvoke HypoPen® (glucagon injection): Glucagon Injection For Very Low Blood Sugar (gvokeglucagon.com) Omnipod - Simplify Life Learn about Dexcom   Check out VIVI Cap to protect your insulin from extreme temperatures The best way to keep up with Stacey and the show is by signing up for our weekly newsletter: Sign up for our newsletter here Here's where to find us: Facebook (Group) Facebook (Page) Instagram Twitter Check out Stacey's books! Learn more about everything at our home page www.diabetes-connections.com  Reach out with questions or comments: info@diabetes-connections.com Episode transcription with links: Hello and welcome to Diabetes Connections In the News! I'm Stacey Simms and every other Friday I bring you a short episode with the top diabetes stories and headlines happening now. XX A world-first human trial of a drug designed to treat the underlying cause of type 1 diabetes has begun in Australia. University of Queensland researcher Ranjeny Thomas said the experimental drug — dubbed ASITI-201 — was designed to retrain the immune system so it no longer attacks the insulin-producing pancreatic cells, known as beta cells. The drug, given as an injection under the skin, combines fragments of a protein found in the beta cells of people with type 1 diabetes and vitamin D to calm the immune response. She said if effective, the drug would initially be given to patients with type 1 diabetes as soon as possible after diagnosis to preserve remaining pancreatic cells and reduce the amount of insulin needed. But eventually, if screening programs can be developed to pick up people at risk of developing type 1 diabetes, it may be possible to "prevent the progression of the disease altogether". The first in-human trial of 36 participants will test the safety of the drug, but blood tests will also determine the impact of the therapy on a patient's immune system and glucose tolerance. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2025-04-29/type-1-diabetes-drug-trial-auto-immune-disease-science/105223022 XX   Diabetes deaths in the U.S. have fallen to some of the lowest rates in years, according to new preliminary figures published by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, reversing a surge in mortality that was seen during the COVID-19 pandemic.   There were 26.4 deaths per 100,000 people from diabetes, according to early death certificate data for the third quarter of 2024 published this month by the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics.   Death rates from diabetes peaked in 2021, according to CDC figures, at 31.1 deaths per 100,000 people for that year. Diabetes was the eighth leading cause of death in 2021. The CDC says the link between COVID-19 and diabetes may be to blame for that increase.   "Data show an increase in mortality rates for all people during the COVID-19 pandemic, and research shows that people with underlying conditions, including diabetes, are more likely to become very sick from COVID-19 and have a higher risk of hospitalization and death," Christopher Holliday, head of the CDC's Division of Diabetes Translation, told CBS News in a statement.   Holliday added that research shows the pandemic may also have made it harder for Americans to properly manage the disease, ranging from interruptions to physical activity to disruptions to routine medical care diagnosing and treating the disease.   https://www.cbsnews.com/news/diabetes-deaths-lowest-levels-years-early-cdc-figures/ XX Big news for the Eversense CGM – they have their first pump partner. Sequel Med Tech says the twist pump will integrate with Senseonics Eversense 365 continuous glucose monitor (CGM). This collaboration would make twiist the first AID system compatible with Eversense 365, the world's first and only one-year CGM. Sequel and Senseonics say they have already started their work to integrate the latest-generation, 365-day implantable sensor with twiist. They expect to make the integrated offering available in the third quarter of this year. This marks the second CGM integration for Sequel, which partnered with Abbott and its FreeStyle Libre platform earlier this year. This week we also got a peek at the packaging and delivery of the twist as the first people posted about wearing it. We'll follow up and learn more about this newest insulin pump in the us. Senseonics, meanwhile, brought the first year-long CGM to market last year, launching Eversense 365 with its global distribution partner, Ascensia Diabetes Care, in October 2024. The system also received clearance as an integrated CGM (iCGM) system, meaning it can work with compatible medical devices. Those include insulin pumps as part of automated insulin delivery systems. https://www.drugdeliverybusiness.com/sequel-senseonics-integrate-cgm-insulin-pump/ XX Medtronic has announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for the Simplera Sync sensor for use with the MiniMed 780G system. With this approval, the MiniMed 780G system now offers more flexibility for users of the company's most advanced insulin delivery system featuring Meal Detection technology with both the Guardian 4 sensor and Simplera Sync sensor.   The Simplera Sync is a disposable, all-in-one sensor that requires no fingersticks with SmartGuard or overtape and features a simple, two-step insertion process. It is the company's newest addition to its CGM portfolio, which expands options and provides greater flexibility for users.   The MiniMed 780G system's adaptive algorithm automatically anticipates, adjusts, and corrects glucose levels every 5 minutes, 24/7 – working around the clock so users can focus on what matters. It's the only system featuring Meal Detection technology, which detects rising sugar levels and delivers more insulin as needed to help users keep glucose levels in range more often – even when users occasionally forget to dose insulin for snacks or meals or underestimate their carbs.   The system uses a “treat to target” approach and flexible glucose targets as low as 100 mg/dL, which, combined with its adaptive algorithm allows it to more closely mirror the glucose levels of someone not living with diabetes.   Real-world data of the system shows global users consistently achieve time in range above international targets of 70% when using optimal settings (active insulin time of two hours and 100 mg/dL target glucose). It is also the only system that works with the world's only infusion set that lasts up to 7 days so that users only have to change their infusion set once per week and can experience 96% fewer injections compared to multiple daily injections.   “We're committed to driving innovation that makes life easier for those living with diabetes so they can forget about their diabetes as much as possible throughout the day,” said Que Dallara, EVP and president of Medtronic Diabetes. “Our MiniMed 780G system delivers advanced diabetes technology for so many around the world, and we're excited to continue evolving this experience with expanded CGM options —including our Simplera Sync sensor, which we look forward to bringing to people living with diabetes in the U.S.”   A limited launch of the Simplera Sync sensor will begin in the U.S. in the fall of 2025. Today, the MiniMed 780G system can be used with the Guardian 4 sensor.   Like this:https://med-techinsights.com/2025/04/29/simplera-sync-sensor-for-minimed-780g-now-fda-approved/ XX Front office changes at Insulet.. The former head of Johnson & Johnson's worldwide medtech business, Ashley McEvoy will take over as president and CEO from Jim Hollingshead, who has led Insulet since 2022. In its announcement of the leadership change, Insulet said that Hollingshead and the company mutually agreed to part ways, effective immediately. McEvoy served as worldwide medtech chairman at J&J from 2018 until her departure in late 2023, the culmination of nearly 30 years at the company and several executive roles—including president of its Ethicon division and group chairman of vision and diabetes care. Since then, she has also served as a board member at Procter & Gamble. https://www.fiercebiotech.com/medtech/insulet-taps-former-jj-medtech-head-ashley-mcevoy-be-ceo XX New free mobile game launched this week to make type 1 diabetes onboarding faster easier and less overwhelming. It's called Level One.. created by Level Ex (Powered by Relevate Health), the studio behind award-winning medical games for medical professionals. Level Ex CEO Sam Glassenberg created the game after a – quote  - brutal onboarding experience when his daughter was diagnosed five years ago He says  It took a year to understand how to manage this disease. So we fixed it. We built a game that can train your brain to do it in a matter of hours." The game is launching in partnership with leading diabetes organizations Beyond Type 1 and Breakthrough T1D Play, who are integrating Level One into their outreach and educational campaigns to support newly diagnosed families worldwide. Download Level One on the App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/level-one-a-diabetes-game/id6739605694 Learn more: https://playlevelone.com   https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/level-ex-launches-level-one-a-free-mobile-game-to-redefine-type-1-diabetes-onboarding-302440929.html XX   Collagen is widely recognized for its role in maintaining healthy skin, but its importance extends far beyond that. As the most abundant protein in the human body, collagen provides essential structure and support to nearly all tissues and organs.   Now, researchers at Carnegie Mellon's Feinberg Lab have made a major breakthrough using their novel Freeform Reversible Embedding of Suspended Hydrogels (FRESH) 3D bioprinting technique. This method enables the precise printing of soft, living cells and tissues. Leveraging this technology, the team successfully created the first-ever microphysiologic system, also known as a tissue model, constructed entirely from collagen. This advancement opens new possibilities for studying disease and engineering tissue therapies, including potential treatments for conditions like Type 1 diabetes.   Traditionally, small-scale models of human tissue, referred to as microfluidics, organ-on-chip devices, or microphysiologic systems, have been fabricated using synthetic materials such as silicone rubber or plastics. These materials were necessary due to limitations in earlier manufacturing techniques. However, because they are not biologically native, they fail to fully replicate natural tissue environments, restricting their effectiveness in biomedical research and therapeutic development.   “Now, we can build microfluidic systems in the Petri dish entirely out of collagen, cells, and other proteins, with unprecedented structural resolution and fidelity,” explained Adam Feinberg, a professor of biomedical engineering and materials science & engineering at Carnegie Mellon University. “Most importantly, these models are fully biologic, which means cells function better.”   Building Complex Tissues with FRESH Bioprinting In new research published in Science Advances, the group demonstrates the use of this FRESH bioprinting advancement, building more complex vascularized tissues out of fully biologic materials, to create a pancreatic-like tissue that could potentially be used in the future to treat Type 1 diabetes. This advancement in FRESH bioprinting builds on the team's earlier work published in Science, by improving the resolution and quality to create fluidic channels that are like blood vessels down to about 100-micron diameter.   “There were several key technical developments to the FRESH printing technology that enabled this work,” described Daniel Shiwarski, assistant professor of bioengineering at the University of Pittsburgh and prior postdoctoral fellow in the Feinberg lab. “By implementing a single-step bioprinting fabrication process, we manufactured collagen-based perfusable CHIPS in a wide range of designs that exceed the resolution and printed fidelity of any other known bioprinting approach to date. Further, when combined with multi-material 3D bioprinting of ECM proteins, growth factors, and cell-laden bioinks and integration into a custom bioreactor platform, we were able to create a centimeter-scale pancreatic-like tissue construct capable of producing glucose-stimulated insulin release exceeding current organoid based approaches.” https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-bioprint-living-tissues-that-could-revolutionize-diabetes-treatment/ XX Another study showing the blood sugar benefit of walking after a meal. Skeletal muscle plays a central role in glucose uptake. Exercise stimulates glucose transport into muscle cells through insulin-independent pathways, notably through the action of glucose transporter type 4 (GLUT-4), which is responsible for transporting glucose from blood to skeletal muscles.4 This means that even without a robust insulin response, physical activity can facilitate glucose clearance from the bloodstream. These effects also occur without requiring high-intensity exercise, making postprandial walking accessible to a broad range of individuals, including those with limited exercise tolerance. multiple studies show that starting activity within 30 minutes after a meal is optimal. https://www.news-medical.net/health/Walking-After-Meals-Small-Habit-Big-Metabolic-Gains.aspx XX Dexcom brings back Dexcom U for a 4th years. This is a name, image and license program for college athletes with diabetes and includes a nationwide open call for passionate and inspiring college athletes to join its roster. Now through May 23, athletes, coaches, friends and family members can nominate candidates through an online submission. Those selected, along with the eight returning athletes from last year, will be invited to attend the Dexcom U Signing Day Camp this summer, hosted by Dexcom Warrior and Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews. https://www.hmenews.com/article/dexcom-u-returns-for-fourth-season

Mildred Zayas, a global supply chain executive with over 25 years of experience in the medical technology industry, shares her transformative journey from her early career in Puerto Rico to leading strategic initiatives at Johnson & Johnson. She emphasizes operational excellence, supply chain optimization, and mentoring emerging leaders. She discusses the importance of continuous learning, servant leadership, and the exciting future of MedTech with advancements in robotics and AI. Mildred also highlights her passion for empowering underserved communities and her involvement in nonprofit organizations like America Needs You.    Guest links: www.linkedin.com/in/mildred-zayas/ Charity supported: Feeding America Interested in being a guest on the show or have feedback to share? Email us at theleadingdifference@velentium.com.  PRODUCTION CREDITS Host & Editor: Lindsey Dinneen Producer: Velentium   EPISODE TRANSCRIPT Episode 054 - Mildred Zayas [00:00:00] Lindsey Dinneen: Hi, I'm Lindsey and I'm talking with MedTech industry leaders on how they change lives for a better world. [00:00:09] Diane Bouis: The inventions and technologies are fascinating and so are the people who work with them. [00:00:15] Frank Jaskulke: There was a period of time where I realized, fundamentally, my job was to go hang out with really smart people that are saving lives and then do work that would help them save more lives. [00:00:28] Diane Bouis: I got into the business to save lives and it is incredibly motivating to work with people who are in that same business, saving or improving lives. [00:00:38] Duane Mancini: What better industry than where I get to wake up every day and just save people's lives. [00:00:42] Lindsey Dinneen: These are extraordinary people doing extraordinary work, and this is The Leading Difference. Hello, and welcome back to another episode of The Leading Difference podcast. I'm your host, Lindsey, and today I'm delighted to welcome Mildred Zayas. Mildred is an accomplished leader with extensive and global expertise in strategic planning, operational excellence, and supply chain optimization within medical technology and life sciences. Well, thank you so much for being here today, Mildred. I'm so excited to talk with you. [00:01:15] Mildred Zayas: Thank you for the invitation, Lindsey. [00:01:17] Lindsey Dinneen: Of course. Well, I would love it if you would start off by sharing a little bit about yourself and your background and what led you to MedTech. [00:01:25] Mildred Zayas: Of course. I'm a global supply chain executive with over 25 years of experience in the medical technology industry. I have had the privilege of leading transformative initiatives at Johnson and Johnson, where I optimize manufacturing network, particularly in Asia Pacific, resulting in cost savings, inventory improvements, improved customer service levels as well. We also have introduced what I call the manufacturing ecosystems, which is instead of focusing on the product design on the customer only, which is important-- I'm not saying that it isn't-- but we also want to introduce a product that, of course, is high quality and dependable, but we also enhancing the efficiency and manufacturability is what is called designing for manufacturability. Product design and manufacturing don't have to be mutually exclusive, and that is something that I definitely learned through my career. I was born and raised in Puerto Rico. I'm particularly dedicated to empowering underserved communities to achieve greater economic and career advancement. My career is driven by a commitment to operational excellence, strategic innovation, and mentoring emerging leaders to achieve their full potential. [00:02:43] Lindsey Dinneen: That's amazing. Thank you so much for sharing a little bit about that. So I would love to go back a little bit further and start. When you were young, did you have any idea that something like this was something you wanted to do? What was your dream? What were you thinking about? [00:02:56] Mildred Zayas: So I have to say yes. And I always, I'm an engineer by training and I always wanted to be an engineer. My uncle was an engineer. Even though he actually opened a university and did something different, he was pretty much, you know, I guess the big person in our family, everybody looked at him. We all wanted to be like my uncle, right? Unfortunately, he passed away. But with that, I always knew that I wanted to be an engineer. That's why I went to engineering school. Eventually, being an industrial engineer led me to the manufacturing industry. I started my career in Puerto Rico and manufacturing was big in the nineties. Do we still have manufacturing? Not as much anymore. But that's how I started in the industry and in the manufacturing industry. And then I progressed through roles of increasing responsibility and continuing supply chain in leadership roles. But yeah, everything started by my family, my uncle and seeing what he was doing as an industrial engineer. And I wanted to be like that. Yeah. [00:03:58] Lindsey Dinneen: Oh, I love that. [00:04:00] Mildred Zayas: I'm also good in math. [00:04:01] Lindsey Dinneen: That helps. Excellent. Well, you know, you mentioned during your opening how the values and the core beliefs that you hold to still came from your upbringing in Puerto Rico, and I was wondering if you mind sharing a little bit about that. [00:04:18] Mildred Zayas: Sure. I grew up in a family, my parents, they love to serve. So when I grew up, actually, my mother was always with a cause. She was always helping people. She's still serves. She's 81 years old and she still has a number of ministries and serves. So that's what I saw with my parents since I was growing up. My father used to cook for homeless people when I was a teenager. So at that time, frankly, it bothered me a little bit, but now I can appreciate because really it's about serving and giving others. It's not just about yourself. And I have to thank my parents because they actually taught me that, and not only taught me that, they model it throughout their actions. [00:05:01] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, absolutely. And how has that value of service and giving back impacted your own role as a leader and how you relate to other people? [00:05:11] Mildred Zayas: Absolutely. So and that's interesting that you say that because when you talked about leadership, I always say, "be present, be transparent." You need to let people know what you stand for. But I also embrace what I what is called servant leadership. Of course, leadership is about direction and to have a vision and have followers and all that. I'm not saying that it isn't. But when you look about servant leadership, when you are really helping others, collaborating, and so people can move into where they want to go. So that's pretty much the way is looking into others and empowering them to reach their full potential and fostering collaboration and where trust and growth at the core of every decision. [00:05:57] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, absolutely. So you've had a really long career with Johnson and Johnson specifically, and it sounds like you have had a lot of different opportunity there. And I was wondering if you could speak a little bit towards your experience and how starting where you did and then now where you are, what was the progression like? What did you learn along the way that was really beneficial in helping you achieve the next milestones? [00:06:22] Mildred Zayas: First of all, let me just say Johnson and Johnson is a big company now, of course, 90 billion dollar and all that. But nowhere I started in the mid nineties, right in the early nineties, I should say. So, so it was a different type of company, number one. Number two, J and J has always been very decentralized, meaning each company-- we call it franchises now business unit-- each business unit is kind of run independently. So I started my career with Ethicon, which is the suture manufacturing company, and that's where I grew up and I worked most of my career on and off. But I was also able to move to other sectors on other franchises as well. So I started in Puerto Rico as a second shift manufacturing supervisor shortly after I had a previous job after college in the pharmaceutical industry, also in manufacturing. But I definitely wanted to be a manufacturing supervisor. And in pharmaceutical industry, you need to have a pharmaceutical background, and it was going to be more difficult for me to be in manufacturing. So Johnson and Johnson offered me an opportunity and I took it and I started in the second shift. From there, I progressed to what now is called process excellence, but it used to be called industrial engineer. Once again, C. I. P. process improvements and all that. Then I move into the planning organization materials management, we call it at the time, all in Puerto Rico. I've worked for five years when Ethicon in Somerville, which we had the headquarters, they called me and they offered me an opportunity to move to New Jersey. And this was in, my goodness, in 1999. So, so I moved to, to, to New Jersey and started working, of course, in the planning organization, supply planning, planning inventory management and all that. But then there was a big opportunity for me, and it was a transformative initiative in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was about manufacturing consolidation and optimization. So there were difficult parts because we closed a manufacturing plant of 800 people, yet we move operations to different places. So in the end, I mean, we definitely grew. It was tremendous for me to work in that initiative. It was my first global experience. I was in a commuter assignment in Scotland. And I had a global team with different functions, different areas, people in Belgium, people in Germany, people in China, because we transfer process to a fair places, people in Puerto Rico, of course, in New Jersey and in Scotland. And I can tell you that I made good friends that still they remember my birthday and we continue connecting via Facebook and all that. So, so that experience was fantastic on gave me a good perspective. I came and talked to my boss at the time and say, "Listen, I already implemented a project. It was fantastic. It was great. But I want to work on strategies." And something that I've always done, and maybe you ask me later about an advice, just ask. You know, people can say no, but I mean, just ask for what you want. So I did! I asked and I got it. I was promoted to a senior manager at the time of my strategy development and deployment. So we were developing the five to seven year initiatives on where you want to have a manufacturing presence, whether make versus buy and those type of things. It did great. It was fantastic. And then I'm like, okay, I have work in the U. S. I have work in Europe. You know, what about Latin America? Because Puerto Rico is kind of in the middle. It's not 100 percent Latin America, especially from a work environment standpoint. We're reporting to the U. S. So I actually moved and worked for Johnson and Johnson Latin America. I was based in Miami and I supported our cardiovascular business. And I was there four years, and then the other two years, our diabetes care business. So I did that for several years and then I moved back to New Jersey where I actually continue developing strategies, was promoted into other directorship level, and work closely with Asia Pacific. That's where I created strategies in the region and help develop the network based on centers of excellence, reduce, of course, the footprint using a lot of suppliers and contract manufacturers as well. We try to optimize the model. So, it was exciting. I actually got to live in Singapore for a year and a half. So it was fantastic. I was there in an international development assignment. Then I came back and I actually went back to Puerto Rico to work in global supply planning. I mean, that's what I started. As I mentioned to you, I did a lot of planning early on, and there was an opportunity there. Even though it was based in Puerto Rico, it was a global opportunity. So I have responsibility for for team in Brussels. I have people in Juarez Mexico, of course, in New Jersey and I was based in Puerto Rico. Did that for a couple of years, and then actually I moved to consumer, to Johnson & Johnson consumer, and I was there for four years. And it was interesting because it's a very different pace, the pace of consumer goods versus medical devices. But it was a great experience. And once again, J and J is big. So I always wanted to take advantage and do different things. After that I came back, late in 2021, back to medtech. It used to be called medical devices by the way, but now it's medtech. And I came back in a strategy and project management role. I have responsibility to develop the overall strategies. But it was not for say, Ethicon, like before one of the franchises, right? It was for all of them. So I was working with orthopedics, of course, surgery, vision care, and then our interventional cardiology. So that's been my career in J and J. I always say three areas or four for me: manufacturing, obviously planning, project management, and strategy. So there's four. Well, I sometimes I put project management and strategy together, but you can call it three or you can call it four. [00:12:33] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. Excellent. Well, thank you for sharing more about that. It's an incredible career path you've had and taken you literally all around the world. And something that stood out to me as you were talking is, I'm so intrigued by your story, and courage seems to be a resonating theme. And so, between your willingness to step out of your comfort zone and go try and go learn and keep elevating your own knowledge and career and expertise, but then also to have the courage to ask for the things you want. I loved that advice so much. So I was wondering if you could maybe talk a little bit more about how did you have this courage to ask for what you want and how did this courage serve you as you continue to take advantage of opportunities in very new avenues for you? [00:13:22] Mildred Zayas: Sure. Once again, I have to go to my mother. I come from a pretty, pretty matriarchal family. My grandmother, my mother, they were very strong women. But she always said, "Ask, and you shall receive." [00:13:35] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. [00:13:36] Mildred Zayas: Quoting the Bible as well. But also you have to deliver and you have to execute. I mean, you don't have credibility if you don't do the job. So you have to do your homework. And then once you establish that credibility, once the organization knows that you add value, then you can start asking. And once again, the worst thing that can happen is that they say "no." In my experience it's never been no. The worst has been "not now," but it happened two years after. So you know what? You have to tell people what you're looking for and what you would like to do. But again, don't forget you have to deliver too, critically important. [00:14:17] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. Yeah. I love that. Well, and to your point, even if the answer is initially no, it's not usually "no, not ever for the rest of your life. It... [00:14:26] Mildred Zayas: Yet. Not now. [00:14:27] Lindsey Dinneen: ...Yeah, it's not yet. Exactly. So I love that, and your willingness to embrace that courage and do those things. So it looks like also, I know service is a big theme in your life, and one thing that I noticed when I was just glancing at your LinkedIn profile is that you have had opportunities to work with a lot of different interesting nonprofit organizations. America Needs You popped up and I was curious if you would speak a little bit about your experience with that. [00:14:53] Mildred Zayas: Oh, absolutely. And thank you for asking that question. America Needs You is an nonprofit organization that works with first generation college students and how they transition from college to the work environment. I'm passionate about it because I truly believe in education and upward mobility, especially in underserved communities. So what they do is definitely fantastic. And the program is a, it's an intense programs. When you commit to be a volunteer, you work two years with your student there, since they're sophomores until graduation, and we help them prepare for interviews, resumes, what to wear, and those type of things, but it is a tremendous and fulfilling program. And you need to have in mind that, for some of us, it makes sense. I always mentioned my mom, she instilled in me, she worked very hard, etcetera. But not everybody has the model, right? I mean, when you're a first generation college student, you don't know how to navigate. And I love the program because helping others navigate I, I mean, I really enjoy it and sometimes I think that I get more than what I give, for sure. When I see people succeeding and doing well in their careers. [00:16:08] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. That's really special. Mentorship is such a wonderful key component. I'm sure all of us have stories of these people who have come into our lives and helped lead us to the next thing or given us the crucial piece of advice at the right time. So thank you for being that person for others too. That's really special. [00:16:23] Mildred Zayas: Of course, love to do it. [00:16:25] Lindsey Dinneen: So I. Yeah. So I know one thing that's probably on everybody's mind is supply chain management, and since this is one of your areas of expertise, I was wondering if you could speak a little bit towards what should we look forward to in the future, especially, AI is such a big buzzword, but it is reality now. So I'm curious what are some of your takeaways? What are things that you're looking to as time goes on and technology changes? [00:16:54] Mildred Zayas: So, definitely robotics and digital are going to change the game. And you mentioned AI, which is part of that. But if you think about, before it was called medical devices, because really, it was developing devices, but those devices are going to become smarter now, right? And what's important, I think, understanding the robotics, we're going to transform the way we do surgery. Maybe a doctor is in Germany and is operating in a patient in the U. S., right? So those are the type of things that we need to be open and understand and definitely stay current on the new trends. I believe, again, digital and robotics is the future of medical devices or medical technology, for sure. [00:17:38] Lindsey Dinneen: Okay. Yeah. Excellent. So you've had so much incredible experience literally around the world. Were there any moments or a moment that stood out to you as just really reinforcing that you were in the right industry at the right time? "Yes, I am here for a reason." [00:17:56] Mildred Zayas: You know, I mentioned the strategy in Scotland, but that was definitely a defining moment in my career. Because I had the opportunity. I was quite young, but I led the transformation of a big team. I mentioned 22 people. It was a complex initiative, a lot of alignment from cross functional teams, aligning different regions, managing diverse stakeholders in optimizing overall operations. And there was a challenge to balance operational efficiency with the business goals. But while I was doing that, it really confirmed my passion for supply chain leadership. It was incredibly rewarding to see how our collaboration improved performance, reduced the cost, strengthened really our global manufacturing network. And that experience reinforced my belief in the power of strategic planning and teamwork to drive meaningful transformation. [00:18:53] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, of course. As you look towards the future for your own career and even for the future of medical devices, I know we touched on sort of your thoughts with that, but as far as your own career goes, what are you looking forward to coming up? What's your next challenge or adventure? [00:19:07] Mildred Zayas: So I'm glad you asked that question because I'm thinking more and more-- I've been 30 years with J& J again-- but I'm looking more and more into a portfolio career. So where I can definitely continue doing some supply chain strategy, et cetera, perhaps in, in, in a consulting way, but I would also like to serve on boards, participate in podcasts, for example. So I want to do a little bit more of that. I have done for many years, the kind of nine to five one thing in different scales and in different positions, et cetera. But my next step definitely is more into a portfolio career. So I'm not going to do one thing. I'm going to do more than one thing. And of course, I'm going to be using my background and my expertise for that. But I can also combine my passion for helping others [00:20:00] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah, absolutely. Well, that's exciting. I am looking forward to seeing how that develops. I'll be cheering for you, rooting for you that whole time. Speaking of, you had a great piece of advice, and that was to just ask the question. And I'm wondering if anything else that pops into your mind, just pieces of leadership advice that you might give, especially to someone who's earlier on in their career, and might just need a little confidence boost. [00:20:26] Mildred Zayas: Yeah, obviously, ask the questions is good. But my best advice is really to focus on continuous learning and adaptability while building relationships. Relationships are critically important. The medtech industry is fast paced and constantly evolving, so it's crucial to deepen both our technical expertise and our business acumen. Sometimes you need to seek cross functional projects, mentorship opportunities to broaden your perspective. So it might be above and beyond your day to day job, but it doesn't matter. Ask for those opportunities. Also building this network is critically important, and it's going to help you, demonstrating resiliency and it's going to set you apart as a future leader. I believe Theodore Roosevelt say something that I like: "Whenever you're ask ed if you can do a job, tell them, 'Certainly I can!' Then get busy finding how to do it." So that's the way to do it. Don't stress yourself. Don't be afraid. Be excited. Fear paralyzes us while excitement allows us to move forward. [00:21:34] Lindsey Dinneen: That is such great advice. Thank you for that. I love that. And that's so great because you're absolutely right. You can use that strong emotional pull that often feels like fear, but what if you reframe it and think, "Hey, actually this means I care a lot and I'm very excited about this." So let's use that as energizing, not debilitating. [00:21:52] Mildred Zayas: Correct. Absolutely. [00:21:55] Lindsey Dinneen: Absolutely, absolutely. [00:21:57] Mildred Zayas: By the way, one of my mentors told me that. [00:22:00] Lindsey Dinneen: Ah, back to that. I love it. Full circle. [00:22:05] Mildred Zayas: Absolutely. [00:22:07] Lindsey Dinneen: Well, pivoting the conversation a little bit, just for fun. Imagine that you were to be offered a million dollars to teach a masterclass on anything you want. It can be within your industry, based on your experience, but it doesn't have to be at all. What would you choose to teach? [00:22:24] Mildred Zayas: That's a very intriguing question. And it's something I don't believe they give in college these days, but something along the line of advancing through corporate structures. I would love to teach young professionals how to navigate workplace politics, negotiate promotions and manage career transitions, something along those lines. We were educated very tactically, typically. Like in my case, I was an engineer, so I could do a lot of math and I could do a lot of models. It was wonderful. But I didn't know how to navigate in the corporate environment, and it took some headaches, and it took some time. So, I would love to be able ,to do something like that for young professionals specifically. [00:23:12] Lindsey Dinneen: I love that. Well, I can sense a theme. Your heart is such a lovely heart of service and mentorship. So that is lovely. [00:23:18] Mildred Zayas: That is true. Yes, indeed. [00:23:20] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. Well, and sort of along those lines, how would you wish to be remembered after you leave this world? [00:23:27] Mildred Zayas: It's gonna be also very similar. I definitely wish to be remembered for guiding others toward reaching their full potential, especially those who face systemic challenges and for helping them create their own path to success. [00:23:43] Lindsey Dinneen: I love that so much, yeah. And then, final question, what is one thing that makes you smile every time you see or think about it? [00:23:52] Mildred Zayas: Well, you can probably guess this, but I'm telling you, seeing someone I've mentored or supported achieve their goals always make me smile. It reminds me of the difference we can make in each other's lives. [00:24:05] Lindsey Dinneen: Absolutely. That's just absolutely beautiful. Thank you for sharing that. So I am very excited to continue to watch your, how did you put it, portfolio career? [00:24:16] Mildred Zayas: That's what I'm trying to build. [00:24:18] Lindsey Dinneen: Okay. Unfold. So how can people maybe connect with you if they're interested in working with you as a supply chain executive or whatever else you plan to offer in this portfolio career of yours? [00:24:29] Mildred Zayas: They can follow me via LinkedIn. It's the best way. I'm there, Mildred Zayas. So, yeah, they can reach out. I'm happy to collaborate. I believe in teamwork, collaboration, and really helping each other succeed. [00:24:44] Lindsey Dinneen: Excellent. Excellent. Well, goodness gracious, this has been very wonderful. Thank you so much for spending some of your morning with us today, Mildred. Thank you for just sharing your advice and your heart for service and mentorship. And I'm so excited to see where this next step in your career takes you, so like I said, I will be rooting for you every step of the way. [00:25:04] Mildred Zayas: Thank you, Lindsey. I appreciate that. [00:25:07] Lindsey Dinneen: Of course. We are so honored to be making a donation on your behalf today to Feeding America, which works to end hunger in the United States by partnering with food banks, food pantries, and local food programs to bring food to people facing hunger, and also they advocate for policies that create long term solutions to hunger. So thank you so much for choosing that charity to support, and we just wish you the most continued success as you work to change lives for a better world. [00:25:37] Mildred Zayas: Thank you. Very nice. [00:25:40] Lindsey Dinneen: Yeah. And thank you also to all of our listeners for tuning in and if you're feeling as inspired as I am right now, I'd love it if you'd share this episode with a colleague or two, and we'll catch you next time. [00:25:53] Ben Trombold: The Leading Difference is brought to you by Velentium. Velentium is a full-service CDMO with 100% in-house capability to design, develop, and manufacture medical devices from class two wearables to class three active implantable medical devices. Velentium specializes in active implantables, leads, programmers, and accessories across a wide range of indications, such as neuromodulation, deep brain stimulation, cardiac management, and diabetes management. Velentium's core competencies include electrical, firmware, and mechanical design, mobile apps, embedded cybersecurity, human factors and usability, automated test systems, systems engineering, and contract manufacturing. Velentium works with clients worldwide, from startups seeking funding to established Fortune 100 companies. Visit velentium.com to explore your next step in medical device development.

