CIMIT Annual Congress

Neurotech projects on display at CIMIT

This past Wednesday was CIMIT's annual Innovation Congress in Boston. For those who don't know, CIMIT - Center for Integration of Medicine and Innovative Technology is a "non-profit consortium of Boston teaching hospitals and engineering schools, CIMIT fosters interdisciplinary collaboration among world-class experts in medicine, science and engineering, in concert with industry and government, to rapidly improve patient care." They have active programs in areas I find important and intellectually stimulating include neurotechnology, tissue engineering, and global health initiatives.

Many of the attendees are technology and/or medical professionals, but there was plenty to interest the non-specialist.

Clay Christensen of Harvard Business School took us through the highlights of his book from last year The Innovator's Prescription: A Disruptive Solution for Health Care with analysis and prescriptions on health care cost reduction that sound simple but go deeper with analysis than what is being thrown about in Washington. For example, technology innovation needs to focus on simpler, decentralized solutions; the business of large hospitals are unsustainable; medical imaging is not going to be adopted until doctors actually want it. I can't do it justice here - read the book - Christensen is one of the true innovative thinkers in business school academia.

Dr. Steve Schacter hosted a panel on the process of developing new treatments with a focus on his specialty of epilepsy. Susan Axelrod, founder of CURE, shared that more people die from epilepsy in the US every year than breast cancer.

And given all the general media interest in "swine flu" a panel on pandemic infectious disease was timely. DARPA's Mike Callahan gave an update on the 2009 virus - the first in 40 years that mingles human, avian, and swine elements - and some of the planning measures being put in place. Per Mike, flu rates dropped 30% in places in Southeast Asia where anti-bacterial hand-washing was put in place. And Dr. Jeffrey Gelfand of Harvard Medical School and Mass General Hospital says there is sufficient evidence to suggest that the supplements EGCG, L-theaine, and Quercetin have clinical value as immune strengthening (yes I am sending Whitney to the store to buy these.)

New England-Israel Life Sciences Summit

This past Monday I attended the New England-Israel Life Sciences Summit at Brandeis University, and got to learn about the great biotech and life science innovation happening in Israel.

The dinner keynote speaker was Israel Makov, former CEO of Teva Phamaceuticals, who gave his own prognosis for fixing what he sees as the critical issue of drug industry productivity, namely the collapse in the rate of Phase III approvals. I won't go into his plan here, but he gave some compelling statistics of why health care innovation and health care delivery reform are needed:
- The annual cost of treating cancer in the U.S. went from $13B in 1980 to $87B in 2007
- Drug effectiveness rates range from 62% for depression to 25% to cancer drugs
- In 1980, 5 US workers support 1 retiree. By 2050 3 US workers will support 1 retiree (and the rate is an even worse 2 to 1 in the EU)

Lego Architecture Series

For older Lego users who have an interest in architecture (for example, my ten-year old daughter), Lego has a relatively new Lego Architecture Series. The initial sets include four U.S. landmark buildings, and two sets dedicated to the work of Frank Lloyd Wright.

For starters Katie received the Empire State Building:

Getting Ready for Halloween

Photos: Girl Scout Rafting Trip

Katie and Whitney white-water rafting on the Deerfield River.

Photos: New Hampshire Weekend (4)

Instead of our usual theme parks (Santa's Village and Storyland) we tried Ghost Town at Six Gun City, a Halloween-themed attraction new this year. Attractions included a go-carts - Katie raced her own, haunted corn maze, helping the "sheriff" catch the "bank robber", pumpkin carving, laser tag - Pyzowski kids vs. Pyzowski adults, and bumper boats (in 40 degrees!)

In the picture with the sheriff coming into town, you can see the snow-capped top of Mount Washington in the background.

Photos: New Hampshire Weekend (3)

Two separate hikes to Diana's Baths in Bartlett...

Photos: New Hampshire Weekend (2)

Saturday afternoon in North Conway: Zeb's General Store, the Met Coffee Shop (yum!), and exploring the old trains around North Conway Station.

Photos: New Hampshire Weekend (1)

My brother Tom visited for the long Columbus Day weekend, which coincides with peak leaf viewing season in New Hampshire. Tom, the kids and I spent three days enjoying the sights and activities in and around North Conway, in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

Below are pictures from dinner en route at Pizzeria Uno, the river near our hotel, and from the Attitash Octoberfest Saturday.

Support Cub Scout Popcorn Sale

You can support Nicholas' Cub Scout Pack 135 by purchasing popcorn. Clicking here will take you directly to an online site where you can place your order for home delivery (and Nicholas gets credit for the sale.)

Cub Scout Hike on a Rainy Sunday Morning

MassMEDIC's Annual Investor Conference Today

What I learned at the MassMedic Annual Investment Conference today:

(1) There were very few investors there.

(2) The Baucus healthcare bill's proposed tax on the medical device industry is ~10% of the aggregate industry profits.

(3) Industry people are getting fed up with the unpredictable and extreme-risk aversion of the FDA's regulatory process.

(4) A disposable robot for MRI guided surgery can be manufactured for $75.

(5) U Mass Boston's campus is a great location for a conference.

(6) MassMedic must be hurting, lunch was a brown bag lunch with a sandwich and tiny cup of pasta - not even chips! I expect this from science and technology conferences, not investor conferences.

Photos from my Dad's 50th Anniversary of Ordination