Medical Technology and Bioscience marketing tips
I am attending the annual OMS conference in San Diego. Today is about social media integration and execution. Many of us have been working on integrating social media into campaigns and tactics. We finally have a number of case studies and processes to follow.
To view some of the links and thoughts: search hashtag on Twitter: #0ms10
More info will be posted on this blog.
The economy is growing and so is Ubiquity. We are making another key hire to support our interactive team and demand generation programs.
Interactive Designer / Developer
Ubiquity specializes in generating demand for med tech and bioscience companies. We are looking for an interactive expert with 3-8 years experience, who has an aptitude for both design and development.
Candidate must have the ability to:
* Collaborate with designers and Creative Director
* Concept and design web, flash animation and smart phone apps
* Complete multiple tasks and projects within deadlines
* Self-motivate and be accountable for your work
* Problem solve in both feasibility and production
* Articulate in email and during group presentations
* Adapt quickly to new technologies
* Understand and have experience with social media and online demand generation campaigns and programs
Required skills:
* Flash, AS3
* CSS
* HTML, XHTML, DHTML
* JavaScript
* iPhone and Blackberry app development
* WordPress
Experience with different CMSs, SEO, purls, PHP, ASP.net, and Excel, helpful.
Send resume, portfolio link and salary requirements to jobs@ubiquitygroup.com
Include all requested information to be considered for this position.
This is a full time, on-site position.
Check out our website for additional information: www.ubiquitygroup.com
I am at Advamed 2009 Conference in Washington D.C. capturing content by Flip Video, Apple Video and putting thoughts on Twitter. @ubiquity check out #advamed and #advamed09. I will work to blog various sessions I sit in. This blog will be cleaned up as I have Internet connections, so be kind with any spelling or run on sentences. 
Tuesday October 12th, 2009:
I sat in on a session called: Bringing medical devices to the U.S. market.
Great information and will post thoughts and info.
I moved to a second session as I wanted to hear what was said on social media. It is interesting that they are talking to this group as if they have never been on a blog before.
Crisis Prevention & Risk Mitigation 101: 5 things Every company must be prepared for:
We have 5 panelists who are talking on a variety of topics.
Recall Communication Strategy by David Bartlet of Levic Strategic Communications:
I enjoyed listening to David and I see he even has a book. If I had a medical device recall and needed a spokesman, this would be the guy.
When a recall happens you need to think of the following.
Apologize: Don’t grovel, emphasize with your audience about the future not about the past. What your doing to make this right. The more you defend yourself you send the message that you are trying to defend against something.
Describe what happened: Don’t let the story dribble out. We have all seen the stories that should have been a one day negative story and was dragged on for weeks.
List steps you are taking so FDA and your team understands direction.
Advise consumers: Give public something they can do, they can control to solve the problem. They were reassured and started to relax. Thing about the emotional predicate with the audience your trying to reach. They want to make sure they are doing something to be involved.
EColi in Ground Beef: If you cook a hamburger to 160 degrees to kill all bad things you will be eating charcoal briqets, not many people do, but knowing about this makes you feel better with decisions you are making.
Provide frequent updates: Continuously update information and don’t be afraid I don’t know. Practice saying this: “We don’t know that yet, we are trying to figure it out and you’ll be the first to know when we have figured it out. ”
Present a human face: Remember you are communicating with real people, just like you. Remember the crisis is about them, not about you. It is understandable for you to worry about you, the millions of dollars your spending or losing but it is magnificantly irrelevant. Think patient first then the company or there could be no company in the future.
FDA Recall Audits with Willie Bryant who was the former FDA Sr. Recall Coordinator.
Here is a quick review on what happens with FDA recall audits. Lets hope you don’t have this happen.
An audit is an inspection by FDA, audit checks and status reports. The Investigation Operations Manual (IOM) is the guidance to FDA investigators.
Class 1 & @ recalls “should” have an inspection to determine the “root cause” of the problem(s).
In most cases for devices or pharmaceuticals, inspection is after notification to FDA and the public. May be immediate (class 1) or months later.