Todd Crowder's path into medical sales wasn't just a career choice—it was a legacy in the making. Growing up with a father who built a prolific career at Ethicon, Todd was immersed in the industry from an early age. But instead of simply following in his father's footsteps, he forged his own path, bringing a unique blend of military discipline, strategic thinking, and entrepreneurial drive into the world of medical sales. In this episode, Todd shares: How his experience as a Patriot Missile Officer shaped his leadership and sales approach. The realities of working with his wife, who owns the distribution company where he's an account executive. The differences between capital equipment and disposable sales—and what every rep should know. The truth about medical sales earnings and how to build generational wealth. Why he made the bold move to a 1099 sales role—and what it takes to bet on yourself. Whether you're breaking into medical sales, exploring leadership opportunities, or considering a 1099 career shift, Todd's insights will challenge you to think bigger and take ownership of your future.  Don't miss this powerful conversation. Connect with Todd: LinkedIn Connect with Me: LinkedIn Love the show? Subscribe, rate, review, and share! Here's How » Want to connect with past guests and access exclusive Q&As? Join our EYS Skool Community today!

Cet épisode met en lumière la chirurgie reconstructrice post-bariatrique avec la chirurgienne plastique Geneviève Gaudreau. Elle explore les différences entre la lipectomie abdominale et l'abdominoplastie, tout en abordant le processus souvent flou de la RAMQ pour la couverture des interventions reconstructrices. Geneviève nous met aussi en garde contre les risques du tourisme chirurgical à l'étranger, insistant sur l'importance de bien choisir ses soins. Un grand merci à notre commanditaire *Ethicon* pour leur soutien dans la production de cet épisode ! Disponible dès maintenant sur toutes les plateformes. La poche gastrique, une initiative des chirurgiens bariatriques Dr. Pierre Garneau et Dr. Alexandre Bougie, vise à sensibiliser à l'obésité en fournissant des informations sur les traitements basés sur la gestion des maladies chroniques, soutenus par l'Association canadienne des médecins et chirurgiens bariatriques, avec un engagement bénévole pour informer le public.  Le Dr Garneau et le Dr Bougie ont développés une expertise en chirurgie bariatrique, domaine dans lequel ils consacrent désormais l'essentiel de leur temps.  Nous recommandons de consulter les sites suivants :  Chirurgiebariatrique.com  Bariatriquerivesud.ca             

Howard Scalzo, principle engineer at Ethicon talks about his journey there and the latest in suture technology.

Doc retells his stories about hooks in sports, art and medicine from the Cedars-Sinai studio. Doc welcomes Howard Scalzo, principal engineer at Ethicon the developers of Stratafix sutures who talks about the history and current technology surrounding sutures. The Weekend Warrior Clinic re-opens for listeners.

Dans cet épisode très attendu, Dr. Garneau et Dr. Bougie reviennent avec Evelyne Bergevin, notre nutritionniste-diététiste spécialisée en chirurgie bariatrique, pour discuter de la vie après l'intervention. Evelyne explique l'importance de la nutrition post-opératoire et distingue les trois piliers essentiels : protéines, hydratation et mastication. Découvrez comment ajuster votre alimentation, gérer les effets secondaires potentiels comme le syndrome de dumping et l'hypoglycémie post-chirurgicale, et adopter un mode de vie sain pour maximiser les bénéfices de votre chirurgie. Les suivis réguliers et le soutien nutritionnel sont cruciaux pour une réussite à long terme. Disponible dès maintenant sur votre plateforme de podcasts favorite ! Un grand merci à notre commanditaire Ethicon pour leur soutien continu dans la production de nos épisodes.   La poche gastrique, une initiative des chirurgiens bariatriques Dr. Pierre Garneau et Dr. Alexandre Bougie, vise à sensibiliser à l'obésité en fournissant des informations sur les traitements basés sur la gestion des maladies chroniques, soutenus par l'Association canadienne des médecins et chirurgiens bariatriques, avec un engagement bénévole pour informer le public.  Le Dr Garneau et le Dr Bougie ont développés une expertise en chirurgie bariatrique, domaine dans lequel ils consacrent désormais l'essentiel de leur temps.  Nous recommandons de consulter les sites suivants :  Chirurgiebariatrique.com  Bariatriquerivesud.ca                     

Dans cet épisode, Dr. Garneau et Dr. Bougie abordent en profondeur la nutrition avant la chirurgie bariatrique avec Evelyne Bergevin, une nutritionniste spécialisée en chirurgie bariatrique. Le prochain épisode sera pour l'après chirurgie.   Elle partage des conseils essentiels sur la nutrition et la préparation pour maximiser l'efficacité des interventions et améliorer la santé des patients.   Disponible dès maintenant sur votre plateforme de podcasts favorite !  Nous remercions notre commanditaire Ethicon pour rendre possible la production de nos capsules.  La poche gastrique, une initiative des chirurgiens bariatriques Dr. Pierre Garneau et Dr. Alexandre Bougie, vise à sensibiliser à l'obésité en fournissant des informations sur les traitements basés sur la gestion des maladies chroniques, soutenus par l'Association canadienne des médecins et chirurgiens bariatriques, avec un engagement bénévole pour informer le public.  Le Dr Garneau et le Dr Bougie ont développés une expertise en chirurgie bariatrique, domaine dans lequel ils consacrent désormais l'essentiel de leur temps.  Nous recommandons de consulter les sites suivants :  Chirurgiebariatrique.com  Bariatriquerivesud.ca     

In today's First Case Vendor SpotlightTM, we dive into the future of healthcare operations with the AITATM Smart System. Tune in as we speak with Matthew Chila, Director of Digitally Enabled Solutions at Ethicon, Inc., and Phil Gaby, Executive Director of Surgical Service Lines at Baptist Health, to explore how AITA is transforming the management of suture inventory in the operating room. From insights into the genesis of the AITA Smart System to its revolutionary impact on inventory optimization, technology adoption, and the future vision of the AITA Smart Room, this conversation is a must-listen for healthcare professionals seeking to enhance efficiency and streamline processes in the surgical environment. Discover the power of artificial intelligence, robotics, machine learning, and predictive analytics as we uncover the potential of AITA in shaping the future of healthcare operations. The AITA Smart System is a comprehensive solution that optimizes the way hospitals manage their inventory – supporting sutures and a limited number of complementary products. It turns supplies into data, data into insights, and insights into actions.  To learn more about AITA, visit AITA Smart System | Ethicon (jnjmedtech.com) to schedule a demo or reach out to the team directly by emailing AITA@its.jnj.com. #operatingroom #surgery #hospital #InventoryManagement #SmartSystem #VendorSpotlight

In today's Power Supply Vendor Spotlight™, we dive into the future of healthcare operations with the AITA™ Smart System. Tune in as we speak with Matthew Chila, Director of Digitally Enabled Solutions at Ethicon, Inc., and Phil Gaby, Executive Director of Surgical Service Lines at Baptist Health, to explore how AITA is transforming the management of suture inventory in the operating room. From insights into the genesis of the AITA Smart System to its revolutionary impact on inventory optimization, technology adoption, and the future vision of the AITA Smart Room, this conversation is a must-listen for healthcare professionals seeking to enhance efficiency and streamline processes in the surgical environment. Discover the power of artificial intelligence, robotics, machine learning, and predictive analytics as we uncover the potential of AITA in shaping the future of healthcare operations. The AITA Smart System is a comprehensive solution that optimizes the way hospitals manage their inventory – supporting sutures and a limited number of complementary products. It turns supplies into data, data into insights, and insights into actions. To learn more about AITA, visit AITA Smart System | Ethicon (http://jnjmedtech.com) to schedule a demo, or reach out to the team directly by emailing AITA@its.jnj.com.

Dans cet épisode émouvant de "La poche gastrique", nous plongeons dans l'histoire de Christian, un homme qui a bravé les défis de l'obésité et les jugements de son entourage pour trouver un renouveau à travers la chirurgie bariatrique. Après des années de lutte acharnée sans résultats durables, Christian prend la décision courageuse de subir une dérivation biliopancréatique de type SADI, un choix qui transformera sa vie de manière radicale. Il partage les obstacles rencontrés, de la douleur physique aux changements alimentaires, en passant par le difficile voyage vers l'acceptation de soi après une perte de poids spectaculaire. L'impact positif sur sa famille et les défis persistants, comme la gestion des perceptions post-opératoires, sont mis à nu. Cet épisode offre un regard sincère sur la complexité de la perte de poids chirurgicale et la force qu'il faut pour redéfinir son identité, promettant d'inspirer et d'informer ceux qui empruntent ou envisagent un chemin similaire. Vous pouvez aussi nous écouter dans l'épisode 126 ''au delà des maux'' du podcast de Dr Gagné, La Santé. Nous avons parlez de notre projet de podcast. Disponible dès maintenant sur votre plateforme de podcasts favorite !  Nous remercions notre commanditaire Ethicon pour rendre possible la production de nos capsules.  La poche gastrique, une initiative des chirurgiens bariatriques Dr. Pierre Garneau et Dr. Alexandre Bougie, vise à sensibiliser à l'obésité en fournissant des informations sur les traitements basés sur la gestion des maladies chroniques, soutenus par l'Association canadienne des médecins et chirurgiens bariatriques, avec un engagement bénévole pour informer le public.  Le Dr Garneau et le Dr Bougie ont développés une expertise en chirurgie bariatrique, domaine dans lequel ils consacrent désormais l'essentiel de leur temps.  Nous recommandons de consulter les sites suivants :  Chirurgiebariatrique.com  Bariatriquerivesud.ca     

Podcast: LAS NOTICIAS CON CALLE DE 13 DE FEBRERO DE 2024 - Masacre Toa Baja, 4 muertos y 5 heridos en tiroteo, Cano Delgado acompañó a su hermano en ambulancia - Policía - Bitcoins se trepa otra vez en sobre 50 mil - CNBC - Permitirán votantes ausentes desde los 60 años y hay montones de electores en lista que ya no viven en PR - CPI - Guerra entre republicanos del Senado por fondos para Ucrania, Israel y la frontera - Punchbowl News - 5 años y meses para Ángel Pérez de Guaynabo - 4 Poder - Jeff Bezos pasaría a ser el más rico del mundo - Quartz - Para el Supremo eventualmente el caso de descalificar a los candidatos MVC y PD - El Nuevo Día - Ethicon creará 300 empleos en Manatí tras inversión de farmacéutica en PR - El Vocero  - Aumento en maltrato de personas mayores - El Nuevo Día - Superbowl más visto en la historia - Nielsen - Republicanos del Congreso investigarán si Biden está apto para dirigir la nación por su vejez - Axios  - Descalifican a Giancarlo González por no tener expertise en energía eléctrica - El Nuevo Día - Demanda de clase contra la CFSE - El Vocero  - Detenida reconstrucción de Ponce y zona sur, falta de mano de obra - El Vocero  - Modernika y Valija Gitana en desahucio de Plaza Las Américas - El Nuevo Día  ¡Empieza el año Fit! Come rico, sabroso y saludable con el combo fit de Martin's BBQ Haz tu combo, combinando un cuarto del pollo asado a la varita más rico de Puerto Rico con un complemento a escoger entre yuca, malanga, batata hervida, vegetales mixtos o ensalada verde y una botella de agua Ponte ready con El Combo Fit de Martin's BBQ Asado, jugoso, sabroso! MMM Hoy voy pa Martin's BBQ Incluye auspicio Incluye auspicio

Welcome to the MassDevice Fast Five medtech news podcast, the show that keeps you up-to-date on the latest breakthroughs in medical technology. Here's what you need to know for today, January 10, 2024. Check out the show notes for links to the stories we discussed today at MassDevice.com/podcast. Orthofix appointed a new CFO as Massimo Caliafiore took over as CEO. Fast Five hosts Danielle Kirsh and Sean Whooley discuss who takes on the financial leadership role and some of their career history.  Dexcom has submitted a new glucose sensor to the FDA and expects to launch it this summer. Whooley explains what the technology does and the launch plans Dexcom has. Megadyne Medical, part of J&J's Ethicon, has a new recall of patient return electrodes. The Fast Five hosts go over the reason behind the recall and what users of the device should do with the recalled technology. Insulet has a Class I recall for its Omnipod 5 Andrioid app. Hear the reason behind the recall and how it affects patients.  Medtronic's CEO Geoff Martha presented at the J.P. Morgan Conference this week and said the company is committed to prioritizing the restoration of its earnings power in the new year. Kirsh and Whooley some of Medtronic's target growth areas and how executives feel going into the new year.

Dre Azar est la première invitée à La poche gastrique. Les traitements pharmacologiques de l'obésité sont abordés par cette endocrinologue experte en soins métaboliques. Prenez soins d'écouter les opinions sur la place du traitement médical actuellement et dans le futur en relations avec la chirurgie bariatrique     Dre Azar a fait sa résidence en médecine interne à l'Université de Montréal, puis a obtenu son diplôme de spécialité en endocrinologie à l'Université McGill. Elle a fait une surspécialisation en médecine métabolique à Ottawa, au Ottawa Bariatric Center of Excellence.  Elle est diplomée du American Board of Obesity Medicine.  Elle est médecin endocrinologue à l'Hôpital du Sacré-Cœur de Montréal depuis 2015, ou elle est impliquée dans la clinique d'obésité conjointement avec l'équipe de chirurgie bariatrique.    Disponible dès maintenant sur votre plateforme de podcasts favorite !  Nous remercions notre commanditaire Ethicon pour rendre possible la production de nos capsules.  La poche gastrique, une initiative des chirurgiens bariatriques Dr. Pierre Garneau et Dr. Alexandre Bougie, vise à sensibiliser à l'obésité en fournissant des informations sur les traitements basés sur la gestion des maladies chroniques, soutenus par l'Association canadienne des médecins et chirurgiens bariatriques, avec un engagement bénévole pour informer le public.  Le Dr Garneau et le Dr Bougie ont développés une expertise en chirurgie bariatrique, domaine dans lequel ils consacrent désormais l'essentiel de leur temps.  Nous recommandons de consulter les sites suivants :  Chirurgiebariatrique.com  Bariatriquerivesud.ca 

Johnson & Johnson has multiple robotic development projects that are set to expand its market-leading position in advanced surgical technology, Hani Abouhalka, company group chairman, Robotics & Digital, Johnson & Johnson Medtech, explains to Bloomberg Intelligence. In this Vanguards of Health Care podcast episode, Abouhalka sits down with BI analyst Matt Henriksson to talk about developments in J&J's multiple robotic platforms, including the Monarch system for bronchoscopy and urological procedures and the Ottava system designed for general surgery; and how J&J's Ethicon presence helps drive a differentiated experience for surgeons.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Welcome to the MassDevice Fast Five medtech news podcast, the show that keeps you up-to-date on the latest breakthroughs in medical technology. Here's what you need to know for today, December 6, 2023. Check out the show notes for links to the stories we discussed today at MassDevice.com/podcast. Rockley Photonics has begun sampling its biosensing wearable. Fast Five hosts Danielle Kirsh and Sean Whooley discuss what the wearable will measure, some of the design components and how optimistic executives are feeling.  EndoQuest raised $42 million for its endoluminal robotic technology. Learn what the funds will go toward and what technology EndoQuest is developing.  Johnson & Johnson's Ethicon has settled its remaining Physiomesh lawsuits. Whooley goes over what the judge on this case decided, how many cases Ethicon has been dealing with and what its response was to the judge's decision. Exactech won FDA clearance for its new ankle surgery navigation system. Hear what the system is designed for and what doctors think about the system's performance in today's episode.  Johnson & Johnson MedTech thinks new products will fuel growth for the company. Whooley and Kirsh discuss where J&J MedTech stands in the medtech market, what the new leader sees for the future of the medtech segment and what will drive value in the future.

