The Rebound HRD and HRD V are self-expanding Nitinol framed/surgical mesh medical devices designed for the laparoscopic repair of inguinal, ventral and incisional hernias. The super-elastic Nitinol frame allows the device to be folded and inserted laparoscopically through an access port or small incision. Once deployed, the device fully unfurls or “rebounds” back to its original shape – ready for quick and easy placement over the hernia defect. The Rebound HRD and HRD V shorten operating times by either eliminating or reducing fixation, respectively, and organizing the mesh during the procedure. Preliminary surgeon usage of the Rebound HRD V shows that the procedural time may be reduced by as much as 50 percent in some cases. Although the devices are ideally suited for laparoscopic surgery, they may also be placed via an open incisional approach.

“We feel very fortunate to be in a position that allows us to actively market the Rebound HRD and Rebound HRD V to Novation’s alliance members under their ‘New Medical Technology’ program agreement. Earlier this year we were invited to the Novation vendor product fair and given an opportunity to present to Novation’s Member Council. After clearly demonstrating the features and benefits of the Rebound HRD, the council convened and decided to move forward with awarding a contract,” said MMDI Chief Marketing Officer, Steve Nuss.

Additional information can be obtained by contacting Steve Nuss, Chief Marketing Officer at 763-354-7105 or snuss@2mdinc.com . You may also visit our website at: http://www.2mdinc.com .

About MMDI

MMDI was established in 2001 and is based in Plymouth, Minnesota. Located in the heart of Minnesota’s “Medical Alley,” MMDI has access to some of the world’s finest medical product development, manufacturing and marketing resources. The Company’s primary objective is to identify, develop, patent and manufacture unique medical devices that provide significant clinical benefits and market opportunities.

About Novation

Novation is the industry’s leading contracting services company that delivers unmatched savings to more than 25,000 members and affiliates of VHA Inc. and the University HealthSystem Consortium (UHC) and more than 15,000 Provista customers. By combining scale and expertise with data-driven tools and information, Novation offers the most extensive range of advanced contracting services in the industry. VHA, UHC and Provista members used Novation and alliance contracts to purchase $35.6 billion in supplies and services in 2008.

The Rebound HRD V is a self-expanding Nitinol framed/surgical mesh medical device designed for the laparoscopic repair of ventral and incisional hernias. The super-elastic Nitinol frame allows the device to be folded and inserted laparoscopically through an access port or small incision. Once deployed, the device fully unfurls or “rebounds” back to its original shape – ready for quick and easy placement over the hernia defect. The Rebound HRD V should significantly shorten operating times by reducing fixation and organizing the mesh during the procedure. Although the Rebound HRD V is ideally suited for laparoscopic surgery it may also be placed via an open incisional approach.

“We have spoken with many surgeons who have indicated the need for a better way to laparoscopically repair ventral and incisional hernias. Mesh handling and fixation are procedural issues that make laparoscopic hernia repair time consuming and costly. The Rebound HRD V addresses those issues with its Nitinol frame. Mesh can now be placed more efficiently during the repair – benefitting the patient, surgeon and healthcare facility,” said MMDI Chief Marketing Officer, Steve Nuss. “In the United States alone, approximately 90,000 ventral hernias are repaired annually using surgical meshes. Ventral and incisional hernia repairs are not as common as inguinal repairs, but they are often times more complex and time intensive,” he added.

Additional information can be obtained by contacting Steve Nuss, Chief Marketing Officer at 763-354-7105 or snuss@2mdinc.com. You may also visit our website at: http://www.2mdinc.com .

About MMDI

MMDI was established in 2001 and is based in Plymouth, Minnesota. Located in the heart of Minnesota’s “Medical Alley,” MMDI has access to some of the world’s finest medical product development, manufacturing and marketing resources. The Company’s primary objective is to identify, develop, patent and manufacture unique medical devices that provide significant clinical benefits and market opportunities.

So, how does the Thermal Angel work? It is portable, battery-powered, and disposable. It warms IV fluid and blood and is capable of initiating intravenous application within 45 seconds. It also prevents fluid-induced hypothermia, which can create numerous life-threatening conditions.

“Due to its portable and adaptive nature,” Jay Lopez, president of Estill Medical Technologies, Inc. says, “we’ve had 93 countries request the Thermal Angel, but our primary focus has been to provide supplies for our military troops.”

A platoon medic with the U.S. Army Ranger Regiment explains that, “The Thermal Angel Blood and IV Infusion Warmer is an excellent piece of medical equipment; it’s essential to our deployment packing list. It’s compact, lightweight, and easy to use.”

A military medic must be economical in his choice of equipment and the Thermal Angel is cost efficient and requires minimal time for charging and operation. And, because the Thermal Angel is disposable, infection control becomes much more manageable. It also provides peace of mind should unexpected situations such as delays occur.