The FDA inspector will be looking at key areas and asking questions:
Reference: FDA’s Investigations Operations Manual, Subchatper 7.2 Recall Notification/Inspection
You can download for free on FDA’s website.
Brett Berty, Sr. Recall Strategist for Stericycle ExpertRECALL: Going to talk about comman mistakes that people make when making a recall. Have done over 1500 recalls for companies.
Three Goals of any recall:
Protect the Public
Protect Your Brand
Recall Lifecycle: 7 Steps to consider.
So many companies do not even have a plan about what they would do if they get a recall. Practice, Practice Practice.
1: Preparation: What are you doing right now to be prepared for recall. Do you have team in place? SOP in place? Do you understand your roles and responsibilities? Do a mock recall and get everyone together and watch decision making process? Everything you think is right will be wrong.
2: Target / Consignee Identification:
3: Notificaton Management: Who are your customers? How does the notification work? Can’t just email out to a list? If you sell through distributor, will they give you a list, will they notify their customers.
4: Response Management:
5: Product Processes:
6: Remedy : Have to know what the remedy will be before you send out recall info. You may need to send out recall before having an remedy but control this with proper press release and communication as David Bartlett from Levick Strategic Communications discussed.
7: Resolution Management:
Additional questions to ask:
What is my call to action. Keep the call action simple. Here is what you need to do and here is what we are going to do.
The big take away: Have a plan, practice your plan, re-work your plan, prepare and have a spokes person and train your executive team on what to say and how to say it.
More info to follow as I continue to listen and meet some amazing people.
Greg Olson :: Ubiquity
Ubiquity specializes in generating demand for life science companies.
Greg@ubiquitygroup.com 303-962-8700
It seems I have conversations DAILY with people wanting to learn more about social media. In the past few weeks, I’ve spoken with people with entities ranging from a cupcake bakery, an automobile parts manufacturer, a nursing association, a dog trainer, and a medical device company. I tell all of them equally “your customers or members, prospects and competitors are using these online communities every day” – and more than likely, they are also talking about your products or services in these online communities!
What is Social Media? It’s the use of technology combined with social interaction to engage and participate in conversations. Instead of one-to-one conversations, it’s one-to-many conversations.
The social media space includes blogs, RSS, social search, social networking and bookmarking. This quiver of tools gives the savvy marketer the ability to create richer communications to generate new business. Now, it is easier than ever to build up thought leadership and credibility online by posting articles, blogs, video and pictures.
A Quick Snapshot of Social Media Tools:
LinkedIn: Most likely, you are already using LinkedIn for your professional network, quite possibly with a group related to your association. If you don’t have a profile set up or have an updated profile, go to LinkedIn.com. Tip: Use the Q & A section to build up thought leadership. You can join up to 50 groups and submit relevant news articles that you enjoy to the groups you belong.
Facebook: Many people are only using this for their personal online community. I recommend that you keep this to friends and family. Business contacts can join your association’s Facebook fan page. Tip: Join relevant Facebook groups to find potential members/customers, articles and industry information.
Jigsaw: This is a great tool for prospecting and an excellent way to find contacts within an organization. Note: There is a fee for this service. Tip: Combine Jigsaw with LinkedIn to find contacts.
Twitter: This is really just a Microblogging site. Twitter is a great tool to use for research. Tip: Download Tweetdeck and use the search tool to find conversations about topics of interest to you and your business.
Social Media Submission Sites: Digg is a social news website made for people to share content. Digg allows you to submit articles that people can give a thumbs ups or thumbs down. Tip: Digg is another way to build up thought leadership, and a treat place to search for content.
Slideshare: This is a great site to post your PowerPoint, PDF and Word presentations. However, be sure not to post any proprietary information. Posting builds up your credibility and adds to your thought leadership reputation. Tip: You can also link Slideshare with your LinkedIn profile.
Blogs: Technorati is an online tool to search for relevant blogs. I don’t recommend starting a blog until you are committed to keeping it updated. Tip: Rather than starting your own blog, find blogs that are interesting and post your comments and feedback for others to read.