Karen Zaderej is Chairman, Chief Executive Officer, and President of Axogen Corporation ( https://www.axogeninc.com/ ), a leading company focused specifically on the science, development and commercialization of technologies for peripheral nerve regeneration and repair, with a primary goal of restoring peripheral nerve function and quality of life to patients with physical damage or discontinuity, providing innovative, clinically proven and economically effective repair solutions for surgeons and health care providers. Karen joined the company in May 2006 and has served as President, Chief Executive Officer and a Member of the Board of Directors since September 2011 and became Chairman of the Board of Directors in May 2018, and has previously held positions as Chief Operating Officer and as Vice President of Marketing and Sales. Previous to joining the company, Karen founded Zaderej Medical Consulting, which assisted medical device companies build and execute successful commercialization plans. From 1987 to 2004, Karen worked at Ethicon, Inc., a Johnson & Johnson company, where she held senior positions in marketing, business development, research & development, and manufacturing. Karen is a member of the University of Tampa Board of Trustees and sits on the Board of Directors for EyePoint Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Karen has an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Business and a BS in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University. Support the show

  Nouvel épisode de "La poche gastrique" ! Rejoignez-nous pour une exploration du tourisme chirurgical en matière de chirurgie bariatrique.  Nous abordons les raisons, les défis et les dangers de subir une telle opération loin de chez soi. Découvrez pourquoi les coûts moins élevés et les listes d'attente plus courtes à l'étranger peuvent cacher des risques significatifs, notamment en termes de complications et de suivi post-opératoire.  Nos hôtes soulignent l'importance d'une prise en charge globale et scientifique de l'obésité et discutent de l'importance du choix éclairé des établissements et chirurgiens. Apprenez pourquoi la chirurgie bariatrique n'est qu'un outil dans le parcours des soins métaboliques. Cet épisode est indispensable pour ceux qui souhaitent comprendre les enjeux de cette pratique. Nous vous invitons à écouter pour une perspective complète et nuancée. Disponible dès maintenant sur votre plateforme de podcasts favorite !   Nous remercions Ethicon pour son soutien essentiel à la production de ce balado. La poche gastrique, une initiative des chirurgiens bariatriques Dr. Pierre Garneau et Dr. Alexandre Bougie, vise à sensibiliser à l'obésité en fournissant des informations sur les traitements basés sur la gestion des maladies chroniques, soutenus par l'Association canadienne des médecins et chirurgiens bariatriques, avec un engagement bénévole pour informer le public. Le Dr Pierre Y. Garneau a effectué sa formation médicale et chirurgicale à l'Université Laval. Après une année de surspécialisation à l'Université de Montréal, il débute sa carrière à l'Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur en 1997 et effectue la première procédure bariatrique dans cet hôpital. Par la suite, il consacre progressivement sa carrière à la chirurgie bariatrique, laparoscopique et robotique. Il est actuellement le directeur du programme universitaire de formation en chirurgie bariatrique à l'Université de Montréal. Il est le chef du département de chirurgie au CIUSSS NIM et est aussi le secrétaire de l'association canadienne de médecins et chirurgiens bariatrique (CABPS). Dr Bougie a complété sa formation médicale et sa résidence en chirurgie générale à l'Université de Sherbrooke entre 2007 et 2016. Sa formation post-doctorale en main, il a par la suite complété un programme de formation spécialisée en chirurgie bariatrique minimalement invasive à l'Université McGill durant l'année 2016-2017 (fellowship). Il a par la suite continué sa formation en complétant un fellowship en traumatologie à l'Université d'Ottawa en 2017-2018 tout en travaillant comme chirurgien dans cet hôpital en Ontario. Depuis septembre 2018, il travaille comme membre actif du service de chirurgie générale de l'Hôpital Pierre-Boucher au sein du CISSS de la Montérégie-Est. Le Dr Garneau et le Dr Bougie ont développés une expertise en chirurgie bariatrique, domaine dans lequel ils consacrent désormais l'essentiel de leur temps. Nous recommandons de consulter les sites suivants : www.Chirurgiebariatrique.com www.Bariatriquerivesud.ca        

Welcome to the MassDevice Fast Five medtech news podcast, the show that keeps you up-to-date on the latest breakthroughs in medical technology. Here's what you need to know for today, November 16, 2023. Check out the show notes for links to the stories we discussed today at MassDevice.com/podcast. Alcon stocks dipped on Wednesday as it released its Q3 earnings. Fast Five hosts Sean Whooley and Danielle Kirsh talk about the financial highlights of the quarter and the company's expectations for the full-year upon these results.  Ethicon has unveiled a hemostatic sealing patch in Europe. Whooley explains the technology behind the patch and the company's plans for a launch in the future.  Virtuoso Surgical won an NIH funding grant to support its surgical robot. Hear what the surgical robot does and what the company wants to do with the funding grant.  NeuroOne named a former Cardiovascular System VP as its new COO. The Fast Five hosts discuss who is taking over in this role, their career history and the optimism they bring to the company.  Beta Bionics won a pharmacy benefit for its bionic pancreas. Whooley talks about what the decision means for Beta Bionics and how it differs from the insurance benefits of insulin pumps.

Dans cet épisode, les Drs Pierre Garneau et Alexandre Bougie, chirurgiens bariatriques expérimentés, approfondissent le sujet des différentes chirurgies bariatriques en mettant l'accent sur la gastrectomie verticale (sleeve), la dérivation gastrique (bypass) et la dérivation biliopancréatique. Ils démystifient les procédures, répondent aux préoccupations et dissipent les idées fausses. Les auditeurs sont encouragés à réécouter l'épisode pour une meilleure compréhension et sont informés que les futurs épisodes aborderont des sujets plus variés avec des invités spéciaux. L'épisode se concentre sur les détails techniques de la sleeve, la chirurgie la plus couramment pratiquée, y compris la nécessité de suppléments à vie pour éviter les carences. La dérivation biliopancréatique, chirurgie plus agressive, est aussi abordée. Les médecins discutent ensuite de la dérivation gastrique, une autre option efficace contre le diabète et le reflux sévère. Enfin, le mini bypass est présenté comme une option agressive mais potentiellement adaptée pour certains cas. Les médecins partagent également leurs perspectives sur les évolutions futures de la chirurgie bariatrique, notamment l'utilisation de l'endoscopie et des médicaments innovants. Ils insistent sur l'importance de l'éducation des patients et proposent des ressources complémentaires sur leurs sites web. La conversation se conclut par une réflexion sur l'influence des plateformes en ligne, telles que YouTube et sur les attentes et la compréhension des patients. Nous remercions Ethicon pour son soutien essentiel à la production de ce balado. La poche gastrique, une initiative des chirurgiens bariatriques Dr. Pierre Garneau et Dr. Alexandre Bougie, vise à sensibiliser à l'obésité en fournissant des informations sur les traitements basés sur la gestion des maladies chroniques, soutenus par l'Association canadienne des médecins et chirurgiens bariatriques, avec un engagement bénévole pour informer le public. Le Dr Pierre Y. Garneau a effectué sa formation médicale et chirurgicale à l'Université Laval. Après une année de surspécialisation à l'Université de Montréal, il débute sa carrière à l'Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur en 1997 et effectue la première procédure bariatrique dans cet hôpital. Par la suite, il consacre progressivement sa carrière à la chirurgie bariatrique, laparoscopique et robotique. Il est actuellement le directeur du programme universitaire de formation en chirurgie bariatrique à l'Université de Montréal. Il est le chef du département de chirurgie au CIUSSS NIM et est aussi le secrétaire de l'association canadienne de médecins et chirurgiens bariatrique (CABPS). Dr Bougie a complété sa formation médicale et sa résidence en chirurgie générale à l'Université de Sherbrooke entre 2007 et 2016. Sa formation post-doctorale en main, il a par la suite complété un programme de formation spécialisée en chirurgie bariatrique minimalement invasive à l'Université McGill durant l'année 2016-2017 (fellowship). Il a par la suite continué sa formation en complétant un fellowship en traumatologie à l'Université d'Ottawa en 2017-2018 tout en travaillant comme chirurgien dans cet hôpital en Ontario. Depuis septembre 2018, il travaille comme membre actif du service de chirurgie générale de l'Hôpital Pierre-Boucher au sein du CISSS de la Montérégie-Est. Le Dr Garneau et le Dr Bougie ont développés une expertise en chirurgie bariatrique, domaine dans lequel ils consacrent désormais l'essentiel de leur temps. Nous recommandons de consulter les sites suivants : www.Chirurgiebariatrique.com www.Bariatriquerivesud.ca        

Welcome to the MassDevice Fast Five medtech news podcast, the show that keeps you up-to-date on the latest breakthroughs in medical technology. Here's what you need to know for today, November 7, 2023. Check out the show notes for links to the stories we discuss today at MassDevice.com/podcast. HistoSonics scored a reimbursement win for its sonic beam therapy. Fast Five hosts Danielle Kirsh and Sean Whooley explain what this means for the company and what the therapy is designed to do.  Johnson & Johnson's Ethicon announced an AI-powered laparoscopic training technology at a recent conference. Hear what the technology does, what the platform offers and what executives are saying.  Asensus has initiated a Senhance program in Germany, expanding further in Europe. Whooley explains some of the companies previous program announcements and the optimism that executives have.  Siemens Healthineers Diagnostics is laying off hundreds of employees in the U.S. The Fast Five hosts discuss the reason behind the layoffs and what Siemens Healthineers had to say about them.  A cyber gang threatens to release Henry Schein's data in a ransomware attack. Kirsh and Whooley talk about the details of the hack, including what the cyber gang is requesting in exchange for not releasing the data.

Today we have the pleasure of having Seth Coletti on the podcast who shares his experiences of working for top medical device companies. Seth has worked at Ethicon and currently BD! He shares his tips on how he grew low performing territories and his experience for working with large companies Break into Medical Device Sales Online Course: https://courses.newtomedicaldevicesales.com/pod/   Guide For Breaking into Medical Device Sales Ebook: https://newtomedicaldevicesales.squarespace.com/  New to Medical Device Sales Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/new-to-medical-device-sales/id1522512043   New to Medical Device Sales YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UChOykksIXUXAwnW0rq6lKmw   Medical Sales Network Effects Program: https://salesnetworkeffectsprogram.mykajabi.com/a/2147517020/JdaoyhuE   LinkedIn Profile Upgrade: https://salesnetworkeffectsprogram.mykajabi.com/a/2147515981/JdaoyhuE   Website: https://www.newtomedicaldevicesales.com   New to Medical Device Sales Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/newtomedicaldevicesales/   Jacob McLaughlin LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacob-mclaughlin-5192b312b   New to Medical Device Sales TikTok:  https://www.tiktok.com/@newtomedicaldevicesales?  

La poche gastrique, c'est notre idée de chirurgiens bariatriques passionnés dans le but de rejoindre plus de patients et de professionnels de la santé tout en sensibilisant la population. L'obésité est une maladie chronique complexe, fort répandue dont les patients font l'objet de préjugés et de stigmas contribuant à la morbidité et la mortalité qui y sont associés. Les traitements doivent être fondés sur la science de la gestion des maladies chroniques au-delà du simpliste « manger moins et bouger plus ». Nos capsules vont couvrir la thérapie nutritionnelle médicale, l'activité physique, les approches psychothérapeutiques, la pharmacothérapie et la chirurgie.  Nous remercions notre commanditaire Ethicon pour rendre possible la production de nos capsules. La poche gastrique, une initiative des chirurgiens bariatriques Dr. Pierre Garneau et Dr. Alexandre Bougie, vise à sensibiliser à l'obésité en fournissant des informations sur les traitements basés sur la gestion des maladies chroniques, soutenus par l'Association canadienne des médecins et chirurgiens bariatriques, avec un engagement bénévole pour informer le public. Le Dr Pierre Y. Garneau a effectué sa formation médicale et chirurgicale à l'Université Laval. Après une année de surspécialisation à l'Université de Montréal, il débute sa carrière à l'Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur en 1997 et effectue la première procédure bariatrique dans cet hôpital. Par la suite, il consacre progressivement sa carrière à la chirurgie bariatrique, laparoscopique et robotique. Il est actuellement le directeur du programme universitaire de formation en chirurgie bariatrique à l'Université de Montréal. Il est le chef du département de chirurgie au CIUSSS NIM et est aussi le secrétaire de l'association canadienne de médecins et chirurgiens bariatrique (CABPS). Dr Bougie a complété sa formation médicale et sa résidence en chirurgie générale à l'Université de Sherbrooke entre 2007 et 2016. Sa formation post-doctorale en main, il a par la suite complété un programme de formation spécialisée en chirurgie bariatrique minimalement invasive à l'Université McGill durant l'année 2016-2017 (fellowship). Il a par la suite continué sa formation en complétant un fellowship en traumatologie à l'Université d'Ottawa en 2017-2018 tout en travaillant comme chirurgien dans cet hôpital en Ontario. Depuis septembre 2018, il travaille comme membre actif du service de chirurgie générale de l'Hôpital Pierre-Boucher au sein du CISSS de la Montérégie-Est. Le Dr Garneau et le Dr Bougie ont développés une expertise en chirurgie bariatrique, domaine dans lequel ils consacrent désormais l'essentiel de leur temps. Nous recommandons de consulter les sites suivants : Chirurgiebariatrique.com Bariatriquerivesud.ca

Sponsored by TrackableMed After 22 years of teaching in England, Phil Gostling was ready for a new challenge and took the leap into medical sales. Hard? Yes. But his lessons are gold and his approach to the industry can teach even the most seasoned sales teams about the importance of learning and listening. In this week's episode, sponsored by TrackableMed, Phil shares how he found his new role as an EndoMech Sales Specialist at Ethicon. From taking advice from guests on previous episodes of this podcast to utilizing transferrable skills developed in teaching, his story will likely inspire others to follow his lead. We also explore the impact of being driven by purpose, how data has helped guide him in his first year, and how much more there is to sales than just selling. Tune in to hear more about: Aligning with purpose in everything you do How new challenges ignite a new learning muscle The value of individual and team reflections in sales How to effectively prepare for a career change into medical sales Utilizing transferrable skills to develop yourself and/or pivot Data-guided behavior and how this impacts your ability to focus Resources from this episode:  Get the free MedTech Talk Tracks for Action Social Media:  Connect with Phil on LinkedIn Connect with Zed on LinkedIn Connect with Clark on LinkedIn

Heart failure is a prevalent condition that requires effective management and monitoring to improve patient outcomes and quality of life. Shifamed portfolio company Adona Medical recently introduced its next-generation heart failure platform. Fast Five hosts Sean Whooley and Danielle Kirsh detail the technology that is featured in the system and how it works to enhance patient care. The FDA clearance of Tandem Diabetes Care's Mobi durable automated insulin pump reflects the ongoing advancements in diabetes management and the integration of technology into treatment options. Learn how Tandem's new technology differs from its existing platforms and how it stacks up against other competitors already on the market. Stryker announced this week that it launched its Q Guidance System with cranial guidance software. This launch comes on the heels of last week's Ortho Q fully autonomous guidance system launch. In today's episode, Whooley explains what the system is designed for and some of the technology behind the guidance software. ECG interpretation software can assist healthcare professionals in analyzing electrocardiogram results, potentially aiding in detecting and diagnosing cardiac abnormalities. The FDA cleared AccurKardia's ECG interpretation software just this week. Hear about the features and benefits of the system and the clinical data that support its use in this episode. The FDA labeled a recall of Megadyne electrode products manufactured by Johnson & Johnson's Ethicon Class I, the most serious kind. Whooley and Kirsh discuss the reason behind the recall, how many devices are affected and if there have been reports of injury from use of the devices. Check out the show notes for links to the stories we discussed today at MassDevice.com/podcast.

Restoring one of our five senses, in this case, touch. The stakes are immense (1 in 1000 people are affected yearly by a peripheral nerve injury!) and the origins are diverse: traumatic accident, cancer, amputation, and many others. And solutions to this problem have long needed to be improved. Karen Zaderej and her team at Axogen have set themselves the goal of changing this situation, by proposing new ways of treating nerves, taking advantage of their regenerative potential. A chemical engineer by training, Karen began her career at Johnson & Johnson in its surgical solutions subsidiary, ETHICON. With 17 years of experience in roles ranging from manufacturing to product development and sales, she decided to leave her corporate career behind. In 2006 she joined a Floridian start-up in its infancy, developing a new type of medical device enabling nerves to regenerate, still at the prototype stage and not yet tested on humans. The outcome? A company that has become a world leader in the development of cutting-edge nerve repair solutions, listed on the stock exchange and now employs over 400 people. In this new episode, we delve into the world of peripheral nerves, the source of our physical and motor sensations, and their formidable regenerative capacities. You will learn about: How our nerves work and current approaches to repairing them Phantom pain, how to explain it, and how to treat it How women today can regain sensation in their breasts following a mastectomy The journey of a remarkable woman entrepreneur who has made addressing nerve damage her life mission Prepare to be nervously amazed as we unravel the secrets of touch restoration! Timeline: 00:03:00 - Karen's background as a nerve evangelist 00:07:35 - Key evolutions in medical technology that Karen witnessed 00:10:42 - What Karen learned at J&J that shaped the rest of her career 00:15:43 - What attracted Karen to Axogen and the potential of their technology 00:20:40 - Scaling up a medical device company from a very early stage onwards 00:23:15 - How Axogen enables nerve repair 00:27:18 - Bringing an answer to phantom pain 00:30:47 - The main indication areas covered by Axogen 00:38:31 - What the future of nerve repair might look like What we also talked about with Karen: Autograft Allograft Mastectomy Neuroma Da Vinci Surgical Systems We cited with Karen some of the past episodes from the series: #6 - Bringing back walking to paraplegics - Jocelyne Bloch - .NeuroRestore #2 - Treating liver cancer with surgical robotics - Lucien Blondel - Quantum Surgical You can learn more about Axogen through their website and their portfolio here. Feel free to follow as well their activities on LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook! As mentioned by Karen during the episode, you can find out more about clinical research in peripheral nerve repair through the complete library of published papers curated by the company. Karen also invites you to consult resensation.com and rethinkpain.com to hear about patient stories and find resources in case you face a similar situation. If you want to get in touch with Karen, feel free to contact her over LinkedIn. If you want to give me feedback on the episode or suggest potential guests, feel free to do so contact me over LinkedIn or via email at mathieu@impulsepodcast.com! If you liked the episode, please share it, subscribe to the podcast, and leave a 5-star review on streaming platforms! Follow also our activities on LinkedIn and through our website!

Ethicon LLC v. ITC

Transcript:This is the Weight and Healthcare newsletter! If you like what you are reading, please consider subscribing and/or sharing!The Ob*sity* Action Coalition (OAC) claims to be a non-profit advocacy group for higher-weight people. The truth from my perspective is that they are anything but.I wrote about the OAC in 2014 when their priority had been lobbying the AMA to declare that “ob*sity” is a disease. Today their priority is the “Treat and Reduce Ob*sity Act” the goal of which is to expand  Medicare coverage for weight loss interventions, including specifically expanding coverage for weight loss drugs.These priorities make a lot more sense when you realize that the OAC is not an advocacy group for higher-weight people, but rather an organization that is predominantly funded by, and lobbies for the priorities of, the weight loss industry.When I first wrote about the OAC the “Platinum” level of their Chairman's Council (a distinction for those providing funding of $100,000 or more annually) included:·         Allergan – Manufacturers of the lap band·         American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric [weight loss] Surgery·         Covidien – “committed to better patient outcomes through bariatric surgery“·         Eisai – manufactures of the weight loss drug Belviq (now pulled from the market)·         Vivus – manufacturers of the weight loss drug QysmiaAll of these organizations stood to profit from the AMA's declaration of being higher-weight as a disease (and the lobbying was successful, not only did the AMA declare living in a larger body to be a disease, but they blatantly ignored the findings of their own Committee on Science and Public Health which had studied the matter for a year and recommended against it in order to do the weight loss industry's bidding.)Having simply existing in a larger body re-branded into a disease was a major step forward, but not the only step. The next big step for Big Pharma is insurance coverage for dangerous, expensive (and almost certain to fail) weight loss “treatments.”And now the OACs “Platinum” level is down to one company – Novo Nordisk. A company that, having made a literal fortune price gouging on insulin, has promised their shareholders that their new weight loss drug, Wegovy, will make them billions. The rest of the sponsorship levels are still chock full of weight loss companies. They've also separated their Chairman's Council from what they are calling “Corporate Partners”. Here Novo is again the top funder at “more than $500,000 annually” with Eli Lilly kicking in “more than $100,000” and the list goes on. I've included the lists below.There is something else in common between the OAC of 2014 and today. At both times, they were involved in parallel campaigns that claimed to be about ending weight stigma, but were in fact about selling more weight loss interventions.We've seen this before. It was a tactic used by Purdue Pharma and other pharma and medical device companies to sell opioids – they created non-profits like the American Pain Foundation that were billed as advocacy groups for pain patients (a legitimate group of patients who deserve advocacy and treatment,) but were, in fact, funded by and acting in the interest of the pharmaceutical industry. The work of these non-profits influenced legitimate government and healthcare organizations to do the pharma companies' bidding, including influencing the behavior of doctors and other healthcare providers with their patients, creating an explosion in pain diagnoses and opioid prescriptions.This is exactly what Novo Nordisk and other weight loss companies want to do, so it's not surprising that they are taking a page or two from the Purdue Pharma Oxycontin playbook.Fool us once, a lot of people are harmed and killed in the service of pharma industry profits. Fool us twice, even more lives are irreparably harmed and lost. That is why it is critical that we not allow the OAC to get away with this - that we not allow them and their spokespeople to claim to be fighting weight stigma when they are really shilling for the weight loss industry.When you see “Ob*sity Action Coalition” you should think “Novo Nordisk and their weight loss industry buddies” and treat them accordingly, with extreme suspicion.Current “Corporate Partners”Note: the date represents how long they've been an “OAC Partner”Platinum (contributing more than $500,000 annually)Novo Nordisk (2013)Gold (more than $100,000 annually)Eli Lilly (2020)Silver (more than $50,000 annually)Boehringer Ingelheim (2010)Ethicon (2012)Medtronic (2010)Bronze (more than $25,000 annually)American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (2005)Currax pharmaceuticals (2020)Fujifilm (2018)Patron(more than $10,000 annually)Bariatric Advantage Nutritional Products (2008)Intuitive (2021)Rhythm (2018)The Ob*sity Society (2012)Wondr Health (2017)Weight Watchers aka WW (2015)Source: https://www.obesityaction.org/corporate-partnersCurrent chairman's council funders:Platinum (donates more than 100k annually to OAC's general operating efforts)Novo NordiskGold: between 50k and $99,999 annuallyAmerican Society for Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery Bariatric Advantage Boehringer Ingelheim Eli Lilly and Company Pfizer Potomac CurrentsSilver $10k-$49,999 annually Amgen Currax Pharmaceuticals Ethicon INTUITIVE Medtronic RoBronze $5k-$9,999 annually Allurion Calibrate Health Found Geisinger Healthcare System ReShape Lifesciences Rocky Mountain Associated Physicians Wondr HealthPatron $1k-$4,999 annually Bariatric Medicine Institute Billings Clinic BonusLife ConscienHealth Gainesville Medical Ob*sity Specialty Clinic HorizonView Health New Life Center for Bariatric Surgery Rhythm The Better Weight Center The Ob*sity Society Weight & Life MD Woman's Hospital Source: https://www.obesityaction.org/donate/corporate-support/chairmans-council/Did you find this post helpful? You can subscribe for free to get future posts delivered direct to your inbox, or choose a paid subscription to support the newsletter and get special benefits! Click the Subscribe button below for details:More research and resources:https://haeshealthsheets.com/resources/*Note on language: I use “fat” as a neutral descriptor as used by the fat activist community, I use “ob*se” and “overw*ight” to acknowledge that these are terms that were created to medicalize and pathologize fat bodies, with roots in racism and specifically anti-Blackness. Please read Sabrina Strings' Fearing the Black Body – the Racial Origins of Fat Phobia and Da'Shaun Harrison's Belly of the Beast: The Politics of Anti-Fatness as Anti-Blackness for more on this. Get full access to Weight and Healthcare at weightandhealthcare.substack.com/subscribe

En este 19º episodio tenemos la suerte de entrevistar a los Drs. Jörg Tomaszewski, Global Medical Director de Ethicon, y Pablo Torres, Medical Affairs Manager de Johnson & Johnson España. De su mano, conoceremos los productos más allá de las suturas de ETHICON, la situación actual de la relación entre la industria y la sociedad científica y mucho más.

The weekend ended with a bang as Abbott and Globus Medical both announced significant deals. Abbott picked up publicly traded Cardiovascular Solutions for $890 million while Globus Medical acquired – or merged if you prefer – with publicly held spine competitor NuVasive in a deal valued more than $3 billion. In this week's episode, host Tom Salemi explores each deal with Wall Street Analysts Mike Matson and David Saxon from Needham. The conversation begins with the big question – Is this this start of a robust year for M&A. Executive Editor Chris Newmarker also delivers his Newmarker's Newsmakers. Abbott, CSI, Globus, and NuVasive top the list along with GE Healthcare's acquisition of Caption Health. Other medtech companies making the vaunted list include 3M, Dexcom, Ethicon, and Inspire Medical. This episode is sponsored by DeviceTalks Boston. Go to DeviceTalks.com to find out more information about our upcoming in-person conference. Thanks for listening to this episode of DeviceTalks Weekly. You can subscribe this podcast on any major podcast player.

