GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- There's a new life-saving procedure that's helping patients at Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids.

The procedure is called TCAR, for transcarotid artery revascularization, and it works by opening up blocked carotid arteries without the risk of the blockage in those arteries from traveling to the brain.
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"This new procedure TCAR now it looks very promising in terms of, especially for people who are at high risk for having surgery, people who are over 75 years old or that have other things concerning for a surgery TCAR is excellent and excellent option for them," Dr. Slaikeu said, who is one of 100 surgeons across the country trained in this new procedure.

Read More: ​http://fox17online.com/2018/03/28/new-procedure-at-spectrum-health-very-promising/

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Silk Road Medical, Inc., a company dedicated to preventing the devastating burden of stroke through surgical innovation, today announced that medical device industry veteran Donald J. Zurbay has joined its board of directors.

Zurbay brings 28 years of executive leadership and financial experience primarily from the healthcare sector. He previously served as the vice president and chief financial officer of St. Jude Medical, Inc., a Fortune 500 medical device company. During his tenure at St. Jude Medical, Zurbay helped lead the company through significant growth and expansion to a revenue of more than $6 billion, including 19 acquisitions, and Abbott’s acquisition of St. Jude Medical for $25 billion. Prior to St. Jude Medical, Zurbay spent 10 years in public accounting at Deloitte and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Zurbay holds a Bachelor of Science in business from the University of Minnesota and is a licensed certified public accountant.

Read More: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180326005132/en/Silk-Road-Medical-Names-Donald-J.-Zurbay

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Digital diabetes prevention and treatment platforms such as Virta and Omada Health connect users with support communities and health coaches—who can remotely monitor things like weight, blood sugar, diet, and medicine intake. Then there’s Proteus Digital Health’s ingestible sensor, which—with a technology worthy of an episode of Black Mirror—helps patients (and, if they want, their doctors and family members) keep tabs on whether or not they’re taking their meds. By pinging an app every time a pill hits stomach acid, the sensor gamifies the prescription process, as Michael Anderes, the chief innovation and digital officer at Froedtert and the Medical College of Wisconsin Health Network, puts it. Hepatitis C patients on expensive drugs like Gilead’s Harvoni were 98.6% compliant in taking the medicine at the right time when using the sensors, in Froedtert’s experience. That’s not just critical for curing the disease, it’s also a major money saver because an extra month of medication would cost tens of thousands of dollars. Which is why Froedtert (not its patients) foots the bill for the sensor.

Read More: http://fortune.com/2018/03/19/big-data-digital-health-tech/

REDWOOD CITY, Calif., March 19, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OncoMed Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:OMED), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on discovering and developing novel anti-cancer therapeutics, today announced the appointment of Dr. John Lewicki as President and Chief Executive Officer of OncoMed, effective immediately. Dr. Lewicki was also appointed to the company's Board of Directors. 

"John has been a key member of the OncoMed leadership team since the formation of the company, and he has guided our science to the discovery and development of all of our therapeutic candidates," said Perry Karsen, Executive Chairman of OncoMed's Board of Directors. "The OncoMed Board of Directors and I are fully confident that John's leadership as President and Chief Executive Officer will help ensure the company maximizes the value of our therapeutic candidates for cancer patients and our shareholders.  We look forward to working closely with John and the entire OncoMed team to have a positive impact on cancer patients."

Read More: ​http://www.oncomed.com/invest/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=1061305

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​What are you hoping to get out of this experience as an EIR at Trinity?

I have had the privilege of working with several incredibly smart doctor/professors-turned-venture-capitalists, including Tony Chou from The Vertical Group, Jon Root from USVP, Vijay Pande from Andreessen Horowitz, and Robert Mittendorf from Norwest Venture Partners. They were professional role models for me, helping me envision the evolution of my career from a clinician (who delivers treatments) to a professor (who designs treatments) to an operator (who creates companies that disseminate treatments) to an investor (who identifies and develops such companies).

I wanted to be an EIR at Trinity Ventures to deepen my understanding of what it’s like to be on the other side of the table and to learn the ropes of the venture industry as I transition into a full-time investor. Trinity has made a few health-related investments — Care.com, Bulletproof , Cyrus Biotechnology — and I’m excited to help partners like Dan Scholnick explore other health tech investment opportunities.

Read More: https://medium.com/trinity-ventures/q-a-with-trinitys-newest-eir-dr-cameron-sepah-eb01604567ad

People who are diagnosed with prediabetes can delay or prevent the disease if they change their lifestyle and lose a significant amount of weight. But here's the challenge: How can people be motivated to eat healthier and move more? Increasingly, the answer might include digital medicine.

"Just telling people to do things doesn't work," says Sean Duffy, CEO of Omada Health. If it were easy, there wouldn't be more than 80 million adults in the U.S. with prediabetes.

Omada has rolled out a digital program, delivered on smartphones and other devices, that incorporates all the ingredients known to help people overhaul their habits. It includes e-coaching; peer support; education; diet and exercise tracking; and electronic nudging. (Forget to weigh in or track your meals? You'll get texts or emails reminding you to do it.)

Read More: https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2018/03/05/589286575/this-chef-lost-50-pounds-and-reversed-pre-diabetes-with-a-digital-program

Intimidating medical devices can cause anxiety for patients — in the same way that people can experience “white coat hypertension” when seeing a doctor.

Devices that are smaller and more patient-centered could help patients feel better about their treatment and make them feel like they’re in charge, according to Leslie Trigg, CEO at Outset Medical (San Jose, Calif.).
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“Because you are in control of it, it’s a different experience, even if it takes the same amount of time. It’s really about control. I think when you strip that all away, what really matters to us as human beings is the value we place on being independent and in control of our own destiny. And that’s really on a human level what the driving philosophy is behind Tablo,” Trigg said.

Read More: https://www.medicaldesignandoutsourcing.com/how-self-serve-medical-devices-could-make-patients-feel-in-control/