Ning.com: This tool allows you to search existing online communities or start your own for free. Tip: Ning is a good place to join online communities that are of personal interest.
Social Media Monitoring: It’s important for you and your organization to listen to the online world first, before engaging. This will allow you to formulate a plan and determine the key online communities that are a fit for you. Social media monitoring uses key words to search for information. This is a great way to keep up on what people are saying about your company, industry and competitors. Tip: Try one of the social media monitoring free services (Tweetdeck, Google Alerts, Yahoo Pipes, coComment and Commentful) or use a professional monitoring service like Radian6 and Filtrbox.
A few tools and tips:
1. Manage your time with social media. Like any new tool, learning to use social media will take time. Take a little time every day to review, respond and engage in the online community.
Follow the rules:
• Remember that getting involved requires a commitment. Your readers will easily get turned off if you start and then leave them hanging.
• Be honest and authentic with what you post.
• Do not spam. Nobody likes a hard sell.
• Review your employee handbook and make sure you have rules for employees to engage social media tools.
• Assign social media responsibilities to various employees, including your customer service team. Your employees should report back anything relevant to your industry.
There are new social media tools coming out every day, and most of these tools are very simple.
Spend a little time learning about these new tools and finding the ones that make sense for your company. Put your plan together with few simple goals and assess it quarterly. You will be on your way to conversing and contributing in the Social Media Space!
Ubiquity Group specializes in generating demand for life science companies.
Greg@ubiquitygroup.com
303-962-8700
Follow on Twitter: @ubiquity
For more information: Follow my blog:
www.ubiquitygroup.com/resources
Generating Demand for Life Science Companies.
Ubiquity works with many size companies within the life science industry, from start-ups to mature global companies. They have one thing in common — the desire to generate demand for their products or services. The demand they need, however, is different. Start-up companies may be seeking investor awareness while mature companies might be looking to generate revenue by creating a pipeline of leads for their products.
Let’s review 4 quick tips to effectively create demand for your company.
TIP 1: Know thy customer.
Whether your customer is a venture capital company, a surgeon or a purchasing representative, do you understand how your influencers and decision makers research information on your offering? Utilize online surveys to ask customers, prospects, suppliers and employees about how they get (or would get) information regarding the company or offering.
The key is to understand the demographics (age, gender, region) and psychographics (opinions, values, attitudes) of your customers, then linking it to their technographics (technology preference). Do your surgeons use smart phones, yet do their purchasing agents strictly use email?
Tip: You can now develop relevant messaging to each target segment, using the right technology. It will increase your open rates and ROI.
TIP 2: Listen.
It is important to review the market for your product. Do you understand your competitors and their messaging? Research your competitor’s unique selling proposition and how this compares to your product. Utilize secondary research to uncover news, press releases and public documents. Listen to the online world for what your customers, prospects and competitors are saying about the marketplace. Is it consistent with their messaging? Is it creating buzz or white noise?
Tip: Use an online monitoring service to find news articles, blog comments, video comments, and monitor all social media channels.
TIP 3: Consistent Relevancy.
Now that you know your prospects and customers, make sure you have relevant messaging for each of these targeted groups, but also, make sure you’re saying it consistently. For example, it’s not efficient to create a PowerPoint presentation each time you present, but one canned “overview” presentation wouldn’t be relevant to your investors and customers alike. What to do? Drive demand by segmenting your messaging into each target. There may be three there might be fifteen. It depends on your offering and the breadth of your market.
Tip: Develop a copy platform target segment. A copy platform provides continuity in the messaging and describes how your product or services solves their problem. It’s unique and relevant to that segment.
TIP 4. Live digitally.
Technology is changing how we interact with each other and how we find information. There is no free way to interact with prospects and customers. However, by utilizing search engine tools to help future customers find your offering, you will have a cost-effective solution. Combine these tools with a compelling online campaign to reach your target segment, you’ll be light-years ahead of traditional marketing techniques. Last, integrate your website. Too many websites are company-centric versus customer-centric. By building your digital presence in this way will allow you to track and measure the performance of your campaigns.
Tip: Design your website to capture information such as email to use in future marketing efforts. Capture people who are interested in joining a community around your products. Always, always have a call to action.