This is the Weight and Healthcare newsletter! If you like what you are reading, please consider subscribing and/or sharing!At their base, the guidelines recommend intentional weight loss for higher-weight children via “Intensive Health Behavior and Lifestyle Training” starting as early as age two (2) with drugs as young as twelve (12) and surgeries starting as early as age thirteen (13).There is a lot to unpack here, and this will be a multi-part series but I have had a flood of requests to write about them since they came out, and I had to get very familiar with them because I presented Grand Rounds at Children's Minnesota this morning, so I thought I would get started with this first ever special edition of the newsletter so that I could get this info to you sooner and keep Saturday's newsletter from becoming a novel! I'm going to start with conflicts of interest because I believe these form the rickety scaffolding upon which the rest of these recommendations rest.When I think about conflicts of interest, I generally feel that having a conflict of interest is not proof of bias, but is certainly a red flag indicating the need for taking a deeper look. Failing to freely and openly disclose a conflict of interest, on the other hand, seems more to me like a red flag doused in gasoline and set on fire. There's a lot of the latter type of red flags in these guidelines.To address conflicts of interest, the guidelines themselves state:FINANCIAL/CONFLICT OF INTEREST DISCLOSURES: An Independent review for bias was completed by the American Academy of Pediatrics. Dr Barlow has disclosed a financial relationship with the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development as a co-investigator.That's it. That is the only conflict of interest information provided. The same language is provided at the top of the guidelines and under the section “competing interests.” I cannot find any link to the actual review that they performed (if I missed it/you have it, please feel free to leave it in the comments!) I have to tell you that Dr. Barlow's disclosed relationship is pretty much the least of my concerns here.For example, based on their disclosure language you might not guess that, of the 14 authors who are medical doctors, at least 7 have taken money from companies that are developing or sell weight loss products that either directly benefit, or may benefit from these recommendations either through the development of a new drug, or approval of an existing drug for adolescents. The amount ranged from less than $20 for food and beverage (typically indicating that the doctor had attended one or more “educational” seminars by these companies,) to one author who took more than $50,000 primarily for consulting and speaking engagements on behalf of these companies.One of the companies that many took money from was Novo Nordisk, the pharmaceutical company which is aggressively marketing the drugs that are discussed in the guidelines (with an acknowledgment that they were included in the guidelines even though the research for them was published after the evidence review had already been completed.) Also, these numbers are only for 2015-2021 and where data is available. We know that Novo Nordisk has been pouring money into their effort to promote Wegovy and make good on their promise to shareholders that they would use the drug to double their “ob*sity* sales” by 2025, so it's possible that quite a bit more money has changed hands than is represented here. Regardless, as you can see, none of these payments are mentioned in the conflict of interest statement.Based on the American Academy of Pediatrics' conflict of interest statement, you also might not guess that, in fact, Novo Nordisk is a “Patron” of the American Academy of Pediatrics itself- donating somewhere between $25,000 and $49,999 to the organization.Other “patrons” of the AAP include:GlaxoSmithKline, maker of the weight loss drug alliGenentech, which sells the weight loss drug XenicalProlacta, which manufactures human milk-based nutritional products that they claim lowers the risk of ob*sityOf course, none of this is proof that they manipulated the guidelines to benefit these companies, but absolutely none of this is disclosed in the conflict of interest statement which, again…big red flag for me. Considering all of this, I am unconvinced that the American Academy of Pediatrics was in a position to conduct an “Independent review for bias” of guidelines that are incredibly favorable for their “patrons” and the companies from which the authors received money.You may also be surprised to learn that disclosure rules don't even require that they acknowledge that almost every author has a career that is based in the “higher-weight as lifelong chronic illness” model that these guidelines embrace and perpetuate. There are authors who run pediatric weight loss clinics, authors who run pediatric weight loss surgery programs, authors who are employed as pediatric weight management specialists. Below you'll find a list of the authors with information that I pulled from their various online bios about their past and current work in pediatric “ob*sity” as well as the payments I found to them on openpayments.cms.govFor almost all of the authors, these recommendations will increase the market for their services. That doesn't necessarily mean that's why they are making the recommendations, but it's still the literal definition of a conflict of interest. And yet, no disclosure of this is even required and, as you might imagine, none is made.There is also one oddity that I want to point out. Sarah C. Armstrong (who, of the authors who are MDs, took the most money from pharmaceutical companies that do or may benefit from these guidelines at $51,050.45) claims “I subscribe to a "health at every size" approach to supporting children, teens, and young adults living with ob*sity” on the same webpage on which her title is “Medical Weight Management Specialist.” That is, quite literally, impossible as those two things are mutually exclusive. Health at Every Size™ stands completely opposed to the concept of weight management and the pathologizing of body size, including the use of the term “ob*sity.” There is no ambiguity or grey area here, Health at Every Size™ is the trademarked brand of the Association for Size Diversity and Health, there are literally rules for this. So, from my perspective either Dr. Armstrong (a medical doctor who is co-authoring guidelines for other doctors) doesn't understand the basic principles upon which she claims her practice is built, or she is co-opting the language of weight-neutral health in order to promote weight loss. Either way, to me this is concerning enough to point out.I want to be clear, I don't think that these authors are necessarily trying to create profit for themselves, or to harm children. There are a LOT of degrees and certifications held by these authors, and many hold positions at prestigious universities and healthcare facilities. I think they are probably well-intentioned and truly believe that they are doing what's best for children. (As someone who is both queer and fat, I can imagine that if, a few decades ago, you had gotten together a group of doctors who had centered their careers on treating “homosexuality,” you would have gotten guidelines very much like this.) I also think that they are deeply misguided, and that's not surprising given the billions that the weight loss industry has poured into conflating health with weight and weight loss, including in the research, and the (mis) education of healthcare practitioners. Still, I believe that, if adopted, these guidelines will do massive harm. In Saturday's regular edition of Weight and Healthcare there is a deeper dive into the guidelines themselves. And a piece specifically about their eating disorders claims is here. Here is the author list with payments and info I found about their work within the body size as pathology paradigm (note that this is not an exhaustive list and includes past and present work)Sarah E Hampl * Novo Nordisk, $15.15* Pediatrics, Weight Management Sandra G Hassink* Director of the AAP Institute for Healthy Childhood Weight* Began the weight management clinic at Nemours/AI DuPont Children's Hospital in 1988* Has collaborated in basic research efforts to identify pathophysiologic mechanisms of ob*sity* Has lectured widely in the field of pediatric ob*sity* Authored A Parent's Guide to Childhood Ob*sity, Pediatric Ob*sity: Prevention, Intervention, and Treatment Strategies for Primary Care, and Clinical Guide to Pediatric Weight Management* Dedicates a significant portion of her time to advocacy and policy development on ob*sity prevention and treatment. * Served on the IOM committee on Accelerating Progress on Ob*sity Prevention and was an author on the Expert Recommendations for Ob*sityAsheley  C Skinner* Areas of expertise: Implementation Science, Health Services Research, Child Ob*sitySarah C. Armstrong * Genetech $41,250.45, Pfizer $5,000, Novo Nordisk $4,800 * Medical Weight Management SpecialistSarah E. Barlow * Echosens $94.89, Alexion 84.31, Abbvie $52.83, Ethicon 51.10, Novo Nordisk 32.27, Avanos $14.13* Oversees an integrated program in ob*sity care that spans community programs, primary healthcare and tertiary care.Christopher F. Bolling * Allergan 145.29, Tris Pharma $50.82, GlaxoSmithKline $45.82, Sanofi $44.71, Takeda $30.39, Astra Zeneca 23.87* Ob*sity Task Force Chair, KY Chapter, American Academy of PediatricsKimberly C. Avila Edwards* Co-founded the Texas Center for the Prevention and Treatment of Childhood Ob*sity at Dell Children's Medical Center in 2010 * On the steering committee for the Institute for a Healthy Childhood Weight from 2012-2016* Chaired the Ob*sity Committee of TPS (Texas Pediatric Society) from 2007 to 2011Ihuoma Eneli* Director of the Center for Healthy Weight and Nutrition at Nationwide Children's Hospital* Oversees a comprehensive pediatric ob*sity center with activities that include advocacy, prevention, medical weight management and adolescent bariatric surgery* Directs the Primary Care Ob*sity Network (PCON) which provides ob*sity-related training, resources and community integration for 21 primary care practices in Central Ohio* Has particular interest in intervention research for pediatric ob*sity* Member of the National Academy of Sciences Roundtable on Ob*sity SolutionsRobin Hamre* Ob*sity prevention program team leader for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Madeline M. Joseph* Chief, Division of Pediatric Bariatrics University of Florida HealthDoug Lunsford* Lead Patient Principal Investigator, PCORnet Ob*sity Studymember of the Parent and Patient Leadership Team for the Healthy Weight Network* Co-founder of the Healthy Weight Community* Twitter Bio: Working to end childhood ob*sityEneida Mendonca* Biomedical Informatics expert, no link to ob*sity medicineMarc P. Michalsky * Novo Nordisk $13,576.47* Surgical Director for the Center for Healthy Weight and Nutrition at Nationwide Children's Hospital* Serves as a clinical investigator on several National Institutes of Health (NIH)-sponsored research initiatives examining outcomes following surgical weight reduction in the severely ob*se adolescent population.* Dr. Michalsky's team currently performs gastric sleeve surgery, gastric bypass surgery, and adjustable gastric banding on severely ob*se adolescentsNazrat Mirza (Rhythm Pharmaceuticals $526.50, Novo Nordisk $64.54)* Medical Director, IDEAL Pediatric Weight Management ClinicEduardo R. Ochoa * Merck $3,868.16* Principle investigator for the Children's Health Watch Little Rock site at Arkansas Children's HospitalMona Sharifi* Studies the effectiveness, cost-effectiveness, and implementation of novel primary care-based interventions for childhood ob*sity* Yale School of Medicine Ob*sity Research Working GroupAmanda E. Staiano* Pennington Biomedical Research Center. Assistant Professor, Pediatric Ob*sity and Health Behavior Lab* Studies the best ways to target children and adolescents who are most at-risk for ob*sity and chronic disease, tailoring physical activity interventions to help these children and adolescents achieve a healthy weightAshley E. Weedn * Novo Nordisk $64.52* During residency, she trained at the University of California at San Francisco in pediatric weight management* Her clinical and research interests are in childhood ob*sity. * She leads several pediatric ob*sity projects* Serves as the Medical Director of the OU pediatric multidisciplinary weight management clinic* Co-chairs the Ob*sity Special Interest Group of the Academic Pediatric Association* Serves as a Childhood Ob*sity Advisor for the American Academy of Pediatrics* Founded and co-chairs the Ob*sity Committee through the Oklahoma Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics* Works with pediatricians across the state to address childhood ob*sity, including development of toolkits and webinars for primary care providers on childhood ob*sity assessment and management.     Susan K. Flinn* Writer/editor for hireJeanne Lindros* Manager, Ob*sity Initiatives, American Academy of Pediatrics* Co-presenter: Virtual reality-based training for motivational interviewing around childhood ob*sity – are pediatricians “game”?Kymika Okechukwu* Senior Manager, Evidence-Based Medicine Initiatives  - American Academy of PediatricsStay tuned for Saturday's deep dive into the guidelines!Did you find this post helpful? You can subscribe for free to get future posts delivered direct to your inbox, or choose a paid subscription to support the newsletter and get special benefits! Click the Subscribe button below for details:Liked this piece? Share this piece:More research and resources:https://haeshealthsheets.com/resources/*Note on language: I use “fat” as a neutral descriptor as used by the fat activist community, I use “ob*se” and “overw*ight” to acknowledge that these are terms that were created to medicalize and pathologize fat bodies, with roots in racism and specifically anti-Blackness. Please read Sabrina Strings Fearing the Black Body – the Racial Origins of Fat Phobia and Da'Shaun Harrison Belly of the Beast: The Politics of Anti-Fatness as Anti-Blackness for more on this. Get full access to Weight and Healthcare at weightandhealthcare.substack.com/subscribe

Mi invitada en el día de hoy es Luly de Samper la actual es la actual CEO de Ethicon global de J&J. Ella nos va a compartir sus instrucciones para ser una malabarista. Quieres saber cómo hace Luly para equilibrar de manera exitosa entre los distintos roles que tiene en la vida como ser mama, esposa, amiga y ejecutiva de alto desempeño? Como hizo para llegar a ser CEO a nivel global de un negocio de J&J? Cuáles son sus hábitos y cuál es para ella el poder de la actitud?Además ella nos invita a:- Cultivar la capacidad de adaptabilidad y de conectar con la gente – Crear conexiones profundas con las personas - Encontrar un propósito que ayude a transformar vidas – Reinventarte a lo largo de tu vida – Aprender a lo largo de tu vida – Desarrollar a las personas de tu equipo y conectarte genuina y profundamente con ellos – Desencadenar el potencial máximo de tus equipos – Ser propositivo – Ser resiliente – Ser creativa – Aceptar tu fragilidad - Quitar el síndrome del impostor - Hacer introspección - Compartir como te sientes - Analizar que controlas - Aprender de tus errores - Ser capaz de reconocer tus errores - Aceptar tu vulnerabilidad - Reconocer que necesitas apoyo y ayuda - Vivir intensamente el presente - Vivir la vida mirando el vaso medio lleno - Jugar el juego del contento - En cada situación difícil siempre hay algo bueno que aprender - Fluir por la vida - La actitud es poder - Ver lo positivo de las situaciones para encontrar oportunidades en la vida - Las oportunidades florecen - Gozarte cada aspecto de tu vida - Al gozar lo que tienes uno lo cuida y lo riega – Lograr un balance en las diferentes partes de tu vida - Cuidar y cultivar las relaciones - Buscar espacios uno a uno con tus hijos y tus amigos - Crear círculos virtuosos con las relaciones - Estar presente y hacer sentir importante a las personas - Ser genuina - Tener disciplina con el ejercicio - Comer saludable - Cultivar la gratitud: Reconocer las cosas buenas que tienes - Rezar y meditar - Cultivar el poder de la mente - Buscar espacios de esparcimiento - hacer de la vida tan linda como uno quiera - Si se puede - Abrazar la vida con una buena actitud, amor y pasión - Rodearse de gente que construya conjuntamente contigo - Abrazar los cambios con lo que venga A Luly le apasiona gozar de la vida, pasar tiempo con su familia y amigos, le encanta viajar y le fascina ejercitarse para tener un cuerpo y mente sanos. Es mama de Cristina, Ana María, Alejandro y Felipe y esposa de Mauricio Samper. Episodio producido por @SantiagoRios - Mil Palabras Encuentre más contenidos en mis redes sociales Facebook María José Ramírez Instagram MajoRamirezBotero Twitter MajoRamirezCo LinkedIn www.linkedin.com/in/maríajoséramírezbotero Página Web www.mariajoseramirez.co

This week we're replaying a classic episode where your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Kila Baldwin of Kline and Specter, PC (https://www.klinespecter.com/)   Remember to rate and review GTP in iTunes: Click Here to Rate and Review   Episode Details: A Philadelphia attorney with a strong track record leading complex cases against medical device manufacturers, Kila Baldwin of Kline and Specter, PC discusses the high-profile trial in which she represented Ella Ebaugh, a woman who sustained lifelong injuries due to defective transvaginal mesh implants designed by Ethicon, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. In her 40s, Ella was diagnosed with stress urinary incontinence, which caused her bladder to leak unexpectedly. She was implanted with a TVT-Secur and TVT sling and later endured three mesh removal surgeries because the mesh had eroded into her bladder and urethra. Today, Ella is incontinent, wears adult diapers and suffers from frequent urinary tract infections. Using Ethicon and Johnson & Johnson's actions against them, including statements made in internal emails, Kila Baldwin was able to successfully persuade the Philadelphia jury to decide in favor of Ella. In 2017, the jury returned a verdict of $7.1 million in compensatory damages and $50 million in punitive damages, citing Ethicon and Johnson & Johnson's negligent design of the products and willful disregard for patient safety. View/Download Trial Documents   Guest Bio: Kila Baldwin Kila B. Baldwin, a partner at Kline & Specter, has been involved in a number of the firm's high-profile cases, including as lead counsel in trials that resulted in verdicts of $80 million, $57.1 million and $41 million against Johnson & Johnson in transvaginal mesh cases.  Baldwin was selected as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer for 2019 and 2020. From 2011-2018 she was named a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer — Rising Star and for 2014-2019 as a New Jersey Super Lawyer -- Rising Star, designating her as among the top 2.5 percent of attorneys in the two states who are 40 or younger. She also was selected for the 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 editions of the peer-review publication Best Lawyers in America. In her latest major case, Baldwin in February 2020 achieved a $12.75 million settlement with a medical device manufacturer, Monteris Medical Inc., whose NeuroBlate Sidefire broke during surgery and caused brain damage to the patient. (Read article) Prior to that case, Baldwin obtained a $75 million settlement in a wrongful death case, the largest pre-trial settlement in a case in Pennsylvania history.  In May 2019, Baldwin was co-counsel in a six-week trial that resulted in an $80 million jury verdict against Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Ethicon Inc. for a Media, Pa., woman injured by a surgically implanted vaginal mesh device. The verdict in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court included $50 million in punitive and $30 million in compensatory damages, making it the country's largest compensatory award to date in a vaginal mesh case. (Read article) A few months earlier, Baldwin won a $41 million verdict -- including $25 million in punitive damages – against a J&J for a Lancaster, Pa., woman who suffered permanent injuries from a vaginal mesh device designed and marketed by a company subsidiary. (Read article) In late 2017, Baldwin won a major jury verdict against J&J for a Pennsylvania woman injured by a vaginal mesh device made by the company's Ethicon Inc. subsidiary. The award included $7.1 million in compensatory and $50 million in punitive damages for the behemoth drug and device maker's reckless behavior in selling the defective product implanted in women across the country.  (Read article) The verdict was featured on the BBC program Panorama. In earlier cases, Baldwin was co-counsel in two trials that resulted in verdicts of $12.5 million and $13.5 million for two other women injured by the surgically implanted vaginal mesh products. (See the Hammons and Carlino cases.) Read Full Bio Here   Show Sponsors: Legal Technology Services - LegalTechService.com Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com Harris Lowry Manton LLP - hlmlawfirm.com   Free Resources: Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1 Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2

Marlisa Brown is a Registered Dietitian, Certified Diabetes Educator Author and Chef. She has been president of Total Wellness Inc., > 20 years, has a BS in Marketing and MS in Nutrition: she specializes in diabetes, obesity, CVD and GI disorders. Some Clients include; NY Jets, Kennedy Space Center, Hofstra and Adelphi Universities, Guardian Life, Brookhaven National Labs, Goldman Sachs Tiffany, Dean Witter Reynolds, Pall Corp, Bank of New York, Sony, Liz Claiborne, Ethicon and more. In addition Marlisa worked for Lackmann Culinary Services as their Wellness Coordinator > ten years. Marlisa has made numerous television appearancesincluding 5 years on “International Healthy Cooking” for AHA. She is author of “Gluten-Free Hassle Free”, and “Easy, Gluten-Free”, other contributions include: Shape, Food Service Management, Newsday, Parenting Magazine, Weight and Training for Dummies. She has developed many programs including, Richard Simmons' Food Mover Program, cookbooks, recipe cards, Kathy Smiths' Project You II for Diabetes, Jorge Cruises' 3-Hour Diet Cookbook, DR Vincent Pedres' Happy Gut & Leslie Sansones' Walk Away the Pounds. Marlisa is an NSA professional member, past president, media representative, PR chair of the New York State Dietetic Association, recipient of the 2011 Diabetes Educator of the Year and Emerging Dietetic LeaderAward from the AND, Dietitian of the year LIDA, Best Of Long Island L.I Press, and Community Service AwardCW.www.marlisaspeaks.net

Identify indications for anti-reflux surgery with Dr. Adham Saad. The discussion includes appropriate pre-operative workup, review repair of hiatal hernia and its role in anti-reflux surgery and identify different surgical options for GERD and hiatal hernia as well! AccreditationsPHYSICIANSACCMEUSF Health is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians. USF Health designates this live activity for a maximum of 0.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.Florida Board of MedicineUSF Health is an approved provider of continuing education for physicians through the Florida Board of Medicine. This activity has been reviewed and approved for up to 0.25 continuing education credits. Target Audience: all physicians Release Date: 11/8/2022 Expiration Date: 11/8/2023Relevant Financial Relationships All individuals in a position to influence content have disclosed to USF Health any financial relationship with an ineligible organization. USF Health has reviewed and mitigated all relevant financial relationships related to the content of the activity. The relevant relationships are listed below. All individuals not listed have no relevant financial relationships.Christopher DuCoin, MD: Consultant for Intuitive, Medtronic, Boston Scientific and Ethicon.Claim CME/CEU Credit for this episode here: https://cmetracker.net/USF/Publisher?page=pubOpen#/getCertificate/352992

Dori Gonzalez-Acevedo CEO of ProcellaRX interviews Ann Vu, JD, RAC, currently  of Sr. Vice President, Quality, Regulatory and Clinical at ZimVie.  Ann brings more than 25 years of quality and regulatory experience in the medical device, pharmaceutical, nutritional and biologics sectors. Ann oversees quality and regulatory compliance across our global organization. Ann joined ZimVie from Zimmer Biomet, where she led Quality and Regulatory Affairs for Robotics and several other business units. She has also held progressive leadership roles with global companies, including Ethicon, Ortho Clinical Diagnostics, Bausch + Lomb, and Steris. Dori and Ann are fellow Chief members and are passionate about Women Leading Validation! *Disclaimer: Podcast guest participated in the podcast as an individual subject matter expert and contributor. The views and opinions he shares are not necessarily shared by their employer. Nor should any reference to specific products or services be interpreted as commercial endorsements by their current employer. This is a joint Podcast production of ProcellaRX and KENX

In this episode, Tom O'Brien, Ethicon's worldwide president of endomechanical, gives a detailed lesson on the design of its Echelon 3000 surgical stapler, from recognizing the huge problem of surgical complications and identifying how to build a stapler that's more suited to ALL surgeons. The Echelon 3000 is designed with 39% greater jaw aperture and a 27% greater articulation span, as well as software that provides real-time haptic and audible device feedback to help enable surgeons to make critical adjustments during procedures. Executive Editor Life Sciences Chris Newmarker conducts that interview and brings his Newmarker's Newsmakers hitting upon news from Stryker, Pear Therapeutics, Dexcom and 3M. We also talk about the world's largest orthopedics companies (find the list here https://www.massdevice.com/10-largest-orthopedic-device-companies-in-the-world-2022/) and the current spate of disappointing earnings reports from medical device companies If you're interested in learning more about our upcoming DeviceTalks West event, join Editorial Director Tom Salemi on this short webinar. https://event.on24.com/wcc/r/3878353/5BD2F587B74A5106D4FFC61E92BC6354 Subscribe on all major podcast players.

Ethicon's John Collier educates about history & technology.

Doc welcomes John Collier of Ethicon who talks about the importance of absorbable and non absorbable stitches when it comes to healing. We're still taking your calls, and of course the Doc has to talk about his weekly food recommendation!

Doc opens talking about today's theme of absorption in sports, art and surgery. He used examples of Mazzy Star's 'Fade into You', Vin Scully calling Sandy Koufax's perfect game and the sutures, absorption and non absorption of Ethicon in surgery. The Weekend Warrior clinic is open in taking you ache and pain calls.

Warriors! The Doc speaks to John Collier of Ethicon on the importance of absorbable stitches when it comes to healing. We're still taking your calls, and of course the Doc has to talk about his weekly food recommendation! Tune in now! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Do waist trainers really work? Why is it so hard for me to lose weight? Find the answers to these questions and more in episode 98 of the Be More Today Show with special guest Dr. Duane Fredericks. An established bariatric surgeon, Dr. Fredericks has had extensive experience in providing surgical and non-surgical methods in medical weight loss. He is an ardent proponent of combining healthy lifestyle choices with the highest quality medical care to put a stop to the obesity epidemic, person by person. The doctor has helped hundreds of his surgical patients successfully lose significant weight, get their lives back and reduce their co-morbid conditions, like diabetes, hypertension and sleep apnea. Long-term weight loss through Standard of Care procedures is largely achieved by surgical interventions that effectively alter gut hormone levels that are responsible for hunger and satiety, thereby leading to a new hormonal weight set point. He has also observed that surgical interventions are only a tool for achieving successful weight loss and if that tool is not managed effectively – through education and appetite control solutions – even surgical interventions can lose their efficacy in the long term. For those patients that have experienced weight regain after weight loss surgery or those who are obese and looking for alternatives to weight loss surgical intervention, Dr Fredericks is seeing patients at his Omega Weight Loss Center, 228 South Orange Ave, South Orange, New Jersey. Dr. Fredericks graduated from Temple University School of Medicine and completed his residency at the Graduate/Temple University Hospital. He did a fellowship in bariatric surgery at New York University studying under renowned surgeons Dr. George Fielding and Dr. Christine Ren-Fielding with a particular focus on the adjustable gastric banding technique in bariatric surgery. He also worked directly for Allergan, the originators of the Lap-Band, and Ethicon, the originators of the Realize Band. For more information about Dr. Fredericks or Dr. Thomas email us directly at drsean@bemoretoday.com.  --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/bemoretoday/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/bemoretoday/support

This week listeners will get to hear how Stryker is incorporating Vocera, Gauss and other tech into its DRE strategy. We'll get a visit from fellow podcaster Keith Figlioli of LRV Health to talk about Oracle's acquisition of Cerner. And Chris “WorkLord” Newmarker brings a star-studded Newmarker's Newsmakers feature Smith & Nephew, GE Healthcare, Ethicon, Medtronic, and Moon Surgical. Thank you to Flexan for sponsoring this episode! Go to Flexan.com. Newmarker's Newsmakers 5. Smith & Nephew makes historic move? https://www.massdevice.com/smithnephew-moving-out-of-hull-uk/ 4.GE Healthcare keeps making news! https://www.massdevice.com/ge-healthcare-workload-management-software-radiologists/ 3. Have you seen Ethicon's stapler? https://www.massdevice.com/ethicon-launches-next-gen-surgical-stapler/ 2. Medtronic adds more Neuromed Knowhow https://www.massdevice.com/medtronic-announces-new-chief-medical-officer-for-neuromodulation-unit/ 1. Moon launches robotic surgery bid https://www.massdevice.com/moon-surgical-raises-31m-robotic-surgery-system/

Ms. Zaderej has served as Axogen's President, Chief Executive Officer, and a member of our Board of Directors since September 2011 and the Chairman of our Board of Directors since May 2018. Since May 2010, she has served as the Chief Executive Officer of Axogen's wholly owned subsidiary, Axogen Corporation, and a member of the Board of Directors of Axogen Corporation. Ms. Zaderej joined Axogen Corporation in May 2006 and served as Vice President of Marketing and Sales from May 2006 to October 2007 and as Chief Operating Officer from October 2007 to May 2010. From October 2004 to May 2006, Ms. Zaderej worked for Zaderej Medical Consulting, a consulting firm she founded to assist medical device companies build and execute successful commercialization plans. From 1987 to 2004, Ms. Zaderej worked at Ethicon, Inc., a Johnson & Johnson company, where she held senior positions in marketing, business development, research & development, and manufacturing. Ms. Zaderej is a member of the University of Tampa Board of Trustees and the MedExec Women Board of Advisors. Ms. Zaderej has an MBA from the Kellogg Graduate School of Business and a B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from Purdue University.

