Healing Connections

The Medical Devices Group at Frost & Sullivan is pleased to announce its 2008 Quarterly Analyst Briefing Presentation on the U.S. medical device market to be held on Wednesday, February 13, 2008 at 12:00 p.m. CST / 1:00 p.m. EST.

The U.S. is the largest producer and consumer for medical devices, providing the opportunity of growth for medical device companies. This industry faces intense competition varying across all levels of competition and market segments. Every medical device market segment is subject to specific market dynamics that govern its growth. Furthermore, the medical device industry is characterized by a high degree of innovation and is witnessing the transition towards minimally invasive treatment procedures.

This briefing will benefit component manufacturers, distributors, service providers and OEMs.

Highlights of the briefing include: Analysis of the U.S. medical device industry, analysis of the dynamics impacting the various market segments such as cardiology, orthopedics, wound care, etc.

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University of Arizona optical scientists have broken a technological barrier by making three-dimensional holographic displays that can be erased and rewritten in a matter of minutes.

The holographic displays - which are viewed without special eyewear - are the first updatable three-dimensional displays with memory ever to be developed, making them ideal tools for medical, industrial and military applications that require “situational awareness.”

“This is a new type of device, nothing like the tiny hologram of a dove on your credit card,” UA optical sciences professor Nasser Peyghambarian said. “The hologram on your credit card is printed permanently. You cannot erase the image and replace it with an entirely new three-dimensional picture.”

“Holography has been around for decades, but holographic displays are really one of the first practical applications of the technique,” UA optical scientist Savas Tay said.

Dynamic hologram displays could be made into devices that help surgeons track progress during lengthy and complex brain surgeries, show airline or fighter pilots any hazards within their entire surrounding airspace, or give emergency response teams nearly real-time views of fast-changing flood or traffic problems, for example.

And no one yet knows where the advertising and entertainment industries will go with possible applications, Peyghambarian said. “Imagine that when you walk into the supermarket or department store, you could see a large, dynamic, three-dimensional product display,” he said. It would be an attention-grabber.

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Today’s younger generation may reckon that “ne’er the twain shall meet” where technology and their elders are concerned. However, ongoing research by Abby King, PhD, professor of health research and policy and of medicine at the Stanford Prevention Research Center, appears to be gradually dispelling that notion.

In a study that appears in the February issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, King showed that specially programmed PDAs, or personal digital assistants, can prod middle-aged and older Americans - the most sedentary segment of the U.S. population - into increasing their physical activity levels. This first-generation study follows on the heels of King’s research report in the December issue of Health Psychology, in which she showed that automated computer calls were almost as effective as live health educators in coaxing people previously less active to get more of a spring in their step.

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‘Safety, Security, Connectivity - Electromagnetics in Everyday Life’ is a topic that concerns us all - and one that is to be explored on February 14, 2008 at the ETH Zurich Competence Center, serec. Researchers and industry representatives will meet to discuss the the many and varied aspects of electromagnetic fields in our daily lives.

The swiss electromagnetics research & engineering centre, serec, hosts the event, which will be in English; questions and answers in English or German.