We will be expanding on these topics in upcoming articles. Sign up today to receive more information.
Contact Greg Olson for case studies of demand generation.
Greg Olson :: Growth Officer
greg@ubiquitygroup.com
Blog: www.ubiquitygroup.com/wordpress/
Web: www.ubiquitygroup.com
Twitter: @ubiquity
Facebook: Fans of Ubiquity
303-962-8700
303-587-2847
Ubiquity specializes in generating demand for life science companies. We help medical technology and bioscience companies create a better human health experience.
Omphalocele: (audio pronunciation)
A birth defect in which part of the intestine, covered only by a thin transparent membrane, protrudes outside the abdomen at the umbilicus. The underlying error is a failure during embryonic development for a section of the intestines (the midgut) to return from outside the abdomen and reenter the abdomen, as it should. The opening in the abdominal wall cannot close because, to do so, would pinch off part of the intestines. An omphalolocele must be repaired by surgery.
With an omphalocele, the part of the intestine that sticks out is covered by two thin transparent membranes called the amnion (the amniotic membrane) and peritoneum (the abdominal membrane). The liver and spleen may also be within the omphalocele.
An omphalocele is caused by an error in the normal embryonic development of the intestinal tract. During embryogenesis (the time during which the embryo forms), there are initially three distinct portions of the intestinal tract (the foregut, midgut and hindgut) that extend the length of the embryo. Much of the midgut is then herniated (protruded) outside the abdomen at the umbilicus (belly button). The midgut later reenters the abdomen (belly) and the opening in the abdominal wall closes. The error responsible for an omphalocele is a failure for the midgut to return and reenter the abdomen. The opening in the abdominal wall cannot close because to do so would pinch off part of the intestines.
About 1 in 5,000 babies is born with an omphalocele. The omphalocele can be an isolated birth defect (all by itself). Or it may occur in children who have additional malformations as for example a congenital heart defect. Omphalocele is a characteristic malformation in certain chromosome abnormalities as the trisomy 13 (Patau) syndrome and the trisomy 18 (Edwards) syndrome. It also is seen in some genetic disorders such the Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome.
“Omphalo-” indicates a relationship to the umbilicus (the navel) and the suffix “-cele” refers to a hernia or rupture, so omphalocele literally = a hernia or rupture at the umbilicus.
Immediate care:
Because some or all of the abdominal organs are outside the body, infection is a concern, especially if the protective membrane around the organs breaks. Also, an organ may lose its blood supply if it becomes pinched or twisted. A loss of blood flow can damage the affected organ. Omphalocele can often be detected on fetal ultrasound in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy. A fetal echocardiogram (ultrasound of the heart) may also be done to check for heart abnormalities before the baby is born. After birth, the omphalocele can be noted by the physician during the physical examination. X-rays (diagnostic tests that use invisible electromagnetic energy beams to produce images of internal tissues, bones, and organs onto film) may also be done after birth to evaluate abnormalities of other organs or body parts.
Surgical Repair:
Specific treatment for an omphalocele will be determined by: the baby’s gestational age, overall health, and medical history extent of the condition the baby’s tolerance for specific medications, procedures, or therapies.
For a small omphalocele (only a portion of the intestine protruding outside the abdominal cavity), shortly after birth, an operation is done to return the organs to the abdomen and close the opening in the abdominal wall.
For a large omphalocele (most of the abdominal organs, including intestine, liver, and spleen, are present outside the abdominal cavity), the repair is done in stages and may include the following:
Initially, sterile, protective sheeting is placed over the abdominal organs.
Because the abdomen may be small and underdeveloped, it may not be able to hold all of the organs at once. Therefore, the exposed organs are gradually moved back into the abdomen over several days or weeks. The abdominal wall is closed surgically once the organs have been returned to the abdominal cavity.
Because the abdominal cavity may be small and underdeveloped and the organs may be swollen, a baby with an omphalocele may have breathing difficulties as the organs are returned to the abdomen. The baby may need help from mechanical ventilation while the swelling is decreasing and the size of the abdominal cavity is increasing.