Dr. Christopher DuCoin leads an informative discussion on what surgical options are available to those who have difficulty swallowing. Accreditations PHYSICIANS ACCME USF Health is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians. USF Health designates this live activity for a maximum of 0.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™.  Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity. Florida Board of Medicine USF Health is an approved provider of continuing education for physicians through the Florida Board of Medicine.  This activity has been reviewed and approved for up to 0.25 continuing education credits.  Target Audience: Gastroenterologists Release Date: June 14th, 2022 Expiration Date: June 14th, 2023 Claim CME/CEU Credit for this episode here:   https://cmetracker.net/USF/Publisher?page=pubOpen#/getCertificate/353001  Relevant Financial Relationships All individuals in a position to influence content have disclosed to USF Health any financial relationship with an ineligible organization. USF Health has reviewed and mitigated all relevant financial relationships related to the content of the activity. The relevant relationships are listed below. All individuals not listed have no relevant financial relationships. Christopher DuCoin, MD: Consultant for Intuitive, Medtronic, Boston Scientific and Ethicon.Visit cme.tgh.org for other CME opportunities, including live webinars, on-demand videos and local events offered to you by Tampa General Hospital.

Giving birth to three babies took a toll on Amanda Liddell’s body. When her gynaecologist suggested a “miracle” cure, she jumped at the chance. But after receiving a pelvic mesh implant manufactured and distributed by Ethicon and Johnson & Johnson, Amanda woke up from surgery in excruciating pain. She didn’t realise it then, but she wasn’t the only one. In this episode, you’ll hear the story behind one of the biggest class actions in Australian legal history. Restitution is produced by Deadset Studios and inspired by the book The Right Side of Wrong by Shine Lawyers co-founder Stephen Roche. Host: David Lewis Producers: Liam Riordan & Grace Pashley Sound Design: Kristina Miltiadou Executive Producers: David Lewis & Rachel FountainSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Today we are joined by Mike Stagg of Stag Liuzza in New Orleans. Mike is in the middle of trial preparation for what would be considered a long hard road by any stretch of the litigation imagination of a single case that took 10 years to get to trial. Mike begins a transvaginal mesh trial in Huntington WV federal court in mid-February 2022 that he has been working on for 10 years. The defendant is the Ethicon division of Johnson & Johnson and is a legacy trial of the previously settled multidistrict litigation against various TVM manufacturers. Those dockets settled for billions of dollars several years ago and kudos to Mike and his firm for maintaining such high standards in representing their client and ensuring she has a day in court.  We will also touch on the AFFF firefighter foam multidistrict litigation where Mike is a member of the plaintiff steering committee and his additional work in environmental contamination and related litigation across the country. Remember to subscribe and follow us on social media… LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/mass-tort-news Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/masstortnewsorg Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/masstortnews.org

My friend Bibi joins to talk about Johnson & Johnson’s transvaginal mesh implant that has been the center of class action lawsuits around the globe. Comedy podcast!! In this episode, we’ll dive into gruesome detail about how your organs sag with age, how some products have tried and failed to alleviate that problem, and how your work emails should never be the subject of court litigation. Follow @BustedBizBureau on all social media! It really helps me out, thanks! Footnotes: The history and evolution of pessaries for pelvic organ prolapse, Shah et al. 2005 FEDERAL COURT OF AUSTRALIA, Gill v Ethicon Sàrl (No 5) [2019] FCA 1905 SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA The People of the state of California vs JOHNSON & JOHNSON, ETHICON, INC.and DOES 1 Case No. 37-2016-00017229-CU-MC-CTL, January 2020 Ethicon complaint reviewer says in J&J trial that patients felt vaginal mesh instructions fell short of explaining risks, Northern California Record 2019 Revealed: Johnson & Johnson's 'irresponsible' actions over vaginal mesh implant, The Guardian Huskey v Ethicon Day 4- Huskey Takes the Stand, Jane Akre, 2014 'Scandal' of vaginal mesh removal rates revealed by NHS records, The Guardian Patient Recruiter and Physician Plead Guilty in Bribery and Kickback Scheme in Connection with Transvaginal Mesh Litigation, DOJ 2021 Orlando doctor facing federal charges banned from performing liposuction after patient death, Orlando Sentinel, 2021

Greg Trees has a degree in mechanical engineering, and has spent nearly 30 years as a mechanical design engineer developing products from railroad instrumentation to drug delivery devices to diagnostic equipment. Greg also has specific expertise in the world of FEA (Finite Element Analysis) and EHD (electrohydrodynamics). ABOUT BEING AN ENGINEERThe Being an Engineer podcast is a repository for industry knowledge and a tool through which engineers learn about and connect with relevant companies, technologies, people resources, and opportunities. We feature successful mechanical engineers and interview engineers who are passionate about their work and who made a great impact on the engineering community.The Being An Engineer podcast is brought to you by Pipeline Design & Engineering. Pipeline partners with medical & other device engineering teams who need turnkey equipment such as cycle test machines, custom test fixtures, automation equipment, assembly jigs, inspection stations and more. You can find us on the web at www.teampipeline.us***Valued listener, we need your help getting to 100 podcast reviews. Win a $50 Amazon Gift card if you leave us a review on the Apple Podcasts. Simply email a screenshot of your 5-star review to Podcast@teampipeline.us , the email will be in the show notes. We will announce 5 lucky winners at the end of the first quarter in 2022.

Dr. Antonia Chen is the Director of Research for the Division of Adult Reconstruction and a surgeon performing total joint arthroplasty in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital. In addition to informing surgeons and other healthcare professionals about ways to avoid surgical site infections, Antonia emphasizes there is also a need to educate patients about preoperative actions to optimize them for surgery. Antonia explains, "Surgical site infections unfortunately still plague us today, and they basically are infections that happen after surgery. It can happen in any patient and after any surgery. There are some surgeries that have a higher likelihood of it and some surgeries that don't. What happens is that after we make a cut through the skin due to surgery, the bacteria on your skin that is natural can actually get into your wound and potentially cause a surgical site infection or SSI." "It's really nice to have something inside the wound to prevent the bacteria from growing. So Ethicon has a Plus Antibacterial suture, and it is the only commercially available suture that can prevent persistent risk from surgical infection by reducing the risk of infection." "I really appreciate Ethicon for putting together a campaign they call Zero Starts With One. The idea is that we want to go to zero surgical site infections, and it starts with one person at a time, one prevention at a time, one patient, one healthcare provider at a time." @BrighamWomens #SurgicalSiteInfections #ZeroStartsWithOne #Ethicon brighamandwomens.org Download the transcript here  

Dr. Antonia Chen is the Director of Research for the Division of Adult Reconstruction and a surgeon performing total joint arthroplasty in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Brigham and Women's Hospital. In addition to informing surgeons and other healthcare professionals about ways to avoid surgical site infections, Antonia emphasizes there is also a need to educate patients about preoperative actions to optimize them for surgery. Antonia explains, "Surgical site infections unfortunately still plague us today, and they basically are infections that happen after surgery. It can happen in any patient and after any surgery. There are some surgeries that have a higher likelihood of it and some surgeries that don't. What happens is that after we make a cut through the skin due to surgery, the bacteria on your skin that is natural can actually get into your wound and potentially cause a surgical site infection or SSI." "It's really nice to have something inside the wound to prevent the bacteria from growing. So Ethicon has a Plus Antibacterial suture, and it is the only commercially available suture that can prevent persistent risk from surgical infection by reducing the risk of infection." "I really appreciate Ethicon for putting together a campaign they call Zero Starts With One. The idea is that we want to go to zero surgical site infections, and it starts with one person at a time, one prevention at a time, one patient, one healthcare provider at a time." @BrighamWomens #SurgicalSiteInfections #ZeroStartsWithOne #Ethicon brighamandwomens.org Listen to the podcast here  

Grape seed extract found to extend lifespan of old mice Chinese Academy of Sciences and Mayo Clinic, December 7, 2021 A team of researchers affiliated with a host of institutions in China and the U.S. has found that injecting procyanidin C1 (PCC1), a chemical found in grape seed extract, into older mice extended their lifespan. In their paper published in the journal Nature Metabolism, the group describes the link between PCC1 and extended lifespan in mice and the experiments they carried out with the material. The researchers screened 46 plant extracts looking for anti-aging capabilities. They came across PCC1. Initial tests during screening showed it reduced the number of senescent cells in the human prostate. Such cells are known to contribute to aging. Intrigued with their results, the researchers tested it further. They found that at low doses it prevented senescent cells from contributing to inflammation, and at higher doses killed them outright without harming other cells. (NEXT) Gratitude may improve your health University of Michigan and University of California, San Francisco, December 6, 2021 Be thankful for what you have—it might improve your physical and mental health, according to a new global study that uses cell phone data. People who were more grateful had lower blood pressure and heart rate, as well as greater feelings of appreciation toward others. The study found that optimism was also linked to health and mental benefits, such as better sleep quality and more positive expectations and reflections. The findings showed that gratitude and optimism are positive psychological dispositions associated with beneficial outcomes. Gratitude highlighted the positive aspects of the day, whereas optimism minimized the negative aspects of the day, the study indicated. In addition, optimism was a better predictor of sleep quality and stress frequency and intensity than gratitude. (NEXT) Higher physical activity is associated with a better metabolic health risk factor profile in menopausal women University of Jyvaskyla (Finland), November 29, 2021 A study conducted at the University of Jyväskylä shows that menopausal transition is associated with unfavourable changes in metabolic health that may be mitigated with a physically active lifestyle. Especially, physical activity alleviated the increase in systolic blood pressure. In the study, the women were divided into three groups based on the change in their menopausal status during the follow-up period and the groups were compared to each other. Body composition, waist circumference, blood pressure, blood lipids and glucose and physical activity were measured twice during the four-year follow-up time. In all groups, the levels of several metabolic health indicators deteriorated. (NEXT) Could glucosamine and chondroitin support a healthy colon? Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, December 6, 2021 Use of the supplements, which are used for joint health support, was associated with a 23% reduction in the risk of colorectal cancer, according to data from the Nurses' Health Study and Health Professionals Follow-up Study published in the International Journal of Cancer . “Results of this study suggest a potential beneficial effect of glucosamine and chondroitin supplementation on risk of colorectal cancer, and further support the previously observed association between use of these supplements and risk of colorectal cancer in the VITAL study,” wrote the researchers. “Additional study is needed to better understand the association between use of glucosamine and chondroitin and risk of colorectal cancer, and the mechanisms by which these supplements may affect risk of colorectal cancer.” (NEXT) Cannabis impacts sperm counts, motility in two generations of mice Washington State University, December 2, 2021 An intense but short-term exposure to cannabis vapor lowered sperm counts and slowed sperm movement, or motility, not only in the directly exposed male mice but also in their sons. The Washington State University study, published in the journal Toxicological Sciences, builds on other human and animal studies, showing that cannabis can impede male reproductive function. The current study uses more controlled circumstances than human studies, which often have to rely on surveys, and is the first known reproductive study to use vaporized whole cannabis in mice, which is the more common form humans use. (NEXT) Study suggests giving kids too many toys stifles their creativity University of Toledo, December 6, 2021 A team of researchers at the University of Toledo has found that children are more creative when they have fewer toys to play with at one time. In their paper published in the journal Infant Behavior and Development, the group describes their observational study of toddlers at play, what they learned and offer some suggestions for parents. The researchers found that the toddlers playing with four toys engaged in more creative activities than did the toddlers who had 16 toys to choose from. They also found, unsurprisingly, that toddlers with fewer options tended to play with each of the toys available to them for a longer amount of time. Much of that additional time, the researchers noted, was taken up with finding news ways to play with them. (OTHER NEWS NEXT) TO WATCH THE VIDEO PART OF THE GARY NULL SHOW GO TO PROGRESSIVERADIONETWORK.COM (NEXT) Rap Sheets for Pfizer and J&J PFIZER Rejected the government for distributing the vaccine… will do it itself CEO Albert Bouria – before reining the closing bell at stock exchange.. stated that those who do not vaccinated will be the weak links in stopping the pandemic Pfizer – second largest drug/biotech co in world – 4th highest earner in vaccines Product safety – it is heart valves were defected and caused a hundred deaths – investigation found company intentionally misled regulators knowing about hazards Celebrex.. in wake of vioxx – painkiller.. admitted in its trials the drug increased heart problems.  Settled 894 million – for Celebrex and Bextra (painkiller that causes cardio and GI risks) More recent – 1000 lawsuits or birth defects associated with its drug Zolof… Price fixing – as far back as 1950s with antibiotics. Such as tetracycline Price fixing over the years… AIDS drug, Lipitor (cholesterol drug) In 2016 the Justice Department announced that Pfizer would pay $784 million to settle allegations that it underpaid rebates to Medicaid on two of its drugs. 20 million paid to 4500 doctors for speaking on behalf of its drugs Busted for false Centrum claims for breast and colon health Racketeering fraud over Neurtonin – epilepsy drug Bribery – payments to foreign government officials.. and  bribing overseas doctors to increase foreign sales Selling off label Kickbacks from medicare Tax avoidance – using paper work to “relocate” to Ireland , tax haven Repeatedly paid fines for environmental violations at its research and manufacturing plants. In 2009 - dubious distinction of paying the largest-ever criminal fine at the time — $2.3 billion — for fraudulent and illegal promotion of four drugs, including a painkiller marketed at “dangerously high” doses. In 2016, a British regulator levied a $106 million fine against Pfizer for a 2600% increase in the price of a widely prescribed anti-epilepsy drug that increased the National Health Services' expenditures from one year to the next — for a single drug—from $2.5 million to $63 million. Pfizer is the top drug company spender in state elections, even outspending the industry's own lobbying group, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America (PhRM). In 2014 Pfizer launched an effort to take over AstraZeneca that was designed not only to swallow a competitor but also to cut its tax bill by locating the headquarters of the combined operation in Britain. When AstraZeneca resisted the controversial move, Pfizer abandoned the bid. Then in November 2015 Pfizer announced a similar deal, worth $160 billion, to merge with Allergan and move the headquarters of the combined company to Ireland. The plan was dropped when the Obama Administration introduced new tax rules. JOHNSON AND JOHNSON In 2004 J&J agreed to pay up to $90 million to settle lawsuits linking the prescription heartburn medication Propulsid to several hundred deaths and many more cases of cardiac irregularity. During 2009 and 2010 the company had to announce a string of recalls of medications, contact lenses and hip implants. The most serious of these was the massive recall of more than 136 million bottles of liquid Tylenol and Motrin for infants and children after batches of the medications were found to be contaminated with metal particles. The company's handling of the matter was so poor that J&J subsidiary McNeil-PPC became the subject of a criminal investigation and later entered a guilty plea and paid a criminal fine of $20 million and forfeited $5 million. It also came out during a Congressional investigation of the matter that in 2008 J&J had engaged in what was labeled a "phantom recall." When faced with Motrin IB caplets that were not dissolving property, McNeil hired contractors to buy up the products in stores while making no announcement to the public. In 2013 J&J reached a deal with plaintiffs lawyers under which it would pay nearly $2.5 billion in compensation to an estimated 8,000 people who had received flawed hip implants. In 2016 two juries awarded a total of $127 million damages to women who sued J&J claiming that their ovarian cancer was caused by the talc in J&J Baby Powder. An award of $417 million was made by a California jury in 2017 and a verdict of more than $4 billion was awarded in Missouri in 2018 (an appeal court later reduced that to $2.1 billion). The New York Times reported in December 2018 that internal company memos from the 1970s discussed the possibility that its talcum powder could contain asbestos. In 1996 J&J reached a settlement with the Federal Trade Commission under which the company agreed to stop making what the agency called false claims about the failure rates of condoms in the marketing of its K-Y spermicidal lubricant. In 2010 J&J subsidiaries Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical and Ortho-McNeil-Janssen had to pay $81 million to settle charges that they promoted the epilepsy drug Topamax for uses not approved as safe by the Food and Drug Administration The following year, J&J subsidiary Scios Inc. had to pay $85 million to settle similar charges relating to its heart failure drug Natrecor. In 2013 the Justice Department announced that J&J and several of its subsidiaries would pay more than $2.2 billion in criminal fines and civil settlements to resolve allegations that the company had marketed its anti-psychotic medication Risperdal and other drugs for unapproved uses as well as allegations that they had paid kickbacks to physicians and pharmacists to encourage off-label usage In a related Risperdal civil lawsuit, a jury later awarded $8 billion in damages but a Philadelphia judge reduced that by more than 99 percent to $6.8 million. In 2019 J&J and its subsidiary Ethicon, Inc. agreed to pay over $116 million to 41 states and the District of Columbia to settle litigation alleging deceptive marketing of transvaginal surgical mesh devices. In a separate suit brought by California, a state judge ordered the company to pay $344 million. In 2021 J&J reached an agreement with a group of states under which it would pay $5 billion to resolve litigation brought against its subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals alleging improper sale of pain medications, contributing to the national opioid epidemic. In 2001 J&J agreed to pay up to $860 million to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging that the company had misled consumers into prematurely throwing away disposable Acuvue contact lenses. The suits argued that the company drove up sales of its 1-Day Acuvue soft lenses by recommending that consumers use them only once, even though the product was identical to regular Acuvue lenses, which could be worn as long as two weeks. In 2011 J&J agreed to pay a $21.4 million criminal penalty as part of a deferred prosecution agreement with the Justice Department resolving allegations of improper payments by J&J subsidiaries to government officials in Greece, Poland and Romania in violation of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. (NEXT) Weapons trade booms as profits hit record $531bn in 2020 Swedish think tank says world's 100 biggest arms firms were largely shielded from the effect of the pandemic. AL JAZEERA. 6 Dec 2021 Sales of weapons and military services by the world's 100 biggest arms companies reached a record $531bn in 2020, an increase of 1.3 per cent in real terms compared with the previous year, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). The Swedish think tank said 2020 marked the sixth consecutive year of sales growth by the top 100 firms, and came even as the global economy shrank. Overall sales were 17 percent higher than in 2015 when it first included data on Chinese firms. “The industry giants were largely shielded by sustained government demand for military goods and services,” Alexandra Marksteiner, researcher with the SIPRI Military Expenditure and Arms Production Programme, said in a statement on Monday. “In much of the world, military spending grew and some governments even accelerated payments to the arms industry in order to mitigate the impact of the Covid-19 crisis.” Firms in the United States continue to dominate the industry, with total sales of $285bn from 41 companies accounting for about 54 percent of all arms sales among the 100 biggest companies. The top five companies in the ranking since 2018 have all been based in the US, SIPRI said. Arms sales from the top Chinese firms amounted to an estimated $66.8bn in 2020, 1.5 percent more than in 2019. Chinese firms accounted for 13 percent of the Top 100 arms sales' total, ahead of the United Kingdom, which had the third-largest share. “In recent years, Chinese arms companies have benefited from the country's military modernization programmes and focus on military-civil fusion,” said Nan Tian, SIPRI senior researcher. “They have become some of the most advanced military technology producers in the world.” The seven UK companies recorded arms sales of $37.5bn in 2020, up by 6.2 percent compared with 2019. Arms sales by BAE Systems – the sole European firm in the top 10 – increased by 6.6 percent to $24bn. (NEXT) You'd Better Watch Out: The Surveillance State Has a Naughty List, and You're On It John W. Whitehead & Nisha Whitehead, December 7, 2021 No longer does the all-knowing, all-seeing, jolly Old St. Nick need to rely on antiquated elves on shelves and other seasonal snitches in order to know when you're sleeping or awake, and if you've been naughty or nice. Thanks to the government's almost limitless powers made possible by a domestic army of techno-tyrants, fusion centers and Peeping Toms, Santa can get real-time reports on who's been good or bad this year. This creepy new era of government/corporate spying—in which we're being listened to, watched, tracked, followed, mapped, bought, sold and targeted—makes the NSA's rudimentary phone and metadata surveillance appear almost antiquated in comparison. Tracking you based on your health status. In the age of COVID-19, digital health passports are gaining traction as gatekeepers of a sort, restricting access to travel, entertainment, etc., based on one's vaccine status. Whether or not one has a vaccine passport, however, individuals may still have to prove themselves “healthy” enough to be part of society. For instance, in the wake of Supreme Court rulings that paved the way for police to use drug-sniffing dogs as “search warrants on leashes,” government agencies are preparing to use virus-detecting canine squads to carry out mass screenings to detect individuals who may have COVID-19. Researchers claim the COVID-sniffing dogs have a 95% success rate of identifying individuals with the virus (except when they're hungry, tired or distracted). These dogs are also being to trained to ferret out individuals suffering from other health ailments such as cancer. Tracking you based on your face: Facial recognition software aims to create a society in which every individual who steps out into public is tracked and recorded as they go about their daily business. Coupled with surveillance cameras that blanket the country, facial recognition technology allows the government and its corporate partners to identify and track someone's movements in real-time. One particularly controversial software program created by Clearview AI has been used by police, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security to collect photos on social media sitesfor inclusion in a massive facial recognition database. Similarly, biometric software, which relies on one's unique identifiers (fingerprints, irises, voice prints), is becoming the standard for navigating security lines, as well as bypassing digital locks and gaining access to phones, computers, office buildings, etc. In fact, greater numbers of travelers are opting into programs that rely on their biometrics in order to avoid long waits at airport security. Scientists are also developing lasers that can identify and surveil individuals based on their heartbeats, scent and microbiome. Tracking you based on your behavior: Rapid advances in behavioral surveillance are not only making it possible for individuals to be monitored and tracked based on their patterns of movement or behavior, including gait recognition (the way one walks), but have given rise to whole industries that revolve around predicting one's behavior based on data and surveillance patterns and are also shaping the behaviors of whole populations. One smart “anti-riot” surveillance system purports to predict mass riots and unauthorized public events by using artificial intelligence to analyze social media, news sources, surveillance video feeds and public transportation data. Tracking you based on your spending and consumer activities: With every smartphone we buy, every GPS device we install, every Twitter, Facebook, and Google account we open, every frequent buyer card we use for purchases—whether at the grocer's, the yogurt shop, the airlines or the department store—and every credit and debit card we use to pay for our transactions, we're helping Corporate America build a dossier for its government counterparts on who we know, what we think, how we spend our money, and how we spend our time. Consumer surveillance, by which your activities and data in the physical and online realms are tracked and shared with advertisers, has become big business, a $300 billion industry that routinely harvests your data for profit. Corporations such as Target have not only been tracking and assessing the behavior of their customers, particularly their purchasing patterns, for years, but the retailer has also funded major surveillance in cities across the country and developed behavioral surveillance algorithms that can determine whether someone's mannerisms might fit the profile of a thief. Tracking you based on your public activities: Private corporations in conjunction with police agencies throughout the country have created a web of surveillance that encompasses all major cities in order to monitor large groups of people seamlessly, as in the case of protests and rallies. They are also engaging in extensive online surveillance, looking for any hints of “large public events, social unrest, gang communications, and criminally predicated individuals.” Defense contractors have been at the forefront of this lucrative market. Fusion centers, $330 million-a-year, information-sharing hubs for federal, state and law enforcement agencies, monitor and report such “suspicious” behavior as people buying pallets of bottled water, photographing government buildings, and applying for a pilot's license as “suspicious activity.” Tracking you based on your social media activities: Every move you make, especially on social media, is monitored, mined for data, crunched, and tabulated in order to form a picture of who you are, what makes you tick, and how best to control you when and if it becomes necessary to bring you in line. As The Intercept reported, the FBI, CIA, NSA and other government agencies are increasingly investing in and relying on corporate surveillance technologies that can mine constitutionally protected speech on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram in order to identify potential extremists and predict who might engage in future acts of anti-government behavior. This obsession with social media as a form of surveillance will have some frightening consequences in coming years. As Helen A.S. Popkin, writing for NBC News, observed, “We may very well face a future where algorithms bust people en masse for referencing illegal ‘Game of Thrones' downloads… the new software has the potential to roll, Terminator-style, targeting every social media user with a shameful confession or questionable sense of humor.” Tracking you based on your phone and online activities: Cell phones have become de facto snitches, offering up a steady stream of digital location data on users' movements and travels. Police have used cell-site simulators to carry out mass surveillance of protests without the need for a warrant. Moreover, federal agents can now employ a number of hacking methods in order to gain access to your computer activities and “see” whatever you're seeing on your monitor. Malicious hacking software can also be used to remotely activate cameras and microphones, offering another means of glimpsing into the personal business of a target. Tracking you based on your social network: Not content to merely spy on individuals through their online activity, government agencies are now using surveillance technology to track one's social network, the people you might connect with by phone, text message, email or through social message, in order to ferret out possible criminals. An FBI document obtained by Rolling Stone speaks to the ease with which agents are able to access address book data from Facebook's WhatsApp and Apple's iMessage services from the accounts of targeted individuals and individuals not under investigation who might have a targeted individual within their network. What this creates is a “guilt by association” society in which we are all as guilty as the most culpable person in our address book. Tracking you based on your car: License plate readers are mass surveillance tools that can photograph over 1,800 license tag numbers per minute, take a picture of every passing license tag number and store the tag number and the date, time, and location of the picture in a searchable database, then share the data with law enforcement, fusion centers and private companies to track the movements of persons in their cars. With tens of thousands of these license plate readers now in operation throughout the country, affixed to overpasses, cop cars and throughout business sectors and residential neighborhoods, it allows police to track vehicles and run the plates through law enforcement databases for abducted children, stolen cars, missing people and wanted fugitives. Of course, the technology is not infallible: there have been numerous incidents in which police have mistakenly relied on license plate data to capture out suspects only to end up detaining innocent people at gunpoint. Tracking you based on your mail: Just about every branch of the government—from the Postal Service to the Treasury Department and every agency in between—now has its own surveillance sector, authorized to spy on the American people. For instance, the U.S. Postal Service, which has been photographing the exterior of every piece of paper mail for the past 20 years, is also spying on Americans' texts, emails and social media posts. Headed up by the Postal Service's law enforcement division, the Internet Covert Operations Program (iCOP) is reportedly using facial recognition technology, combined with fake online identities, to ferret out potential troublemakers with “inflammatory” posts. The agency claims the online surveillance, which falls outside its conventional job scope of processing and delivering paper mail, is necessary to help postal workers avoid “potentially volatile situations.” Fusion centers. Smart devices. Behavioral threat assessments. Terror watch lists. Facial recognition. Snitch tip lines. Biometric scanners. Pre-crime. DNA databases. Data mining. Precognitive technology. Contact tracing apps. What these add up to is a world in which, on any given day, the average person is now monitored, surveilled, spied on and tracked in more than 20 different ways by both government and corporate eyes and ears. Big Tech wedded to Big Government has become Big Brother. Every second of every day, the American people are being spied on by a vast network of digital Peeping Toms, electronic eavesdroppers and robotic snoops. In an age of overcriminalization, mass surveillance, and an appalling lack of protections for our privacy rights, we can all be considered guilty of some transgression or other. So you'd better watch out—you'd better not pout—you'd better not cry—‘cos I'm telling you why: this Christmas, it's the Surveillance State that's coming to town, and you're already on its naughty list. (NEXT) Vitamin D: Government Should Have Promoted to Combat Pandemic Joel S. Hirschhorn, December 06, 2021 There seems to be an endless refusal by the public health establishment to fight the pandemic with the best science-based tools.  Instead, they keep pushing vaccines. Great German research provides unequivocal medical evidence that the government should be strongly advocating two actions: 1. Take vitamin D supplements and 2. Have your blood tested for vitamin D. The title for this October 2021 journal article says it all: “COVID-19 Mortality Risk Correlates Inversely with Vitamin D3 Status, and a Mortality Rate Close to Zero Could Theoretically Be Achieved at 50 ng/mL 25(OH)D3: Results of a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.”  [25(OH)D3 refers to metabolite of the vitamin in blood] In other words, there is clear evidence that the lower your vitamin D level the greater your risk of dying from COVID infection.  Moreover, the data clearly show that you need a blood level of at least 50 ng/mL. Odds are, however, that very, very few people have been tested for their vitamin D level.  This is a situation where waiting for testing is not the prudent approach.  Vitamin D pills are pretty cheap and it is perfectly safe to take a healthy daily dose to maintain a good immune system.  I take 4,000 IUs twice daily. Here are a number of highlights from this research and other sources; the discussion is aimed at informing people with information not provided by Big Media, Big Government and Big Pharma. Vitamin D is an accurate predictor of COVID infection.  Its deficiency is just as significant, and perhaps more so, than more commonly discussed underlying medical conditions, including obesity. To be clear, there is a level of vitamin D for an effective strategy at the personal and population level to prevent or mitigate new surges and outbreaks of COVID that are related to reduced vaccine effectiveness and new variants. In the German study, fifteen other studies were cited that showed low vitamin D levels were related to cases of severe COVID infection, and seven studies that found positive results from treating ill patients with the vitamin. The German study noted: “The finding that most SARS-CoV-2 patients admitted to hospitals have vitamin D3 blood levels that are too low is unquestioned even by opponents of vitamin D supplementation.” The German study “followed 1,601 hospitalized patients, 784 who had their vitamin D levels measured within a day after admission and 817 whose vitamin D levels were known before infection.  And the researchers also analyzed the long-term average vitamin D3 levels documented for 19 countries.  The observed median vitamin D value over all collected study cohorts was 23.2 ng/mL, which is clearly too low to work effectively against COVID.” Why does this vitamin work so well?  The German study explained: A main cause of a severe reaction from COVID results from a “cytokine storm.” This refers to the body's immune system releasing too many toxic cytokines as part of the inflammatory response to the virus.  Vitamin D is a main regulator of those cells.  A low level of the vitamin means a greater risk for a cytokine storm.  This is especially pertinent for lung problems from COVID. Other studies On a par with the German study was an important US medical article from May 2021: Vitamin D and Its Potential Benefit for the COVID-19 Pandemic.  It noted: “Experimental studies have shown that vitamin D exerts several actions that are thought to be protective against coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infectivity and severity.  … There are a growing number of data connecting COVID-19 infectivity and severity with vitamin D status, suggesting a potential benefit of vitamin D supplementation for primary prevention or as an adjunctive treatment of COVID-19.  … there is no downside to increasing vitamin D intake and having sensible sunlight exposure to maintain serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D at a level of least 30 ng/mL and preferably 40 to 60 ng/mL to minimize the risk of COVID-19 infection and its severity.” This confirms the German study and its finding of a critical vitamin level of 50 ng/mL. Daniel Horowitz has made this correct observation about vitamin D supplementation: “An endless stream of academic research demonstrates that not only would such an approach have worked much better than the vaccines, but rather than coming with sundry known and unknown negative side effects.“ There are now 142 studies vouching for the near-perfect correlation between higher vitamin D levels and better outcomes in COVID patients. From Israel came work that showed 25% of hospitalized COVID patients with vitamin D deficiency died compared to just 3% among those without a deficiency.  And those with a deficiency were 14 times more likely to end up with a severe or critical condition. Also from Israel, data on 1,176 patients with COVID infection admitted to the Galilee Medical Center, 253 had vitamin D levels on record and half were vitamin D-deficient.  This was the conclusion: “Among hospitalized COVID-19 patients, pre-infection deficiency of vitamin D was associated with increased disease severity and mortality.” Several studies have come from the University of Chicago.  One found that a vitamin D deficiency (less than 20 ng/ml) may raise the risk of testing positive for COVID-19, actually a 7.2% chance of testing positive for the virus.  And that more than 80% of patients diagnosed with COVID-19 were vitamin D deficient.  And Black individuals who had levels of 30 to 40 ng/ml had a 2.64 times higher risk of testing positive for COVID-19 than people with levels of 40 ng/ml or greater. On the good news side is a new study from Turkish researchers.  They focused on getting people's levels over 30 ng/mL with supplements.  At that level there was success compared to people without supplementation.  This was true even if they had comorbidities.  They were able to achieve that blood level within two weeks.  Those with no comorbidities and no vitamin D treatment had 1.9-fold increased risk of having hospitalization longer than 8 days compared with cases with both comorbidities and vitamin D treatment. (NEXT) The explosion of Covid PTSD cases is a mental health crisis in the making The Guardian, 7 Dec 2021 When the Covid-19 pandemic began, people working in the trauma field knew the psychological toll would be colossal. In the spring of 2020, I began interviewing professionals about the mental health fallout of the pandemic, specifically its impact on frontline medical staff. During the first wave, two in every five intensive care staff in England reported symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. That work continued for almost a year, during which time a second wave hit and the initial traumas were exacerbated. But it wasn't only frontline workers who were experiencing trauma symptoms: Covid has posed perhaps the biggest threat to mental health in England since the second world war. Now, at the tail end of 2021, the pandemic is still not over. The NHS forecasts that nationally, there will be 230,000 new cases of PTSD as a result of Covid-19. It is not only social care and medical staff who will be affected. Those who lost loved ones, and those who have been very ill or hospitalised (35% of Covid-19 patients who were put on a ventilator go on to experience extensive symptoms of PTSD) may also suffer. Then there are those living with the effects of domestic and sexual abuse, which may have worsened due to lockdown, and children and young people whose lives changed immeasurably due to our shift to a state of emergency. I imagine that some women whose birthing experiences were marked by the pandemic will also be experiencing symptoms. The explosion of post-traumatic stress disorder is a medical emergency, and a further strain on our creaking services. Without proper action and investment, it is a national mental health crisis in the making.