“As a result of the success our military has had using the Thermal Angel in medical field kits, on Black Hawk helicopters, and in ground vehicles, we are finding more civilian advanced life support agencies and hospitals accelerating adoption of the Thermal Angel for their trauma and surgery patients,” Lopez says.

The Thermal Angel’s mission is two-fold: to sustain life and to bring troops home safely. Trauma situations require immediate attention and should be focused on patient care, not on managing complex equipment.

For more information, visit: http://www.thermalangel.com.

The device is called BrightSPOT(TM), a tiny computer chip with 112 individually addressable detectors, each of which can perform a different test. When a drop of blood, urine or saliva is placed on the chip, the fluid makes its way into the detectors, which are each programmed to search for various proteins or amino acids from viruses or bacteria associated with different diseases.

Battlefield Uses? Mitchell says the BrightSPOT(TM) reader has almost unlimited uses. It could potentially be used by soldiers on the battlefield to look for biological warfare agents. It could also be used by astronauts on long space journeys to diagnose disease.

“This is not a treatment device, it’s a diagnostic,” Mitchell insisted. “We’re providing doctors with a tool to help make their job easier, faster, and more cost effective for the healthcare system.”

The BrightSPOT(TM) System is currently in pre-clinical testing at the Colorado Science + Technology Park at Fitzsimmons, in Aurora, Colo.

Beacon’s joint venture parent companies and private investors have invested about $3.5 million in the technology, according to Mitchell. Beacon recently produced a comparison of the BrightSPOT(TM) system vs. a 3-hour commercial test for HIV. The BrightSPOT(TM) performed the test in 13 minutes on a fingerstick blood drop with better sensitivity.

More information online: http://www.beaconbiotechnology.com/ .

As the leading global provider of biomechanical human body simulation tools and services, LMI is well-positioned to grow its business in an otherwise down economic environment. The company, by relying on highly sophisticated proprietary biomechanical engineering software, has focused on providing the leading medical device makers of human joint replacements with a quicker, more complete method of product development.

Millions of adults each year cross that boundary where joint replacement surgeries are less a “want” than a “need.” Keeping pace with people’s desire to maintain a high degree of mobility for active sports involvement-or just basic mobility-is a task that the major device makers take seriously.

LMI works with five of the top six orthopedic companies, and they are intent on enabling an aging population to “gracefully adjust to the realities of physical stresses placed on joints,” said LMI’s CEO and founder, Shawn McGuan.

Replacement joint development, and subsequent production, is a costly undertaking. LMI’s unique software allows product designers to perform “virtual prototyping,” essentially evaluating new product concepts in a validated, computer model of a human body-before they undertake expensive physical prototype development.

According to McGuan, “our software can literally shave months and millions of dollars off the cost of getting new orthopedic implants to market.”

The company has seen every aspect of its business grow in the past year. “We’re now doing work for five of the top six joint replacement makers and we’ve expanded our professional staff to accommodate their needs, as well as our own efforts to grow the business in some new directions, including a focus on the surgical theater environment,” said McGuan.

He said the next frontier in operating room technology will be to enable the surgeon to use computer technology to adjust and personalize implants to suit individual patient needs.

McGuan has bolstered his staff nearly four-fold, adding more mechanical engineers and clinical specialists holding medical degrees.

“Our ability to continue to grow will be dependent on responding to the needs of a very specialized market, and it’s important that we have the personnel to not only answer the questions, but be on the leading edge of developing new ways to support our key markets,” said McGuan.

Revenue growth at LMI kept pace with the staff expansion. McGuan said the company nearly doubled its 2007 revenue this past year.

One of the more significant-and personally satisfying results of the growth spurt-was the success of LMI’s first private offering. Given the economy’s sluggish performance, McGuan was pleasantly surprised to find such a strong and immediate response to the offering. Expecting several months of placement activities in conjunction with the venture capital firm he works with, McGuan saw the offering oversubscribed within a matter of weeks.

“This response reaffirmed for our management team that we are on the right path, and that our future holds opportunities that will allow us to expand our core business while also applying our unique technology to new applications,” said McGuan.

He continues to support close relationships with major university biomechanical programs both here and overseas. McGuan firmly believes in the need to help educate and develop the people who will be major contributors to much of the next generation of software-supported advances. LMI works with the university programs to assure that students are trained with the company’s signature LifeMOD(TM) software, and it has even made large endowments recently.

Both the Shiley Center for Orthopaedic Research and Education at the Scripps Clinic in La Jolla, Calif., and the InMotion Muskuloskeletal Institute associated with the University of Memphis in Tennessee have received software endowments this year, which together amount to nearly $1 million. McGuan sees expansion of these support programs as being key to maintaining his industry leadership positioning.