Post-Operative Care:
The infant is cared for post-operatively in a neonatal intensive care unit. The baby is placed in an isolette (incubator) to keep warm and prevent infection. Oxygen is given and mechanical ventilation is often required. Intravenous fluids, antibiotics, and pain medications will be given. A nasogastric tube will be in place to keep the stomach emptied of gastric secretions. Feedings are started by nasogastric tube as soon as bowel function resumes. Feedings are started very slowly and often infants are reluctant to feed. These babies may need feeding therapy and lots of encouragement.
Prognosis:
Babies who have damage to the intestines or other abdominal organs may have long-term problems with digestion, elimination, and infection.
Greg Olson :: Ubiquity :: 303-962-8700 :: greg@ubiquitygroup.com
Follow on Twitter:: @ubiquity
Ubiquity specializes in generating demand for life science companies. We help bioscience and med tech companies create a better human health experience by driving investor interest, awareness and product desire.
There has been alot of news regarding swine flu. I wanted to put out a blog posting and update as needed. We have heard of other flu strains such as bird flu and now we have swine flu.
Quick Posting on Swine Flu and Facts: This information was taken from Centers of Disease Control and Prevention. CDC Information
4-28-2009 Article: Mexican pig farm eyed as flu’s ground zero. Read Article
4-28-2009 Article: Q&A: Protecting yourself against swine flu. Read Article
4-28-2009: Starbucks closes 10 stores in Mexico due to Swine Flu outbreak. Read Article
Prevention:
Wash hands and stay away from people who have the flu, but the only real way to prevent the spread of any form of flu is really to avoid crowds.
The good news is that even these minimal paper masks will provide some help in preventing those who HAVE the flu from spreading it through the virus carrying droplets in coughs and sneezes.
Unfortunately, those masks are ineffective when it comes to protecting those uninfected individuals from inhaling the virus.
Although no simple mask can filter out the tiny virus particles of any disease, these are usually relatively delicate organisms and to remain viable and able to infect people they must be carried in water droplets.
The kinds of mask needed to help protect those trying to avoid infection are those designated as class N95 particulate masks. These are commonly recommended for use used in hospitals but are available for sale to the general public.
Drugs and vaccine Information:
Preventing Pandemics through Vaccination: A look into the past: John Fenzels Blog Post
Key Facts about Swine Influenza (Swine Flu)
What is Swine Influenza?
Swine Influenza (swine flu) is a respiratory disease of pigs caused by type A influenza virus that regularly causes outbreaks of influenza in pigs. Swine flu viruses cause high levels of illness and low death rates in pigs. Swine influenza viruses may circulate among swine throughout the year, but most outbreaks occur during the late fall and winter months similar to outbreaks in humans. The classical swine flu virus (an influenza type A H1N1 virus) was first isolated from a pig in 1930.
How many swine flu viruses are there?
Like all influenza viruses, swine flu viruses change constantly. Pigs can be infected by avian influenza and human influenza viruses as well as swine influenza viruses. When influenza viruses from different species infect pigs, the viruses can reassort (i.e. swap genes) and new viruses that are a mix of swine, human and/or avian influenza viruses can emerge. Over the years, different variations of swine flu viruses have emerged. At this time, there are four main influenza type A virus subtypes that have been isolated in pigs: H1N1, H1N2, H3N2, and H3N1. However, most of the recently isolated influenza viruses from pigs have been H1N1 viruses.
Swine Flu in Humans
Can humans catch swine flu?
Swine flu viruses do not normally infect humans. However, sporadic human infections with swine flu have occurred. Most commonly, these cases occur in persons with direct exposure to pigs (e.g. children near pigs at a fair or workers in the swine industry). In addition, there have been documented cases of one person spreading swine flu to others. For example, an outbreak of apparent swine flu infection in pigs in Wisconsin in 1988 resulted in multiple human infections, and, although no community outbreak resulted, there was antibody evidence of virus transmission from the patient to health care workers who had close contact with the patient.
How common is swine flu infection in humans?