There are over 300,000 cases of surgical site infections in the U.S., which antibacterial sutures can help prevent. But they're not widely used –– although they should be, according to Dr. Antonia Chen, a hip & knee arthroplasty surgeon and director of research at Brigham & Women's Hospital. In this episode, Dr. Chen, also an associate professor at Harvard Medical School and a consultant for Ethicon US, LLC breaks down everything you need to know about surgical site infections, including the risks and costs, and how you can combat them with solutions like antibacterial sutures. Dr. Chen also discusses the Zero Starts With One movement to help reduce the number of surgical site infections in the country. This episode is sponsored by Ethicon.

In this episode of Medtech Matters, a podcast focused on the medical device manufacturing industry and the factors impacting it, we speak with Tom O'Brien, worldwide president of Endomechanical at Ethicon. He shares insights on the company's approach to the development of surgical instrumentation and reducing surgical complications. O'Brien also offers data from a recent study on the new Echelon Circular Powered Stapler and the improvements it offers for clinicians. Specifically, the following questions are addressed.Can you start by explaining what is encompassed within the Endomechanical unit at Ethicon?When it comes to the design and development of a surgical device, what are the key priorities for Ethicon and why?When companies talk about reducing surgical complications, what do they really mean and how is Ethicon trying to do this?Speaking of complications, Ethicon recently had data on a new stapler, the Echelon Circular Powered Stapler. Can you speak to the study about this device and what benefits it provides?Are there clinical areas on the horizon you are looking to address (that you can speak about, that is)?Listen to this episode and see what you think of Ethicon and its approach to surgical instrumentation. If you'd like to share thoughts, ask questions, or suggest a future participant for Medtech Matters, please reach out to me at sfenske@rodmanmedia.com.

Frank Cichocki's path from engineering buildings to engineering sutures at Ethicon.

The lead lawyer in a class action against pelvic mesh manufacturers Johnson & Johnson and Ethicon says there's still time for women to file their claim. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Day 2 of our N.O.S.H Nourish Our Soul Health Faith-Based Fitness 7 Day Challenge interview w/ our guest speaker Marlisa. On this epi we discuss how breathing relates to Nutrition. Our affirmation today comes from Gen 2:7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. **Disclaimer: Please seek the medical advice of your general healthcare practitioner before making any changes to your diet or health regimen. The statements made on this show do not represent the opinions of the platform host and are not meant to substitute for any medical advice from your general health practitioner to treat, diagnose, or cure any health conditions.**  Marlisa Brown MS, RDN, CDE,CDN, Pronounced (Mar Lisa) Registered Dietitian, Certified Diabetes Educator, Chef and Author of 6 books. Marlisa serves as president of Total Wellness for 27 years a private nutritional consulting company in Deer Park New York where she has provided nutritional counseling to over 30,000 patients. Marlisa is a professional member of The National Speakers Association and has given hundreds of presentations. Some of her clients include: The NY Jets, Kennedy Space Center, Hofstra University, Guardian Life, Brookhaven National Labs, Goldman Sachs, Dean Witter, Prudential Securities, Liz Claiborne, Ethicon and more. Marlisa serves as a spokesperson for The Association of Diabetes Care & Education Specialists and is a past president of The New York State Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Marlisa has received many awards, including diabetes educator of the year, dietitian of the year, emerging dietetic leader and community service award. In addition she has been featured on cooking shows including 5 years for The American Heart Association Cooking Show. Marlisa has also developed many programs for, Richard Simmons', Kathy Smith', Dr Vincent Pedro and Jorge Cruise. To connect with her, please go to https://m.facebook.com/dietingdietitian/  ***********************************  Now lovely lattes can leave a message with any questions or prayer requests

Mike Grant has journeyed from West Point to Ethicon (bariatric rep) to being the CEO of an Ambulatory Surgery Center. The center he runs is about to perform their 1000th bariatric surgery. In this episode we talk about: Getting to 15 doctors operating at the surgery center Performing sleeves and switches in the ASC The surprises and hurdles on the way to getting the doors open

In this episode, we will hear an exclusive conversation from the recent CSV Virtual Event, "Digital Transformation Initiative" This discussion was moderated by Daniel Matlis and features Sam Cheemokati, Paul Hurlocker, and Ron Schardong.  The discussion will be focused on exploring organization-wide digital transformation initiatives. The panel will share their firsthand experiences of point solutions to platforms transitions. And, the best practices when shifting to cloud computing and the cloud-first approach. About the panel: Daniel Matlis Daniel R. Matlis is the Founder and President of Axendia – a trusted advisor to Life-Science and Healthcare executives on business, technology, and regulatory issues. Dan's career in the industry spans over 20-years and has included projects in research & development, manufacturing, regulatory compliance, business development and information technology. Prior to founding Axendia, Dan was General Manager & VP at Stelex (now a GE company) – a leading consultancy to life-science companies. He started his professional career at Ethicon, Inc., a Johnson & Johnson Company.   Sam Cheemakoti Sam is the GMP Head at Beiersdorf for the Coppertone Division overseeing GMP compliance of its computer and automated systems. Sam has held positions of increasing responsibility at various Pharmaceutical companies such as Bayer, Merck, and Schering Plough in the areas of Computer Systems Validation, IT Compliance, and Quality Assurance. As a Quality leader with 20+ years in the industry with a demonstrated ability to produce and deploy Part 11 and Data Integrity remediation programs, validation programs, quality systems, strategic initiatives for Quality and Compliance especially under conditions of the consent decree, acquisitions, and divestitures has lent him unique perspectives as a change ambassador and thought leader. Sam earned his MS in Industrial Engineering from Louisiana Tech University and his Project Management credentials from Villanova University. He more recently completed a course on Digital Transformation: Leading People, Data and Technology from the University of Berkeley under their Executive Education Program in order to gain synergies between the two journeys of Digital Transformation and Computer Software Assurance for Quality.    Paul Hurlocker Paul is the CTO at Spring Oaks Capital, a technology-driven financial services company whose mission is to reinvent the debt recovery industry by providing a customer-centered user experience and streamlined operations powered by data and machine learning. Paul previously served as the Senior Director and Vice President of the Center for Machine Learning for Capital One. Paul founded Notch, Co and served as the CEO before selling the company to Capital One. Ron Schardong Ron is privileged to lead Johnson & Johnson's Technology Quality group responsible for computerized systems validation of business applications in the Medical Devices, Consumer, and Pharmaceutical segments worldwide. The applications include ERP, Warehouse Management, Manufacturing, Laboratory, Quality Systems, Clinical, R&D, Enterprise Tools, Services, and Infrastructure. He has over 25 years of experience in quality engineering, supplier quality, quality auditing, quality management, regulatory compliance, and regulatory affairs. Ron is one of the original members of FICSA Group (FDA + Industry Computer Assurance Group).   Voices in Validation brings you the best in validation and compliance topics. Voices in Validation is brought to you by IVT Network, your expert source for life science regulatory knowledge. For more information on IVT Network, check out their website at http://ivtnetwork.com. 

Chris has worked in medical devices for most of his career, much of which has been spent managing and leading engineering teams. He has a degree in mechanical engineering from Purdue and has helped commercialize over a dozen products from the ideation stage, many of which being multimillion dollar projects that lasted several years each. The Being An Engineer podcast is brought to you by Pipeline Design & Engineering. Pipeline partners with medical & other device engineering teams who need turnkey equipment such as cycle test machines, custom test fixtures, automation equipment, assembly jigs, inspection stations and more. You can find us on the web at www.teampipeline.us.  

In this week's DeviceTalks Weekly Podcast, Minnetronix CEO Jeremy Maniak explains how the CMO is using internal know how to develop medical devices that can be sold by outside partners. We also hear from Dr. James Min of Cleerly Health about that company's start and the process that went into raising $43 million. Chris Newmarker, executive editor of life sciences at MassDevice, is back to deliver his NewmarkersNewsmakers including news from Costa Rica, Vicarious Surgical, Ethicon, Medtronic and ResMed. Subscribe to this podcast today on all major podcast channels.

This week, Stacey is joined by Roberta Goode, who will moderate a discussion on Combination Product Development and some of the challenges that arise in the process. Stacey and Roberta are joined by panelists Becky Leibowitz from Janssen, Kurt Moyer from Pine Lake Laboratories, and Alan Golden from Design Quality Consultants.   Resource from this episode: EU Medical Device General Safety and Performance Guidance – MDR ANNEX 1 Guidance FDA 21 CFR Part 4 – Subpart A – Current GMP for Combo Products FDA 21 CFR Part 4 – Subpart B Post-marketing Safety Reporting for Combo Products ICH Q9 QRM Guidance ISO 10993 – 2018 ISO 11607 Sterile Barrier ABOUT OUR GUESTS: ROBERTA GOODE - Moderator Roberta Goode is an executive with over 25 years of experience in the medical device industry. She is currently President and CEO of Goode Compliance International, a global leader in engineering and compliance services for medical device manufacturers, specializing in process validation, design control and risk management. Prior to founding GCI's medical device division in 1993, Ms. Goode held positions of increasing responsibility in R&D, Manufacturing and Quality Engineering at Beckman-Coulter Corporation, Althin Medical, Inc. (acquired by Baxter Healthcare), and Cordis Corporation (a Johnson and Johnson company), where she contributed intellectual property in the form of four US patents for percutaneous cardiovascular interventional devices. She holds a Master of Science degree in Biomedical Engineering and a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Miami. Additionally, Ms. Goode has an adjunct faculty appointment at the University of Miami's College of Engineering and is an ASQ Certified Quality Engineer. ALAN GOLDEN – Panelist Alan Golden is Principal at Design Quality Consultants, LLC where he works with clients training and advising on topics in the medical device industry including Design Control, Change Control, Risk Management and process/test method validation. Alan has more than 30 years' experience working in the medical device industry. In addition to his expertise in Design Controls, he is also highly experienced in Good Laboratory Practice (GLP), 21 CFR 820, ISO 13485, ISO 14971, Biotechnology, and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and risk management. He retired from Abbott Molecular in 2018. He can be reached at alangolden.dqc@gmail.com  BECKY LEIBOWITZ - Panelist Becky Leibowitz is Director of CMC Regulatory Affairs at Janssen and leads a team of regulatory professionals responsible for developing innovative CMC regulatory strategies for global drug-device combination product clinical trial and marketing applications.  At Janssen, Becky has been responsible for the device-specific sections of US and ROW regulatory submissions for single entity and co-packaged combination products, for new products in development and for post-approval changes.  Prior to Janssen, Becky developed biologic-device combination products and medical devices at ETHICON.  Becky holds both a BS and PhD in Mechanical Engineering. KURT L. MOYER – Panelist Kurt L. Moyer, Ph.D. is currently the President of Pine Lake Laboratories and was the General Manager of Pine Lake Laboratories predecessor NSF Health Sciences for over 10 years. Prior to joining NSF Health Sciences, Dr. Moyer served as a Senior Research Investigator for Sanofi Aventis and a Research Scientist for the DuPont Pharmaceutical Company. Dr. Moyer holds a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from Villanova University and a BS in Biochemistry from Millersville State University. He may be contacted at kmoyer@pinelakelabs.com or at 860-940-6550. He can be reached at kmoyer@pinelakelabs.com   Voices in Validation brings you the best in validation and compliance topics. Voices in Validation is brought to you by IVT Network, your expert source for life science regulatory knowledge. For more information on IVT Network, check out their website at http://ivtnetwork.com. 

Learn how to suture like a surgeon with veterinary surgeon, Dr. Courtney Campbell. This interactive program is a review of the basics skills plus features expert tips to help you master your surgery techniques. This complimentary program is brought to you by Ethicon and is RACE/NYS approved for veterinary continuing education. Veterinarians can also signContinue reading "Suture with me – featuring Dr. Courtney Campbell"

Howard Scalzo, principle engineer at Ethicon talks about his journey there and the latest in suture technology.

Doc retells his stories about hooks in sports, art and medicine from the Cedars-Sinai studio. Doc welcomes Howard Scalzo, Principal Engineer at Ethicon the developers of Stratafix barbed sutures who talks about the history and current technology surrounding sutures. The Weekend Warrior Clinic re-opens for listeners. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Doc retells his stories about hooks in sports, art and medicine from the Cedars-Sinai studio. Doc welcomes Howard Scalzo, principle engineer at Ethicon the developers of Stratafix sutures who talks about the history and current technology surrounding sutures. The Weekend Warrior Clinic re-opens for listeners.

Intuitive Surgical, Inc. v. Ethicon LLC

Ethicon LLC v. Intuitive Surgical, Inc.

Ethicon LLC v. Intuitive Surgical, Inc.

Diane Gomez-Thinnes is Worldwide President at Mentor, one of the world’s biggest makers of breast implants for aesthetic and post-surgical breast reconstruction. Diane has been with the Johnson & Johnson company since 2016 and held the title of vice president for U.S. marketing and global strategic marketing before ascending to the role of president in 2019. Before Mentor, Diane was a marketing executive for medical device makers Ethicon and Cordis. She began her career as an engineer in the oil business and has a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Princeton as well as an M.B.A. from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. In this conversation with Lippe Taylor CEO, Paul Dyer, Diane got into everything from COVID ERA communications to mentorship and championing women in communications. Please enjoy this conversation with Mentor President Diane Gomez Thinnes. ----- Produced by Simpler Media

Diane Gomez-Thinnes is Worldwide President at Mentor, one of the world's biggest makers of breast implants for aesthetic and post-surgical breast reconstruction. Diane has been with the Johnson & Johnson company since 2016 and held the title of vice president for U.S. marketing and global strategic marketing before ascending to the role of president in 2019.    Before Mentor, Diane was a marketing executive for medical device makers Ethicon and Cordis. She began her career as an engineer in the oil business and has a bachelor's degree in chemistry from Princeton as well as an M.B.A. from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. In this conversation with Lippe Taylor CEO Paul Dyer, Diane got into everything from COVID ERA communications to mentorship and championing women in communications. Please enjoy this conversation with Mentor President Diane Gomez Thinnes. ----- Produced by https://podcastlaunch.pro (Simpler Media)

This week, your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Adam Slater of Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman (https://www.mazieslater.com/).   Remember to rate and review GTP in iTunes: Click Here To Rate and Review   Episode Details: New Jersey trial lawyer Adam Slater of Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman shares how he successfully represented Mary McGinnis, a 70-year-old woman who underwent numerous surgeries after C.R. Bard's defective transvaginal mesh products eroded within her body, causing chronic inflammation, severe pain, and debilitating physical injuries. In March 2009, Mary's doctor implanted the Avaulta Solo and Align TO mesh products to treat her pelvic prolapse. Due to recurrent mesh erosion, Mary later endured multiple mesh removal surgeries and a complex vaginal wall reconstruction. Today, she still suffers from severe pain and is unable to sit comfortably or be intimate with her husband. Despite the defense's attempts to blame Mary's pain on pre-existing medical issues or her surgeon's techniques, a Bergen County, New Jersey jury found that the Avaulta Solo and Align TO were defective in its design, and that Bard failed to warn of the defects, and awarded $33 million in compensatory damages to Mary and her husband, Thomas.  In a separate punitive damages phase, Attorney Adam Slater obtained a punitive damages award of an additional $35 million against Bard.. Click Here to Read/Download the Complete Trial Documents   Guest Bio: Adam Slater Adam Slater is certified as a civil trial attorney by the Supreme Court of New Jersey, and a partner in the law firm of Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman, LLC in Roseland, New Jersey.  Mr. Slater specializes in the handling of complex civil litigation including product liability, malpractice, catastrophic injury cases, class actions, and mass litigations. He has obtained many jury verdicts and settlements in excess of $1 million, with a number in the nine figures.  He also has argued appeals in the New Jersey Supreme Court, New Jersey Appellate Division, and the Third Circuit Court of Appeals, in his own cases and as Amicus, with numerous published decisions. Mr. Slater also has been appointed as lead counsel in numerous mass torts and class actions, including for example the coordinated litigation of more than 10,000 pelvic mesh cases against Johnson & Johnson, Ethicon, and C.R. Bard in New Jersey State Court, the In Re Benicar Federal MDL in the District of New Jersey which resulted in a global settlement for $358 million, the In Re Valsartan, Losartan, and Irbesartan Federal MDL in the District of New Jersey, the New Jersey State Court consolidation of the Allergan breast implant litigation, and a member of the Executive Committee for the Federal MDL of the Allergan breast implant litigation, Federal class actions against Volkswagen and Audi for breach of warranty (settlement with $84 million value), and a Federal class action against Sanofi-Aventis, on behalf of a class of pharmaceutical sales representatives. Mr. Slater filed the first pelvic mesh case in the country against Ethicon, Inc. and Johnson & Johnson in early 2008, and he was lead trial counsel for the first trial in the United States against Ethicon and Johnson & Johnson, held in the New Jersey Superior Court.  The trial resulted in a verdict for the plaintiffs, with compensatory damages of $3.35 million, and punitive damages of $7.76 million, and the Judgment was affirmed by the New Jersey Appellate Division, with certification denied by the New Jersey Supreme Court.  Mr. Slater has been trial counsel in numerous other pelvic mesh cases against Ethicon and Johnson & Johnson around the country, including in Philadelphia in December, 2015 ($12.5 million verdict including punitive damages of $7 million), New Jersey in December, 2017 ($15 million verdict including punitive damages of $10 million) the MDL Court in West Virginia (settled during trial), and Missouri State Court (settled during trial).  He also obtained the largest pelvic mesh verdict ever obtained against C.R. Bard, in March 2018, in the amount of $68 million, including punitive damages of $35 million.  Of note, Mr. Slater testified in 2015 to the Scottish Parliament, at the invitation of a Parliamentary subcommittee, with regard to the dangers of pelvic mesh, aiding the successful effort to have pelvic mesh banned in Scotland. Read Full Bio   Show Sponsors: Legal Technology Services - LTSatlanta.com Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com Harris, Lowry, and Manton - hlmlawfirm.com   Free Resources: Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1 Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2

Thank you for joining us for this special bonus episode of Periop Talk with Ethicon’s Stephanie Leon and Ray LaMeetree. Today we bring you a special bonus episode featuring Ethicon’s Stephanie Leon and Ray LaMeetree who will be discussing the history and best practices of SURGICEL Absorbable Hemostats.AORN does not endorse any commercial company’s product or service.Support the show (https://www.aorn.org/join?utm_source=podcast&utm_medium=promotional&utm_campaign=periop_talk&utm_content=support_podcast )

Jim Haney is Director, Supply Chain Customer Solutions in Johnson & Johnson’s Medical Devices sector.  In this role, Jim and his team collaborate with large health systems to drive operational efficiencies.   Jim has been with Ethicon since 1999, holding a variety of positions in Marketing, Account Management, Supply Chain and Health Economics & Market Access. Prior to joining Johnson & Johnson, Jim was a Corporate Accounts Director for Novartis Pharmaceuticals, responsible for contracting with managed care organizations to secure formulary status for Novartis’ branded pharmaceutical portfolio. Prior to Novartis, he worked as an Account Executive for Aetna, selling managed care plans to larger employers in a number of markets, to include Chicago and Pittsburgh. Jim is one of the many within Ethicon leading the charge in helping to bring insights into Ethicon's solutions and how they're bringing value to their customers. He's also utilizing the AIMeCAST platform to improve communication within his team and across the organization.  