What could me more indicative of that industry strength than being called upon to help NASA put men on Mars?

LMI’s software is integral to the space agency’s determinations as to how large a weight load astronauts are able to handle under differing circumstances in a weightless environment. The company has worked with NASA for a few years and 2008 saw the program grow even further. The LifeMOD software is applied to development procedures for both Mars and lunar landing projects.

Back on earth, the company CEO sees no let-up in the pace that he and his staff have set in the past year. He indicated that LMI’s presence at major industry and trade events and shows will be expanded to include involvement with events in Europe and Asia, as well as the important shows here in the U.S.

“We’re very fortunate to be able to apply a unique technology to many product development areas that will ultimately help untold numbers of people-and that isn’t restricted to this country,” he said.

LifeModeler, Inc. can be contacted at 949-366-6829, and additional information on the company and its products can be found at http://www.lifemodeler.com.

Send2Press(R) is the originating wire service for this story, Copr. 2009.

[tags]LifeModeler Inc, LifeMOD software, human body simulation tools, virtual prototyping[/tags]

“This is truly break through guidewire technology not seen before,” said Steve Nuss, MMDI’s Chief Marketing Officer. “Beta Titanium is an ideal alloy for interventional guidewires, its unique properties combine the best attributes found in conventional guidewire alloys such as Nitinol and stainless steel,” he added.

Interventional Cardiologists that have evaluated the BetaWire for MMDI have been extremely impressed with its performance attributes such as precise one-to-one torque transmission, guidewire advancement, tip shaping and retention, flexibility and kink resistance.

MMDI has worked diligently to receive issuance of this U.S. patent. Millions of interventional guidewires are used every year throughout the world and MMDI believes that the BetaWire has the potential to make a significant impact on the market. Separately, MMDI also expects to receive international patent protection for the BetaWire in the very near future.

The Company will be seeking potential strategic partners for licensing, sales or distribution of their guidewire technology.

Additional information can be obtained at: http://www.2mdinc.com.

About MMDI

MMDI was established in 2001 and is based in Plymouth, Minnesota. Located in the heart of Minnesota’s “Medical Alley,” MMDI has access to some of the world’s finest medical product development, manufacturing and marketing resources. The Company’s primary objective is to identify, develop, patent and manufacture unique medical devices that provide significant clinical benefits and market opportunities.

[tags]Minnesota Medical Development Inc, interventional guidewires, Steve Nuss, placement of balloon catheters, BetaWire guidewire technology[/tags]

It also helps you to get rid of more carbon dioxide out of your lungs when you exhale. The end result is an increase in lung capacity for better breathing and superior performance.”

He added, “Research supports that the condition of the respiratory system is very important for endurance sports, and that respiratory fitness training can improve performance significantly in competitive athletes. It’s a 100% drug free endurance booster through better breathing.”

“In the past, this type of exercise was only available with bulky equipment in training facilities. The Expand-A-Lung’s pocket size (4-inches) provides the portability to take it and use it anywhere. This is the design feature that made it popular among athletes who most frequently use it outdoors and at home.”

The Expand-A-Lung(TM) is sold directly to the consumer through two separate web sites for $29.95 ea., including shipping. For further information call (305) 665-5787, or:

For athletes, visit http://www.expand-a-lung.com

For COPD patients, visit http://www.copd-breather.com .
[tags]Expand-A-Lung, Breathing Resistance Exerciser, COPD respiratory problems[/tags]

Dr. McDonald received her medical degree from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, followed by an internship at Lenox Hill Hospital and ophthalmology residency at Manhattan Eye, Ear and Throat Hospital/Cornell, both in New York City, and a fellowship in corneal and external diseases with Dr. Herbert E. Kaufman at the LSU Eye Center in New Orleans.

Well known in the field of refractive surgery, Dr. McDonald has published 497 abstracts, 79 books and book chapters, 49 interviews/panel discussions/CD ROMs/videos, and 180 peer reviewed and 294 non-peer reviewed articles on various refractive topics. Dr. McDonald has been the principal investigator of three National Eye Institute grants for the study of refractive surgery. In New Orleans, Dr. McDonald headed the research team investigating the use of the excimer laser for the correction of optical error, and in 1987, performed the world’s first excimer laser treatment to eliminate or reduce the need for glasses and contact lenses. In 1993, she performed the world’s first excimer laser surgeries for farsightedness.

Dr. McDonald has been honored by selection to the editorial boards of several publications, including the Journal of Cataract and Refractive Surgery and Refractive and Corneal Surgery. In 1997 she was elected to the Executive Committee of the prestigious American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS), and was elected its first female president for the 2002-2003 term. Dr. McDonald is the president for the 2008-2010 term of the International Society of Refractive Surgery of the American Academy of Ophthalmology, the largest refractive surgery society in the world; she is the first female president of this organization.