In the past, CDC received reports of approximately one human swine influenza virus infection every one to two years in the U.S., but from December 2005 through February 2009, 12 cases of human infection with swine influenza have been reported.
What are the symptoms of swine flu in humans?
The symptoms of swine flu in people are expected to be similar to the symptoms of regular human seasonal influenza and include fever, lethargy, lack of appetite and coughing. Some people with swine flu also have reported runny nose, sore throat, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea.
Can people catch swine flu from eating pork?
No. Swine influenza viruses are not transmitted by food. You can not get swine influenza from eating pork or pork products. Eating properly handled and cooked pork and pork products is safe. Cooking pork to an internal temperature of 160°F kills the swine flu virus as it does other bacteria and viruses.
How does swine flu spread?
Influenza viruses can be directly transmitted from pigs to people and from people to pigs. Human infection with flu viruses from pigs are most likely to occur when people are in close proximity to infected pigs, such as in pig barns and livestock exhibits housing pigs at fairs. Human-to-human transmission of swine flu can also occur. This is thought to occur in the same way as seasonal flu occurs in people, which is mainly person-to-person transmission through coughing or sneezing of people infected with the influenza virus. People may become infected by touching something with flu viruses on it and then touching their mouth or nose.
What do we know about human-to-human spread of swine flu?
In September 1988, a previously healthy 32-year-old pregnant woman was hospitalized for pneumonia and died 8 days later. A swine H1N1 flu virus was detected. Four days before getting sick, the patient visited a county fair swine exhibition where there was widespread influenza-like illness among the swine.
In follow-up studies, 76% of swine exhibitors tested had antibody evidence of swine flu infection but no serious illnesses were detected among this group. Additional studies suggest that one to three health care personnel who had contact with the patient developed mild influenza-like illnesses with antibody evidence of swine flu infection.
How can human infections with swine influenza be diagnosed?
To diagnose swine influenza A infection, a respiratory specimen would generally need to be collected within the first 4 to 5 days of illness (when an infected person is most likely to be shedding virus). However, some persons, especially children, may shed virus for 10 days or longer. Identification as a swine flu influenza A virus requires sending the specimen to CDC for laboratory testing.
What medications are available to treat swine flu infections in humans?
There are four different antiviral drugs that are licensed for use in the US for the treatment of influenza: amantadine, rimantadine, oseltamivir and zanamivir. While most swine influenza viruses have been susceptible to all four drugs, the most recent swine influenza viruses isolated from humans are resistant to amantadine and rimantadine. At this time, CDC recommends the use of oseltamivir or zanamivir for the treatment and/or prevention of infection with swine influenza viruses.
What other examples of swine flu outbreaks are there?
Probably the most well known is an outbreak of swine flu among soldiers in Fort Dix, New Jersey in 1976. The virus caused disease with x-ray evidence of pneumonia in at least 4 soldiers and 1 death; all of these patients had previously been healthy. The virus was transmitted to close contacts in a basic training environment, with limited transmission outside the basic training group. The virus is thought to have circulated for a month and disappeared. The source of the virus, the exact time of its introduction into Fort Dix, and factors limiting its spread and duration are unknown. The Fort Dix outbreak may have been caused by introduction of an animal virus into a stressed human population in close contact in crowded facilities during the winter. The swine influenza A virus collected from a Fort Dix soldier was named A/New Jersey/76 (Hsw1N1).
Is the H1N1 swine flu virus the same as human H1N1 viruses?
No. The H1N1 swine flu viruses are antigenically very different from human H1N1 viruses and, therefore, vaccines for human seasonal flu would not provide protection from H1N1 swine flu viruses.
Swine Flu in Pigs
How does swine flu spread among pigs?
Swine flu viruses are thought to be spread mostly through close contact among pigs and possibly from contaminated objects moving between infected and uninfected pigs. Herds with continuous swine flu infections and herds that are vaccinated against swine flu may have sporadic disease, or may show only mild or no symptoms of infection.
What are signs of swine flu in pigs?
Signs of swine flu in pigs can include sudden onset of fever, depression, coughing (barking), discharge from the nose or eyes, sneezing, breathing difficulties, eye redness or inflammation, and going off feed.