This week, your hosts Steve Lowry and Yvonne Godfrey interview Kila Baldwin of Kline and Specter, PC (https://www.klinespecter.com/)   Remember to rate and review GTP in iTunes: Click Here To Rate and Review   Episode Details: A Philadelphia attorney with a strong track record leading complex cases against medical device manufacturers, Kila Baldwin of Kline and Specter, PC discusses the high-profile trial in which she represented Ella Ebaugh, a woman who sustained lifelong injuries due to defective transvaginal mesh implants designed by Ethicon, a subsidiary of Johnson & Johnson. In her 40s, Ella was diagnosed with stress urinary incontinence, which caused her bladder to leak unexpectedly. She was implanted with a TVT-Secur and TVT sling and later endured three mesh removal surgeries because the mesh had eroded into her bladder and urethra. Today, Ella is incontinent, wears adult diapers and suffers from frequent urinary tract infections. Using Ethicon and Johnson & Johnson's actions against them, including statements made in internal emails, Kila Baldwin was able to successfully persuade the Philadelphia jury to decide in favor of Ella. In 2017, the jury returned a verdict of $7.1 million in compensatory damages and $50 million in punitive damages, citing Ethicon and Johnson & Johnson's negligent design of the products and willful disregard for patient safety.   Click Here to Read/Download the Complete Trial Documents   Guest Bios: Kila Baldwin Kila B. Baldwin, a partner at Kline & Specter, has been involved in a number of the firm's high-profile cases, including as lead counsel in trials that resulted in verdicts of $80 million, $57.1 million and $41 million against Johnson & Johnson in transvaginal mesh cases.  Baldwin was selected as a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer for 2019 and 2020. From 2011-2018 she was named a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer — Rising Star and for 2014-2019 as a New Jersey Super Lawyer -- Rising Star, designating her as among the top 2.5 percent of attorneys in the two states who are 40 or younger. She also was selected for the 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021 editions of the peer-review publication Best Lawyers in America. In her latest major case, Baldwin in February 2020 achieved a $12.75 million settlement with a medical device manufacturer, Monteris Medical Inc., whose NeuroBlate Sidefire broke during surgery and caused brain damage to the patient. (Read article) Prior to that case, Baldwin obtained a $75 million settlement in a wrongful death case, the largest pre-trial settlement in a case in Pennsylvania history.  In May 2019, Baldwin was co-counsel in a six-week trial that resulted in an $80 million jury verdict against Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Ethicon Inc. for a Media, Pa., woman injured by a surgically implanted vaginal mesh device. The verdict in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court included $50 million in punitive and $30 million in compensatory damages, making it the country's largest compensatory award to date in a vaginal mesh case. (Read article) A few months earlier, Baldwin won a $41 million verdict -- including $25 million in punitive damages – against a J&J for a Lancaster, Pa., woman who suffered permanent injuries from a vaginal mesh device designed and marketed by a company subsidiary. (Read article) In late 2017, Baldwin won a major jury verdict against J&J for a Pennsylvania woman injured by a vaginal mesh device made by the company's Ethicon Inc. subsidiary. The award included $7.1 million in compensatory and $50 million in punitive damages for the behemoth drug and device maker's reckless behavior in selling the defective product implanted in women across the country.  (Read article) The verdict was featured on the BBC program Panorama. In earlier cases, Baldwin was co-counsel in two trials that resulted in verdicts of $12.5 million and $13.5 million for two other women injured by the surgically implanted vaginal mesh products. (See the Hammons and Carlino cases.) Read Full Bio   Show Sponsors: Legal Technology Services - LTSatlanta.com Digital Law Marketing - DigitalLawMarketing.com Harris, Lowry, and Manton - hlmlawfirm.com   Free Resources: Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 1 Stages Of A Jury Trial - Part 2

At LONG LAST I am pleased to present Part 2 of our deep dive into the murky underworld of "Big O" - Australia's obesity organisations, and their links to Big Pharma. Join me and fearless anti-diet dietitian Mandy-Lee Noble as we reveal the disturbing progress which Novo Nordisk is making, steadily infiltrating our universities, academics, health professionals, consumer groups, and news media with one goal: to make larger bodied Aussies believe that they are diseased and need urgent treatment! And in spite of the obesity organisations repeatedly claiming to be 'transparent' about their funding sources, we keep discovering that NOTHING is what it seems! Smoke, mirrors and deflections abound, and there is SO much money being thrown at so many different groups, our heads are spinning. AND they're using weight stigma as a weapon to push their drugs and surgeries! It's diabolical double speak and it needs to be stopped. This is an episode NOT to be missed !   Show Notes What’s firing up my wonderful anti-diet dietitian guest Mandy-Lee Noble? Since our last podcast, (Ep #55 - Inside The Obesity Collective), there have been some new developments on the Big Pharma front, particularly in how they are trying to shape hysteria around weight - driving people into treatment and portraying higher weight as being a health issue in and of itself. What has really spiked Mandy’s frustration is that at the start of 2020 the esteemed journal Nature (in their medical journal ‘Nature Medicine’) released a “Consensus statement” about obesity stigma. CONTENT WARNING - we’ll be using the stigmatising ‘o’ word (obese) throughout this podcast because of how the groups we’re talking about use it. But we HATE IT because it is implicitly stigmatising! So this group released a joint international consensus statement for the ending of stigma of the ‘o’ word (with that stigmatising word in the title!) We thought … maybe they’re starting to do the right thing? But … no. Upon reading, it reveals itself as just another push to get people into treatment simply because they are in a larger body. And what might be influencing this paper? Let’s check how many times Novo Nordisk is mentioned in this statement as a ‘conflict of interest’ … it’s in the double digits. 20 times, out of 40 authors.  Novo Nordisk isn’t the only conflict of interest. The major supporters of this paper were pushing surgical devices for bariatric surgery (Ethicon).  Mandy has issues about the use of the word ‘stigma’ here. Weight stigma is when you’re treated poorly just due to your weight, which we know is an epidemic and happening all the time and leading to poor health outcomes and disengagement from healthcare. When these industry groups use that word, they consider it a barrier to people using treatment! It’s all just dollar-signs to them. In the spirit of transparency - let’s go through the conflicts of interest for Louise and Mandy. Hope you’ve got some time …. (Louise played a cricket sound). ;) Basically fuck all, right? We’re not getting paid. We’re here for love, not money - not for the vested interest of corporations or even of ourselves. This kind of ‘investigative journalism’ research has an impact on our mental health, for sure! Mandy arcs up at the assumption that people at higher weights need treatment for disease - the stigma is there in the assumption. Let’s reflect on what happened after the last podcast. There were unexpected ripples from that episode. The powers that be at Obesity Australia were listening … either that or there were some totally weird coincidences. Some of the coincidences: the fact sheets disappeared! The fact sheets telling people that chips were lethal and to drink Diet Coke to put off their hunger, all of the magic 1920’s weight loss tips have vanished. The whole oldy-worldy Obesity Australia website has vanished and replaced with a trendy new Obesity Collective website. This all happened within 2 weeks of our last podcast with Mandy. There was a bit of an MIA issued in the last podcast for the Weight Issues Network - a consumer group that just didn’t seem to exist, until it magically appeared very soon after the podcast aired.  We wondered, where are they getting the money from? Mandy sent them a Facebook message asking, and was told that the director would be in touch. Tiffany Petrie, director of The Obesity Collective, did reach out and offered to meet us for a coffee, which we accepted. We then learned Petrie would be bringing some friends to the coffee (some backup?). Immediately before the coffee date, they … pulled out! Petrie said she would be too busy for months to meet. The offer is still open from Mandy and Louise! On the types of articles that are being reposted on the WIN Facebook page, which has a huge following - at the moment there’s 100 people following, which includes Louise and Mandy. It’s funny that this group that’s meant to be addressing weight stigma reposts so many stigmatising articles. Things about the ‘war on childhood obesity’, and other articles that make Mandy go “wow”. Overall though, there isn’t too much action happening on that page.  Mandy was contacted by some journalists to comment on the funding that Obesity Australia receives, and was pleased to see the table she provided was reproduced entirely in one of the articles (but without acknowledgement). The Medical Republic released a podcast and media article, which Louise came away from a bit disappointed - the title of the article was framed as ‘why is this being battled out between skinny people’, as if HAES Australia is battling in the ‘war on obesity’. HAES Australia is a body without industry funding to support people who want to provide weight-neutral care. Whereas the WIN is a ‘patient’ group which frames obesity as a disease. Completely different agendas. Mandy wanted the title of this podcast to be “Obesity Australia, if you are listening” - a reference to Russia and Trump, and how Obesity Australia seemed to be listening to the last podcast. Obesity Australia, if you ARE listening and if you REALLY are serious and want to end weight stigma, DO THESE THREE THINGS WE’LL TALK ABOUT HERE.  Number 1: Advocate for medical professionals to disclose industry funding when they are talking to the media and/or their patients. It’s about informed consent! What is behind the advice that someone is receiving? If it’s money, that’s important information to know.  A good example recently from Channel 9 News in a short segment called ‘Study hoped to decrease obesity stigma’.  It’s just a minute or two long. We’ve seen all the ‘war on obesity’ stories, and this is a new take - obesity stigma?! But when you watch the story, it’s nothing new at all. The story is tremendously stigmatising with all the same language about ‘battling’ weight and obesity, framing it as the enemy. It also uses ‘headless fatty’ images, of people in larger bodies with their heads not shown, carrying their fast food lunches around as it was probably filmed on a lunch break. The program banged on about rates of overweight and obesity as if they were the rates of people who were unwell - as if everyone in those groups is diseased. Life expectancy, however, continues to rise (shh). The study mentioned in the story was QUITE hard to get hold of. It’s not even a new study, it was published in February 2019. At least, we think this is the study because they haven’t referenced it adequately in the story. Our statistics match up with theirs, so we think it’s the same one. And the study itself has NOTHING to do with stigma. The title is “Gaps to bridge: misalignment between perception, reality and action in obesity”. But the gap is ‘how to get people to treatment’ - why aren’t more fat people asking for help from their doctors? That’s basically the only question asked in the study, and ‘weight stigma’ doesn’t appear in the study. None of the researchers are weight stigma researchers. Dr Georgia Regis gives an expert opinion as an ‘obesity physician and researcher’ that people in larger bodies need to seek medical help. She’s using the big assumption that everyone in a larger body requires treatment. And was this opinion out of the goodness of her heart? Or … perhaps because she has some vested interest that isn’t declared in this piece?  Dr Regis actually has several conflicts of interest to declare, which we see on the research articles we read - but people seeing her speak on the news don’t get that declaration of conflict of interest. Dr Regis actually received $43,000 over three years from Novo Nordisk, a company that produces weight loss drugs. And that’s not the only treatment industry that she’s accepted fees from - there are other payments here from companies that make products and treatments for bariatric surgery. Dr Regis may of course be giving unbiased and evidence-based opinions. Either way though, just as she is required to do in research, she should be declaring these conflicts of interest to the media she speaks to and TO HER PATIENTS. Transparency! It’s even in the Obesity Australia principles! Fun fact: Novo Nordisk (you’ll never guess) actually completely funded this research paper. They also have made other payments to the authors on the paper, and this is on top of paying for the researcher’s travel expenses to attend ‘author meetings’ about this paper. Where would they need to go !?? Let’s talk privilege, because it’s necessary when talking about stigma. Mandy and Louise have the privilege of being educated, having access to research, and being health professionals. When Mandy and Louise read this research, conflicts of interest have to be declared - but it’s not necessary at the moment that these conflicts are declared to media or to patients. Obesity Australia, if you’re listening - advocate for health professionals to declare conflicts of interest. Number 2: If you’re listening, Obesity Australia, be transparent about industry funded consumer groups. This includes WIN, the Weight Issues Network. WIN does say on their website (in their ‘transparency statement’) that they receive some funding from Obesity Australia, ANZOS and ANZMOS (groups with ties back to Novo Nordisk).  WIN has six principles - transparency is one of them, another is about being ‘safe and empowering’ - providing “information, support, and a place to have a voice”. So, what we’re asking from them is definitely in lines with what they say they’re going to provide. One of our planned ‘coffee questions’ was about where they got their money from - and at first we were told the money was donated. Since then we’ve learned that Obesity Australia gave WIN $5,000 to start them off. We haven’t had a response about how much money they received from ANZOS and ANZMOS. It’s interesting that when we email them we get responses back from Tiffany, who is not actually part of WIN … it’s all very incestuous.  On the WIN page, we learn that funding has come from the Obesity Collective, which is basically the same as Obesity Australia. The other thing is that WIN has now set themselves up as a separate charity, which means people can donate directly to them and get (possible) tax exemptions.  Some other issues we have with transparency - they claim they’re getting pro bono support. We generally understand that as people providing work for free. This pro bono work is coming from PricewaterhouseCoopers. They have a long term business relationship with Novo Nordisk, having been their auditors for years.  WIN has a board - some with lived experience, a clinician, a researcher and some others including a bariatric surgeon (we think some of the people in WIN are this surgeon’s patients). Who we mainly hear from is Lynne Keppler, who has done some media and spoken at obesity conferences. What is missing from the board is people who are not treatment-seeking. All of them describe themselves as a patient or someone living with a condition of ill health.  The WIN also receive some training, some webinars that we’ve seen that come from Dr Arya Sharma, a Canadian bariatric physician and bigwig in Obesity Inc. Who paid for that!? Novo Nordisk paid to fly Dr Sharma in for seminars and meetings - his expertise here is helping people tell their stories and stay on track with their key messages, all of which perfectly align with Novo Nordisk. It’s pretty clear in these webinars that the key messages he wants people to stay on are that obesity is a disease, and that weight stigma is a barrier for larger bodied people seeking weight treatment such as surgery and drugs.  So, what we have is a consumer group that has claimed that they are transparent, when they’re really receiving training from people who are heavily funded by Novo Nordisk and being supported by groups that are supported by Novo Nordisk and other pharma groups and bariatric supplies manufacturers.  It’s hard to see how this is a transparent consumer group that is free of conflicts of interest because it’s all being funded by weight loss treatment industries. That’s our concern. What we’d like Obesity Australia to do, if they’re listening, is encourage WIN to be transparent. For example, where is the source funding coming from for events such as the one run by Dr Sharma?  On their website and Facebook group, WIN encourages people to share their stories. Louise has the question ‘what for?’. Is it so their stories can be packaged up and used to further the agenda (lobbying the government to increase obesity services?). It’s a misuse of the word ‘stigma’. Talking about the stigma you’ve faced takes a toll - and then that lived experience gets media trained and packaged so you continue talking to the media and government groups about how much you need these interventions … it feels really dark. They’re not really asking people for stories about weight stigma, but about stories of treatment seeking.  Number 3: If you’re listening, Obesity Australia, we’d like you to be transparent about the industry funding that health professional groups get. Health professional groups are another way to lobby for change, lobby governments, etc. It would be really good if we could see those entities also be transparent. An example: NACOS, the National Association of Clinical Obesity Services. Louise had never heard of this group before! It’s quite new, having only dropped in September 2019, after WIN dropped in August 2019. Louise read through a NACOS financial report, wondering who they are and how they came to be. Clinical Obesity Services are units in hospitals involving teams of health professionals offering weight loss services. Evan Atlantis, NACOS President,  in his financial report for NACOS wrote that they are committed to improving health services and clinical services for patients with obesity, with considerable  support and grant funding from … Novo Nordisk.  After the NACOS formed, the Novo Nordisk money paid for Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC) to write up a report outlining just how dire obesity is and how urgently services are needed (you guessed it, completely the same as the other Novo Nordisk reports written by PWC). PWC wrote 4 out of the 5 “obesity is dreadful” reports produced by Obesity Australia. Guess who is the secretary general of NACOS? Dr Nick … the bariatric surgeon who is also on the board of WIN. If you’re listening, Obesity Australia, here are those three things we want you to advocate for if you’re really serious about addressing weight stigma. NUMBER 1: Advocate for medical professionals to be transparent and disclose industry funding with media, general public and patients. NUMBER 2: Consumer groups that are industry funded be more transparent about all funding, in-kind support and training. NUMBER 3: That health professional groups be more transparent about their funding sources. Is there something that All Fired Up! listeners could possibly think about as you move through media and accessing healthcare? We might look at all this stuff and think “bloody hell, I’m just one person! What can I do?!”. If you’re talking to anyone medical who is trying to sell or advise you on weight loss drugs or procedures, ask them to disclose if they are receiving any payments or training from these groups … and how much. You need to know if your health professional is being potentially influenced by industry funding. Research shows that for the majority of health professionals who are inviting people to use these drugs or surgeries, their training about them has come completely from these groups that make money from them. And ask about the long term side effects! We hope this has been helpful and insightful, and rounded out our journey down the rabbit hole that we started over a year ago. Why is Novo Nordisk, a HUGE pharmaceutical company, so interested in little old Australia? Actually, this is happening globally - and that will be the subject of the next podcast. You won’t believe the size of this octopus.  An update on Professor Simpson, executive director of Obesity Australia who had a grant from Novo Nordisk … we found out how much it was. Let’s remember that the research that Novo Nordisk were funding was NOT about weight stigma, but about cricket sperm. Hmm. And that grant amount for research that has nothing to do with weight stigma? 13 MILLION DOLLARS. The head of Obesity Australia, an organisation which pretends to be all about weight stigma, is being funded to the tune of $13 MILLION by Novo Nordisk in order to research cricket sperm. If people are really feeling they’re providing unbiased advice, they’d be happy to provide their conflicts of interest. When we hear messages from the head of Obesity Australia, think about it, are we really hearing the messages of Novo Nordisk? To be continued! This story isn’t over.   Resources Mentioned Find out more about my amazing guest Mandy-Lee Noble here The Joint International Consensus Statement for Ending Stigma of Obesity The Weight Issues Network website (checkout the logo!) The Medical Republic article “Why is the war on obesity being fought by skinny folks”? The Channel 9 news piece which wasn’t really about weight stigma The study that the Channel 9 news piece was talking about, which also has nothing to do with weight stigma The Novo Nordisk funded National Association of Clinical Obesity Services (NACOS)  