ACE Vision Group, Inc. President and CEO Patrick H. Witham stated: “In Dr. McDonald, ACE is adding a highly-skilled, top-notch industry leader to further strengthen our clinical team. It is her unprecedented level of expertise that makes her an ideal fit for ACE Vision Group as we work diligently to successfully advance this technology through clinical development and toward the market.”

ACE Vision Group, Inc. Chief Scientific Officer Dr. AnnMarie Hipsley commented: “Marguerite has an amazing wealth of knowledge and depth of experience as a liaison between the FDA and companies delivering innovative technology. I am confident that her participation will be a catalyst to the great success that lays ahead for AVG.”

About ACE Vision Group, Inc.

Headquartered in Silver Lake, Ohio, and a branch office in Eugene, Oregon, ACE Vision Group Inc. is an ophthalmic medical device company that was established in 2006 to develop and market proprietary technology to restore dynamic accommodation in an aging eye for patients seeking to reduce or eliminate their dependency on reading glasses. More information: http://www.acevisiongroup.com.

[tags]ACE Vision Group Inc, Marguerite McDonald, ophthalmic medical device company[/tags]

Randy Wohlers, founder of MyHearPod.com says, “With many employers evaluating their staff members to consider who will stay and who will go in a round of job cuts, anyone with an untreated hearing loss could be among the first to be let go. Digital hearing aids can be a real job saver.”

People who attempt to hide hearing loss may not be doing a very good job. More than likely, their inability to hear is evident in interactions with customers, co-workers and overall job performance.

So, what’s the alternative? When faced with possible job loss, the answer should be simple – get a hearing test and consequently, a hearing aid to save a job.

A hearing impairment can affect every area of a person’s life. One of the biggest problems faced by people who cannot hear, but do not purchase hearing aids, is the ability to make good decisions. This can also lead to rough patches on the work front.

People dealing with hearing loss automatically say “yes” if they did not hear a question. This is to spare themselves the embarrassment of asking for a question to be repeated over and over. This can be disastrous in business if constantly agreeing to do one thing, but actually asked to do another.

Nobody wants to be faced with losing their job, but right now that’s going to be the case for thousands of people. So, why not do everything possible to prevent that from happening and research what it takes to get a digital hearing aid.

About HearPod, Inc. – Hearing Aids

HearPod.com is the successful culmination of 30 years of solving the needs of hearing-impaired people. HearPod hearing aids are 100 percent digital, full-featured and have some of the most advanced noise canceling and sound amplification computer chips available. Their innovative design also reduces sound feedback inside the ear, making HearPod hearing aids among the most comfortable to wear.

To get hearing tested and to correct hearing-loss problems, visit http://www.myhearpod.com – or call Randy Wohlers at: 1-800-851-2414 for more information about digital hearing aids and overall problems associated with hearing loss and how to correct it.

[tags]Randy Wohlers, HearPod Inc, digital Hearing Aids[/tags]

Previously, CMS coding did not recognize the surgical differences between “open incisional” and “laparoscopic” types of hernia repair.

Minnesota Medical Development

The Rebound HRD conforms to the anatomy while providing stability; eliminating the need for anchoring, which in turn, minimizes patient post-op discomfort and the risk of nerve/blood vessel injury. Although the Rebound HRD is ideally suited for laparoscopic surgery it may also be placed via an open incisional approach.

Mary Corkins, co-founder of The Reimbursement Group in Chicago, counseled MMDI with regard to the reimbursement and coding of the Rebound HRD. “In the early stages of our conversations with Mary, it became evident that the unique laparoscopic usability of the Rebound HRD was also an opportunity to influence the creation of separate codes for laparoscopic inguinal hernia repair,” said MMDI Chief Marketing Officer, Steve Nuss. “We are very pleased that we have seized this opportunity. Establishment of these new codes acknowledges the groundbreaking technology and engineering behind the Rebound HRD,” he added.

In 2006, The Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons (SLS) recognized the Rebound HRD as one of the “2006 Innovations of the Year.” The SLS acknowledged the Rebound HRD as part of its 15th International Congress and Endo Expo 2006, held September 6-9 in Boston, Massachusetts.

The SLS does not endorse or approve any products.

About MMDI
MMDI was established in 2001 and is based in Plymouth, Minnesota. Located in the heart of Minnesota’s “Medical Alley,” MMDI has access to some of the world’s finest medical product development, manufacturing and marketing resources. The Company’s primary objective is to identify, develop, patent and manufacture unique medical devices that provide significant clinical benefits and market opportunities. http://www.2mdinc.com.

[tags]Minnesota Medical Development, Rebound Hernia Repair Device, Nitinol framed surgical mesh medical device, laparoscopic repair of both inguinal and ventral hernias[/tags]