Won 3rd place Dare-to-Dream Medtech Design Challenge

I won third place in Medical Device + Diagnostic Industry magazine's Dare-to-Dream Medtech Design Challenge.

MD+DI is a magazine written exclusively for original equipment manufacturers of medical devices and in vitro diagnostic products.

A month ago, the editors of MD+DI created a medtech design contest, where we challenged you to design your dream device under the assumption that real-world challenges were non-existent.

3 Dream Devices Take Top Honors in Medtech Design Contest
In August, the editors of MD+DI asked you, the medtech community, to put on your creative hats and dream up a device that would tackle health-care problems both big and small.

You responded, submitting an array of innovative medical device concepts that addressed a broad spectrum of issues. The editors of MD+DI reviewed and debated the merits of each submission, and narrowed the field to 10 finalists. ...

Rounding out the winners' circle in third place is the Intracranial Cerebrospinal Fluid Pressure Regulator. The entry, submitted by Bob Paddock, was inspired by a personal experience; his wife committed suicide after an excruciating headache that resulted from cerebrospinal fluid leakage.

"The inspiration for this dream device obviously came from a very personal place," said Jamie Hartford, managing editor of MD+DI. "The Intracranial Cerebrospinal Fluid Pressure Regulator is a novel improvement over the standard of care for intracranial hypotension caused by cerebrospinal fluid leaks, a condition that can cause devastating headaches. I like that it uses wireless power transfer, which is really the next step for implantable devices."

Thank you for voting on my design. Hopefully it will get the attention of some medical manufacture...

See 1st and 2nd place winners here: http://www.mddionline.com/article/3-winners-announced-dare-dream-medtech-design-challenge

Introduction to Physiotronics [TM]

This week I spent a bit of time with Dr. J. C. Chiao, of University of Texas at Arlington, learning about the field of Physiotronics [TM], which covers the area of Implantable Wireless Medical Devices and Systems. With the recent suicide of my wife due to chronic pain, from Intracranial Hypotension caused by leaking Cerebralspinal Fluid (CSF Leak), the information on An integrated wireless body network for chronic pain management. The system provides a wireless closed loop for neurorecorders to recognize pain signals and neurostimulators to inhibit pain is of great personal interest. Page two and six are the pain related ones.

Perception of pain requires propagation of Neural Signal Action Potentials (APs) via communication between neurons (Nociceptors) over Nociceptive afferent fibers (Aδ, C).

Dr. Chaio's group is currently doing animal trails, with rats, of their APRI [TM]: Automatic Pain Recognition and Inhibition which is a closed-loop On-demand feedback system that is measuring the actual nerve signals that transmit pain to the brain. To my knowledge all other current techniques use only subjective methods of those in actual pain, such as the Mosby Pain Rating Scale, or fiddling with the knobs of a TENS unit far to much as Karen often did. The closed loop system will allow for less pain medication to be injected, and being automatic allow the user to get on with having a life.

I do have one significant concern, due to my bias of not wanting to puncture the spinal dura, which is what causes Intracranial Hypotension, is currently the neural sensors require physical contact with the pain sensing nerve. I'm hoping this does not cause erosion of the dura leading to a CFS Leak. This may be nothing but my personal parainoia.

Also I'm not sure Dr. Chiao, and the medical field at large, understand the importance of the ratio encoding of the nervous system. Something I researched extensively when working with Dr. Flanagan on an update to his Neurophone [TM] years ago. You can read my old research here: Mind9.

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This weekend is your last chance to vote for my device in the Dare to Dream Medical Device Contest: How do we make this device happen?. If you are having trouble voting in the device contest from a phone use this link and vote for #5, "Intracranial Cerebrospinal Fluid Pressure Regulator". See here for more information.

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