At LONG LAST I am pleased to present Part 2 of our deep dive into the murky underworld of "Big O" - Australia's obesity organisations, and their links to Big Pharma. Join me and fearless anti-diet dietitian Mandy-Lee Noble as we reveal the disturbing progress which Novo Nordisk is making, steadily infiltrating our universities, academics, health professionals, consumer groups, and news media with one goal: to make larger bodied Aussies believe that they are diseased and need urgent treatment! And in spite of the obesity organisations repeatedly claiming to be 'transparent' about their funding sources, we keep discovering that NOTHING is what it seems! Smoke, mirrors and deflections abound, and there is SO much money being thrown at so many different groups, our heads are spinning. AND they're using weight stigma as a weapon to push their drugs and surgeries! It's diabolical double speak and it needs to be stopped. This is an episode NOT to be missed !   Show Notes What’s firing up my wonderful anti-diet dietitian guest Mandy-Lee Noble? Since our last podcast, (Ep #55 - Inside The Obesity Collective), there have been some new developments on the Big Pharma front, particularly in how they are trying to shape hysteria around weight - driving people into treatment and portraying higher weight as being a health issue in and of itself. What has really spiked Mandy’s frustration is that at the start of 2020 the esteemed journal Nature (in their medical journal ‘Nature Medicine’) released a “Consensus statement” about obesity stigma. CONTENT WARNING - we’ll be using the stigmatising ‘o’ word (obese) throughout this podcast because of how the groups we’re talking about use it. But we HATE IT because it is implicitly stigmatising! So this group released a joint international consensus statement for the ending of stigma of the ‘o’ word (with that stigmatising word in the title!) We thought … maybe they’re starting to do the right thing? But … no. Upon reading, it reveals itself as just another push to get people into treatment simply because they are in a larger body. And what might be influencing this paper? Let’s check how many times Novo Nordisk is mentioned in this statement as a ‘conflict of interest’ … it’s in the double digits. 20 times, out of 40 authors.  Novo Nordisk isn’t the only conflict of interest. The major supporters of this paper were pushing surgical devices for bariatric surgery (Ethicon).  Mandy has issues about the use of the word ‘stigma’ here. Weight stigma is when you’re treated poorly just due to your weight, which we know is an epidemic and happening all the time and leading to poor health outcomes and disengagement from healthcare. When these industry groups use that word, they consider it a barrier to people using treatment! It’s all just dollar-signs to them. In the spirit of transparency - let’s go through the conflicts of interest for Louise and Mandy. Hope you’ve got some time …. (Louise played a cricket sound). ;) Basically fuck all, right? We’re not getting paid. We’re here for love, not money - not for the vested interest of corporations or even of ourselves. This kind of ‘investigative journalism’ research has an impact on our mental health, for sure! Mandy arcs up at the assumption that people at higher weights need treatment for disease - the stigma is there in the assumption. Let’s reflect on what happened after the last podcast. There were unexpected ripples from that episode. The powers that be at Obesity Australia were listening … either that or there were some totally weird coincidences. Some of the coincidences: the fact sheets disappeared! The fact sheets telling people that chips were lethal and to drink Diet Coke to put off their hunger, all of the magic 1920’s weight loss tips have vanished. The whole oldy-worldy Obesity Australia website has vanished and replaced with a trendy new Obesity Collective website. This all happened within 2 weeks of our last podcast with Mandy. There was a bit of an MIA issued in the last podcast for the Weight Issues Network - a consumer group that just didn’t seem to exist, until it magically appeared very soon after the podcast aired.  We wondered, where are they getting the money from? Mandy sent them a Facebook message asking, and was told that the director would be in touch. Tiffany Petrie, director of The Obesity Collective, did reach out and offered to meet us for a coffee, which we accepted. We then learned Petrie would be bringing some friends to the coffee (some backup?). Immediately before the coffee date, they … pulled out! Petrie said she would be too busy for months to meet. The offer is still open from Mandy and Louise! On the types of articles that are being reposted on the WIN Facebook page, which has a huge following - at the moment there’s 100 people following, which includes Louise and Mandy. It’s funny that this group that’s meant to be addressing weight stigma reposts so many stigmatising articles. Things about the ‘war on childhood obesity’, and other articles that make Mandy go “wow”. Overall though, there isn’t too much action happening on that page.  Mandy was contacted by some journalists to comment on the funding that Obesity Australia receives, and was pleased to see the table she provided was reproduced entirely in one of the articles (but without acknowledgement). The Medical Republic released a podcast and media article, which Louise came away from a bit disappointed - the title of the article was framed as ‘why is this being battled out between skinny people’, as if HAES Australia is battling in the ‘war on obesity’. HAES Australia is a body without industry funding to support people who want to provide weight-neutral care. Whereas the WIN is a ‘patient’ group which frames obesity as a disease. Completely different agendas. Mandy wanted the title of this podcast to be “Obesity Australia, if you are listening” - a reference to Russia and Trump, and how Obesity Australia seemed to be listening to the last podcast. Obesity Australia, if you ARE listening and if you REALLY are serious and want to end weight stigma, DO THESE THREE THINGS WE’LL TALK ABOUT HERE.  Number 1: Advocate for medical professionals to disclose industry funding when they are talking to the media and/or their patients. It’s about informed consent! What is behind the advice that someone is receiving? If it’s money, that’s important information to know.  A good example recently from Channel 9 News in a short segment called ‘Study hoped to decrease obesity stigma’.  It’s just a minute or two long. We’ve seen all the ‘war on obesity’ stories, and this is a new take - obesity stigma?! But when you watch the story, it’s nothing new at all. The story is tremendously stigmatising with all the same language about ‘battling’ weight and obesity, framing it as the enemy. It also uses ‘headless fatty’ images, of people in larger bodies with their heads not shown, carrying their fast food lunches around as it was probably filmed on a lunch break. The program banged on about rates of overweight and obesity as if they were the rates of people who were unwell - as if everyone in those groups is diseased. Life expectancy, however, continues to rise (shh). The study mentioned in the story was QUITE hard to get hold of. It’s not even a new study, it was published in February 2019. At least, we think this is the study because they haven’t referenced it adequately in the story. Our statistics match up with theirs, so we think it’s the same one. And the study itself has NOTHING to do with stigma. The title is “Gaps to bridge: misalignment between perception, reality and action in obesity”. But the gap is ‘how to get people to treatment’ - why aren’t more fat people asking for help from their doctors? That’s basically the only question asked in the study, and ‘weight stigma’ doesn’t appear in the study. None of the researchers are weight stigma researchers. Dr Georgia Regis gives an expert opinion as an ‘obesity physician and researcher’ that people in larger bodies need to seek medical help. She’s using the big assumption that everyone in a larger body requires treatment. And was this opinion out of the goodness of her heart? Or … perhaps because she has some vested interest that isn’t declared in this piece?  Dr Regis actually has several conflicts of interest to declare, which we see on the research articles we read - but people seeing her speak on the news don’t get that declaration of conflict of interest. Dr Regis actually received $43,000 over three years from Novo Nordisk, a company that produces weight loss drugs. And that’s not the only treatment industry that she’s accepted fees from - there are other payments here from companies that make products and treatments for bariatric surgery. Dr Regis may of course be giving unbiased and evidence-based opinions. Either way though, just as she is required to do in research, she should be declaring these conflicts of interest to the media she speaks to and TO HER PATIENTS. Transparency! It’s even in the Obesity Australia principles! Fun fact: Novo Nordisk (you’ll never guess) actually completely funded this research paper. They also have made other payments to the authors on the paper, and this is on top of paying for the researcher’s travel expenses to attend ‘author meetings’ about this paper. Where would they need to go !?? Let’s talk privilege, because it’s necessary when talking about stigma. Mandy and Louise have the privilege of being educated, having access to research, and being health professionals. When Mandy and Louise read this research, conflicts of interest have to be declared - but it’s not necessary at the moment that these conflicts are declared to media or to patients. Obesity Australia, if you’re listening - advocate for health professionals to declare conflicts of interest. Number 2: If you’re listening, Obesity Australia, be transparent about industry funded consumer groups. This includes WIN, the Weight Issues Network. WIN does say on their website (in their ‘transparency statement’) that they receive some funding from Obesity Australia, ANZOS and ANZMOS (groups with ties back to Novo Nordisk).  WIN has six principles - transparency is one of them, another is about being ‘safe and empowering’ - providing “information, support, and a place to have a voice”. So, what we’re asking from them is definitely in lines with what they say they’re going to provide. One of our planned ‘coffee questions’ was about where they got their money from - and at first we were told the money was donated. Since then we’ve learned that Obesity Australia gave WIN $5,000 to start them off. We haven’t had a response about how much money they received from ANZOS and ANZMOS. It’s interesting that when we email them we get responses back from Tiffany, who is not actually part of WIN … it’s all very incestuous.  On the WIN page, we learn that funding has come from the Obesity Collective, which is basically the same as Obesity Australia. The other thing is that WIN has now set themselves up as a separate charity, which means people can donate directly to them and get (possible) tax exemptions.  Some other issues we have with transparency - they claim they’re getting pro bono support. We generally understand that as people providing work for free. This pro bono work is coming from PricewaterhouseCoopers. They have a long term business relationship with Novo Nordisk, having been their auditors for years.  WIN has a board - some with lived experience, a clinician, a researcher and some others including a bariatric surgeon (we think some of the people in WIN are this surgeon’s patients). Who we mainly hear from is Lynne Keppler, who has done some media and spoken at obesity conferences. What is missing from the board is people who are not treatment-seeking. All of them describe themselves as a patient or someone living with a condition of ill health.  The WIN also receive some training, some webinars that we’ve seen that come from Dr Arya Sharma, a Canadian bariatric physician and bigwig in Obesity Inc. Who paid for that!? Novo Nordisk paid to fly Dr Sharma in for seminars and meetings - his expertise here is helping people tell their stories and stay on track with their key messages, all of which perfectly align with Novo Nordisk. It’s pretty clear in these webinars that the key messages he wants people to stay on are that obesity is a disease, and that weight stigma is a barrier for larger bodied people seeking weight treatment such as surgery and drugs.  So, what we have is a consumer group that has claimed that they are transparent, when they’re really receiving training from people who are heavily funded by Novo Nordisk and being supported by groups that are supported by Novo Nordisk and other pharma groups and bariatric supplies manufacturers.  It’s hard to see how this is a transparent consumer group that is free of conflicts of interest because it’s all being funded by weight loss treatment industries. That’s our concern. What we’d like Obesity Australia to do, if they’re listening, is encourage WIN to be transparent. For example, where is the source funding coming from for events such as the one run by Dr Sharma?  On their website and Facebook group, WIN encourages people to share their stories. Louise has the question ‘what for?’. Is it so their stories can be packaged up and used to further the agenda (lobbying the government to increase obesity services?). It’s a misuse of the word ‘stigma’. Talking about the stigma you’ve faced takes a toll - and then that lived experience gets media trained and packaged so you continue talking to the media and government groups about how much you need these interventions … it feels really dark. They’re not really asking people for stories about weight stigma, but about stories of treatment seeking.  Number 3: If you’re listening, Obesity Australia, we’d like you to be transparent about the industry funding that health professional groups get. Health professional groups are another way to lobby for change, lobby governments, etc. It would be really good if we could see those entities also be transparent. An example: NACOS, the National Association of Clinical Obesity Services. Louise had never heard of this group before! It’s quite new, having only dropped in September 2019, after WIN dropped in August 2019. Louise read through a NACOS financial report, wondering who they are and how they came to be. Clinical Obesity Services are units in hospitals involving teams of health professionals offering weight loss services. Evan Atlantis, NACOS President,  in his financial report for NACOS wrote that they are committed to improving health services and clinical services for patients with obesity, with considerable  support and grant funding from … Novo Nordisk.  After the NACOS formed, the Novo Nordisk money paid for Price Waterhouse Coopers (PWC) to write up a report outlining just how dire obesity is and how urgently services are needed (you guessed it, completely the same as the other Novo Nordisk reports written by PWC). PWC wrote 4 out of the 5 “obesity is dreadful” reports produced by Obesity Australia. Guess who is the secretary general of NACOS? Dr Nick … the bariatric surgeon who is also on the board of WIN. If you’re listening, Obesity Australia, here are those three things we want you to advocate for if you’re really serious about addressing weight stigma. NUMBER 1: Advocate for medical professionals to be transparent and disclose industry funding with media, general public and patients. NUMBER 2: Consumer groups that are industry funded be more transparent about all funding, in-kind support and training. NUMBER 3: That health professional groups be more transparent about their funding sources. Is there something that All Fired Up! listeners could possibly think about as you move through media and accessing healthcare? We might look at all this stuff and think “bloody hell, I’m just one person! What can I do?!”. If you’re talking to anyone medical who is trying to sell or advise you on weight loss drugs or procedures, ask them to disclose if they are receiving any payments or training from these groups … and how much. You need to know if your health professional is being potentially influenced by industry funding. Research shows that for the majority of health professionals who are inviting people to use these drugs or surgeries, their training about them has come completely from these groups that make money from them. And ask about the long term side effects! We hope this has been helpful and insightful, and rounded out our journey down the rabbit hole that we started over a year ago. Why is Novo Nordisk, a HUGE pharmaceutical company, so interested in little old Australia? Actually, this is happening globally - and that will be the subject of the next podcast. You won’t believe the size of this octopus.  An update on Professor Simpson, executive director of Obesity Australia who had a grant from Novo Nordisk … we found out how much it was. Let’s remember that the research that Novo Nordisk were funding was NOT about weight stigma, but about cricket sperm. Hmm. And that grant amount for research that has nothing to do with weight stigma? 13 MILLION DOLLARS. The head of Obesity Australia, an organisation which pretends to be all about weight stigma, is being funded to the tune of $13 MILLION by Novo Nordisk in order to research cricket sperm. If people are really feeling they’re providing unbiased advice, they’d be happy to provide their conflicts of interest. When we hear messages from the head of Obesity Australia, think about it, are we really hearing the messages of Novo Nordisk? To be continued! This story isn’t over.   Resources Mentioned Find out more about my amazing guest Mandy-Lee Noble here The Joint International Consensus Statement for Ending Stigma of Obesity The Weight Issues Network website (checkout the logo!) The Medical Republic article “Why is the war on obesity being fought by skinny folks”? The Channel 9 news piece which wasn’t really about weight stigma The study that the Channel 9 news piece was talking about, which also has nothing to do with weight stigma The Novo Nordisk funded National Association of Clinical Obesity Services (NACOS)  

In this episode of WHY THEY LISTEN - we learn from Jasper Daniel from the Global Strategic Marketing team at Ethicon, within Johnson & Johnson. Jasper along with many of his colleagues across Ethicon AND JnJ are utilizing podcasting INSIDE the organization to connect, educate and share learnings.   Hear how Jasper and his team partnered with AIMeCAST to come up with the ideal platform for a very specific and unique listening audience. *** "WHY THEY LISTEN" is powered by AIMeCAST - Produced by THRIVE LOUD Productions Hosted by Lou Diamond  

In this episode of Medsider Radio, we downloaded with Jennifer Fried, the CEO and Co-Founder of ExplORer Surgical. Jennifer founded the company with Dr. Alex Langerman as an MBA student at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business, where she received her degree with honors in finance and entrepreneurship.Previously, Jennifer was a Vice President at Park Lane Ventures, a healthcare-focused venture capital fund spun out of Essex Woodlands. Jennifer began her career as a consultant at Bain & Company in Chicago after graduating from Northwestern University.With me on this episode is special guest host, Norbert Juist, who runs Sales Performance Resources, where he specializes in recruiting for medical device marketing and sales positions. Prior to this, he was a sales rep at Cordis Endovascular, a spine consultant at Synthes, and a sales rep at Ethicon. Interview Highlights with Jennifer Fried● How most medical device companies capture procedural data & workflow processes -- and why it’s completely outdated. ● The challenges medtech companies are facing when it comes to educational training & product development and why they’re considering platforms like ExplORer Surgical.● Jennifer’s favorite business book, the business leader she most admires, and the advice she’d give to herself 5-10 years ago.See more...

On this episode of Medsider Radio, I had the chance to sit down with Michael Tozzi, President and CEO of TAS Medical. Mike and his team are aiming to eliminate surgical mesh by converting hernia procedures to minimally invasive repairs.Mike has over 20 years of commercial medical device experience and specializes in investor relations, sales & marketing readiness, and improving the execution of early-stage medical device companies.. Previous to TAS Medical, Mike served as Chief Commercial Officer at Carevoyance, where he and his team created groundbreaking analytics tools designed to help medical device companies better understand their markets and execute their commercial goals.Prior to this, Mike helped to build Cardiovascular Systems, Inc. (or CSI) from the ground floor, taking the company from early stage to over $1.3 billion in market capitalization in just seven years. At CSI, Mike held various executive roles in sales and marketing. Joining me on this episode is special guest host, Norbert Juist, who runs Sales Performance Resources, which specializes in recruiting for medtech marketing and sales positions. Prior to this, he was a sales rep at Cordis Endovascular, a spine consultant at Synthes, and a sales rep at Ethicon. Interview Highlights with Mike TozziThe origin story of TAS Medical and how Mike got involved.The strategies that TAS Medical followed to go from initial product concept to eventual commercialization.The regulatory and clinical paths that Mike and his team considered.How much the insurance coverage and reimbursement landscape factored into Mike’s early decision-making process.Mike’s approach to raising capital for CSI and TAS Medical. Common mistakes that early-stage medtech companies make and how to avoid them.Mike’s favorite book, the business leader he most admires, and the advice he’d give to his 30-year old self.See more...

Joining Medsider Radio for this episode is Beverly Huss, President and CEO of Qool Therapeutics, a development-stage company working on a novel, non-invasive therapeutic hypothermia device for the preservation of tissue following catastrophic events like a heart attack, stroke, or traumatic brain injury.Previously, Beverly was the CEO of Vibrynt, a start-up medical device company dedicated to creating minimally invasive therapies for patients suffering from morbid obesity. Prior to that, Beverly was the President of Guidant Endovascular Solutions (acquired by Abbott), a medical device company focused on the treatment of cardiovascular and peripheral vascular disease.She holds an M.S. in technology management from Pepperdine University, as well as a B.S. in metallurgical engineering from the University of Illinois. Beverly also has a few patents to her credit in the cardiovascular and obesity medical device arenas.With me on this episode is guest host, Norbert Juist, one of the most honest, genuine, and personable people I know. Norbert runs Sales Performance Resources, where he specializes in recruiting for medtech marketing and sales positions. Prior to this, he was a sales rep at Cordis Endovascular, a spine consultant at Synthes, and a sales rep at Ethicon. Interview Highlights with Beverly HussThe origin story of Qool Therapeutics and how Beverly got involved with the company.The clinical trial strategy that Qool Therapeutics is following and the reasoning for it.Beverly’s strategic approach to making a medical device a reality, including the regulatory, clinical, and reimbursement paths that should be considered.Key learnings from Beverly’s time at Vibrynt. The “other R&R”: the importance of resilience and relentlessness when you are raising money for a company.How to get the attention of medical device venture capitalists.Critical lessons Beverly throughout her career at ACS and Guidant.Beverly’s favorite books and how they inspire resiliency.The business leaders and mentors that Beverly most admires.Advice Beverly would give to her 30-year old self.See more...

Generous by nature and raised in a vulnerable circumstance, Elisa Torres, now a marketing manager at J&J’s Ethicon, is passionate about ending human trafficking. Recently, she raised money for A21 Campaign, a nonprofit that rescues women from slavery, using CaringCrowd, J&J’s global health crowdfunding platform. By making human trafficking more difficult, profit margins are squeezed and perpetrators are encouraged to move on to other endeavors with less damage to human beings. Elisa raised a total of more than $15,000 for the nonprofit using CaringCrowd in two separate campaigns. The site is easy to use and she notes that J&J matched virtually the donations in her campaigns, doubling her impact. Never miss another interview! Join Devin here: http://bit.ly/joindevin. Click the following link to learn my insider secrets to media publicity for social impact: http://bit.ly/75offmedia.

In this edition of Device Week, Medtech Insight's Catherine Longworth reports on her experience at the BIOMEDevice meeting in Boston, where she talked to CEO Scot Huennekens, the former CEO of Verb Surgical, the robotics start up formed by Google and Johnson & Johnson’s Ethicon. Verb is combining robotics, advanced instrumentation, advanced visualization, data analytics and machine learning to create a platform for digital surgery, rather than trying to compete with the existing surgery robotics companies like Intuitive Surgical. Medtech Insight articles addressing topics discussed in this episode. SAGES 2019: Spotlighting Competitive Robotic Systems And Procedures Johnson & Johnson Diversifies Robotic Efforts With Auris Health Acquisition New Report Spotlights Intensifying Rivalry Between Tech And Health-Care Companies :: Medtech Insight

Season 2, Episode 1 of the ISAVE That Podcast, sponsored by GE and Timertags, features voices from the land down under. We welcome a chorus of voices from The Alliance for Vascular Access Teaching and Research (AVATAR) Group at Griffith University in Australia! Claire Rickard, Nicole Marsh, Amanda Ullman, Gillian Ray-Barruel, Samantha Keogh and Andrew Bulmer discuss the AVATAR story, advice for researchers, their future projects and current clinical trials, all while sharing some Aussie colloquialisms. A jam-packed episode doesn't end there, either. Enjoy!0:00 – A word from GE and Timertags, our Season 2, Episode 1 sponsor.1:05 – Happy New Year and welcome to Season 2 of the ISAVE That Podcast! Claire, Nicole, Amanda and Gillian take us through The AVATAR Group's history, their current clinical trials and publications, future projects and more in our opening segment.22:55 – A word from our Episode 1 sponsor, Timertag.23:56 – Amanda returns and gets an assist from Andrew as we discuss xLABs, how they are integrated into clinical trials, getting in touch with The AVATAR Group and Australian colloquialisms.50:14 – A word from our Episode 1 sponsor, GE.52:02 – Samantha Keogh takes us through the history of AVAS, the Australian Vascular Access Society, and how AVA can connect and engage with The AVATAR Group.Support the show (https://www.avainfo.org/donations/donate.asp?id=12834)

Episode 10 of the ISAVE That Podcast, sponsored by AVA ACADEMY, features a conversation with the brains behind MiVAN, the Michigan Vascular Access Network, a clinician who found her niche through AVA and a Beyond the Manuscript segment highlighting a case study set to publish in the winter issue of the Journal of the Association for Vascular Access.0:00 – A word from AVA ACADEMY, our Episode 10 sponsor.0:49 – We've reached double digits in the podcast game! Ramzy and Judy join Eric from San Diego to preview Episode 10.6:18 – A brief word from our Episode 9 sponsor, AVA ACADEMY.7:15 – Ramzy sits down with Kelly Ann Zazyczny, MSN, RN, NE-BC, CPN, VA-BC™ to discuss how AVA helped shape her career as a clinician.36:40 – Ramzy checks in again, this time at the November MiVAN symposium in Plymouth, Michigan, where he chats with founders Matt Gibson, RN, CRNI®, VA-BC™ and Jeff Hanks, RN, BSN, VA-BC™ about network best practices.51:26 – Beyond the Manuscript: Eric interviews Connie Girgenti, RN, BSN, VA-BC™ the author of a case study on mid-thigh femoral PICC placement set to publish in the winter 2018 issue of the Journal of the Association for Vascular Access.Support the show (https://www.avainfo.org/donations/donate.asp?id=12834)

Friends of Flo talks surgical smoke with Dr. Kay Ball, the AORN, and the Henry Ford Hospital system.Watch this episode here Learn more about OR smoke safety here: Ethicon.com/ORsmoketalk

We welcome Dr. Kay Ball to the Friends of Flo podcast, as we talk about her efforts to bring awareness to the hazards of surgical smoke.Watch this episode here: http://bit.ly/2zLuFZZLearn more about OR smoke safety here: Ethicon.com/ORsmoketalk

Episode 8 of the ISAVE That Podcast sponsored by ETHICON - BIOPATCH features a pair of interesting interviews, first with Dr. Liza Ovington on peripheral IVs and controlling infection and Chuck Ramirez, a JAVA author. Hosts Judy Thompson, Ramzy Nasrallah and Eric Seger chat with these two highly intelligent individuals and provide an update on AVA as a whole as we move toward the end of the year.0:56 – How is it almost Halloween already? Judy and Ramzy join Eric from Salt Lake City, where they are working with other members of the AVA core staff to hash out budget items for 2019.6:18 – A word from our Episode 8 sponsor, ETHICON - BIOPATCH7:16 – We are joined by Dr. Liza Ovington, Medical Director at ETHICON - BIOPATCH to hear her thoughts on infection prevention and infection control with regards to peripheral IVs.32:20 – Beyond the Manuscript: Eric chats with Chuck Ramirez, Director of Cardiopulmonary Services at Estrella Medical Center in Phoenix, Arizona, about his article on hemodialysis catheter insertion without a chest X-ray. His study is set to publish in the upcoming issue of JAVA.42:25 – AVA Network EventsSupport the show (https://www.avainfo.org/donations/donate.asp?id=12834)

When it comes to your career, can your attitude really determine your altitude? We talked to Abby Horvath, a Cameron-Brooks alumna and manufacturing manager at Ethicon, one of the largest operating companies within Johnson & Johnson. A former Army MEDEVAC pilot who transitioned into a team leadership role as a manufacturing supervisor, Abby has occupied many different roles across her organization in just five short years. In this podcast episode, she explains how she did it. In some ways, Abby found working for Johnson & Johnson to be lot like working in the Army. But one of the biggest differences she noticed is her ability now to have control over her career. Abby impressed me when she explained the steps she took in her career progression. Her approach should be natural to JMOs starting a new career in a new industry. But, unfortunately, the humble attitude she took when starting out is not always the attitude JMOs start with. One thing she said that particularly stuck out to me is, "You don't get successful because you are awesome!" She then goes on to talk about loyalty, humility, and having an attitude of learning. She also mentioned a popular quote that goes a long way: "Humility is not thinking less of yourself. It's thinking of yourself less." Words to live by. Finally, Abby recently read and recommended Radical Candor by Kim Scott. I hope you enjoy Abby's insight. To learn more about Cameron-Brooks, visit our website and check out PCS to Corporate America. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter. Best, Pete Van Epps

When it comes to your career, can your attitude really determine your altitude? We talked to Abby Horvath, a Cameron-Brooks alumna and manufacturing manager at Ethicon, one of the largest operating companies within Johnson & Johnson. A former Army MEDEVAC pilot who transitioned into a team leadership role as a manufacturing supervisor, Abby has occupied many different roles across her organization in just five short years. In this podcast episode, she explains how she did it. In some ways, Abby found working for Johnson & Johnson to be lot like working in the Army. But one of the biggest differences she noticed is her ability now to have control over her career. Abby impressed me when she explained the steps she took in her career progression. Her approach should be natural to JMOs starting a new career in a new industry. But, unfortunately, the humble attitude she took when starting out is not always the attitude JMOs start with. One thing she said that particularly stuck out to me is, "You don't get successful because you are awesome!" She then goes on to talk about loyalty, humility, and having an attitude of learning. She also mentioned a popular quote that goes a long way: "Humility is not thinking less of yourself. It's thinking of yourself less." Words to live by. Finally, Abby recently read and recommended Radical Candor by Kim Scott. I hope you enjoy Abby's insight. To learn more about Cameron-Brooks, visit our website and check out PCS to Corporate America. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and Twitter. Best, Pete Van Epps

On this week's Medtech Insight podcast: supply-chain oversight program MedAccred makes a splash in industry; first diagnostic to use flow cytometry to detect rare blood cancers wins US FDA clearance; Ethicon sues Intuitive over surgical tool patents; Konica Minolta snaps up Ambry Genetics for $1bn; “Petya” and “Wannacry” ransomware attacks concern industry; a Thermo Fisher leader talks with Medtech Insight about the regulatory experience surrounding its Oncomine Dx Target Test.

Our podcast host today Robert Hossary, General Manager NSW/ACT at The American Chamber of Commerce discusses 'Authentic Leadership' with guest Gavin Fox-Smith, Managing Director at Johnson & Johnson Medical ANZ and AmCham Governor.  Mr Fox-Smith joined Johnson & Johnson Medical Australia/NZ in 1997 as a Regional Business Director and in February 2012 was appointed Managing Director for Global Surgery and Johnson & Johnson Medical ANZ. Over the past 15 years Gavin has held leadership roles in Sales, Marketing and General Management across Ethicon, EES, DePuy and Cordis. The ongoing problems in business leadership in the past has underscored the need for a new kind of leader in the twenty-first century: the authentic leader. You also do not have to be at the top of your organization. Anyone can learn to be an authentic leader. The journey begins with leaders understanding their life stories. Authentic leaders frame their stories in ways that allow them to see themselves not as passive observers but as individuals who learn from their experiences. These leaders make time to examine their experiences and to reflect on them, and in doing so they grow as individuals and as leaders. Authentic leaders also work hard at developing self-awareness through persistent and often courageous self-exploration. Denial can be the greatest hurdle that leaders face in becoming self-aware, but authentic leaders ask for, and listen to, honest feedback. They also use formal and informal support networks to help them stay grounded and lead integrated lives. Thank you for your continued support of this podcast series. Please continue to let us know how we can improve this service for you by sending an email to podcast@amcham.com.au  

Today we are joined by Tim Mauri, Marketing Manager for US Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery at Ethicon, Inc., a Johnson and Johnson company. Tim is one of the people behind Ethicon’s experiment in online learning that involves releasing a course for medical specialists using the edX platform.  And on today’s show, we talk about the course, […] The post Interview with Tim Mauri of Ethicon appeared first on Degree of Freedom.