How common is swine flu among pigs?
H1N1 and H3N2 swine flu viruses are endemic among pig populations in the United States and something that the industry deals with routinely. Outbreaks among pigs normally occur in colder weather months (late fall and winter) and sometimes with the introduction of new pigs into susceptible herds. Studies have shown that the swine flu H1N1 is common throughout pig populations worldwide, with 25 percent of animals showing antibody evidence of infection. In the U.S. studies have shown that 30 percent of the pig population has antibody evidence of having had H1N1 infection. More specifically, 51 percent of pigs in the north-central U.S. have been shown to have antibody evidence of infection with swine H1N1. Human infections with swine flu H1N1 viruses are rare. There is currently no way to differentiate antibody produced in response to flu vaccination in pigs from antibody made in response to pig infections with swine H1N1 influenza.
While H1N1 swine viruses have been known to circulate among pig populations since at least 1930, H3N2 influenza viruses did not begin circulating among US pigs until 1998. The H3N2 viruses initially were introduced into the pig population from humans. The current swine flu H3N2 viruses are closely related to human H3N2 viruses.
Is there a vaccine for swine flu?
Vaccines are available to be given to pigs to prevent swine influenza. There is no vaccine to protect humans from swine flu. The seasonal influenza vaccine will likely help provide partial protection against swine H3N2, but not swine H1N1 viruses.
Greg Olson :: Ubiquity :: 303-962-8700 :: greg@ubiquitygroup.com
Follow on Twitter:: @ubiquity
Ubiquity specializes in generating demand for life science companies. We help bioscience and med tech companies create a better human health experience by driving investor interest, awareness and product desire.
The medical word of the day typically has longer definitions, along with images. The surgical procedure of the week is a quick overview of a variety of procedures and the definitions.
Lets review cardiac procedures and the definitions.
Cardiac Surgical Procedures:
Aneurysmectomy [ann-ure-is-meck-ta-me] removal of an aneurysm
Arterial anastomosis [ann-ass-to-moe-sis] end-to-end union of two different arteries or two separate segments of the same artery
Atriotomy [a-tree-ott-toe-me] - incision of the atrium
Biopsy - arterial, etc. - carried out to examine a specimen of an arterial vessel wall.
Arterial biopsy often confirms inflammation of the vessel wall, or arteritis, [aart-urh-ite-iss]a type of vasculitis [vass-kule-ite-iss].
Cardiolysis - freeing of pericardial adhesions from surrounding tissues, involving resection of ribs and sternum (open chest surgery)
Cardioplasty - surgical repair of the heart to relieve spasm
Cardiorrhaphy - suture of the heart (note the two rr’s)
Cardiotomy - incision of the heart
Pericardiectomy - excision of a portion of the pericardium
Pericardiocentesis - [pair-ee-kard-ee-oh-sent-ee-suss] the pericardium is surgically punctured in order to remove a small sample of the pericardial fluid for laboratory examination. This test is performed while the patient is in a semisitting position and under EKG monitoring. The fluid removed is tested for protein, sugar, and LDH. Most often it is used to determine the cause of pericarditis (bacterial, fungal, tubercular or viral), or to confirm suspected carcinomatous infiltration of the pericardium.
Phleborrhaphy, [flee-bore-uh-fee] or venorrhaphy - suturing of a vein
Phlebotomy, venisection, [veen-ee-section] venipuncture - opening or piercing of a vein for removal of blood, or for the introduction of fluids or medications via an IV
Thrombectomy - removal of a thrombus
Valvotomy, mitral commissurotomy - [come-iss-sure-ott-tomy] surgical incision of a mitral valve to increase the size of the orifice; used in treating mitral stenosis
Venotomy [veen] - surgical incision of a vein
Greg Olson :: Ubiquity :: 303-962-8700 :: greg@ubiquitygroup.com
Follow on Twitter:: @ubiquity
Ubiquity specializes in generating demand for life science companies. We help bioscience and med tech companies create a better human health experience by driving investor interest, awareness and product desire.
Twitter / ubiquity
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