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Welcome to OMNInews from Omnica Corporation, a full-service product design and engineering firm located in Irvine, California.
Enjoy our selection of remarkable news, timely topics, and stay up-to-date with what's new at Omnica.                         

Ron Sully - Director of Marketing 


October 2017
    
 Heart Saving System - We read some good news about a mobile therapeutic system we developed for one of our past clients. The laboratory device for TherOx delivers hyper oxygenated blood (five to seven times above normal) to a patient's cardiac muscle after a heart attack. Early clinical trials showed, compared to traditional treatment, this therapy could save about 26 percent more damaged heart tissue if it was implemented within 6 hours.

Unfortunately the device was not approved by the FDA, because they maintained it showed "only marginal benefit". The company attempted an IPO in 2009, but a collapsing economy caused it to fail. TherOx didn't give up on their technology and as of late last year they raised $23.1 million in funding to recapitalize and move into a final round of clinical trials. (The device is pictured at right.)
 
In May, it was announced that the company completed enrollment of 100 patients in the IC-HOT (Evaluation of Intracoronary Oxygen Therapy) study to support a premarket approval submission to the FDA. The objective is to collect confirmatory data to support effectiveness of their SSO2 (supersaturated oxygen) therapy for certain types of patients. If it proves positive, as multiple peer-reviewed studies have shown, cardiologists will have another first treatment option for salvaging heart muscle in heart attack patients.
 
   Accurate Artificial Intelligence -  Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for most people worldwide. Fortunately, incidence has declined over the years because of better diagnosis, the ability to effectively treat patients, and more healthy lifestyles. But because of the complex interaction of biological systems, predicting who could potentially benefit from preventative treatment is still more art than science. Artificial Intelligence (AI) could be the answer. Increasingly seen elsewhere in healthcare, AI can be used to interpret mountains of data to make better predictions.

Years ago, the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) established cardiovascular risk guidelines that include 8 factors like age, cholesterol level, blood pressure, gender and smoking. After the data points are added and weighted, risk assessment, and prognosis with treatment options are considered. The guidelines have been updated, and are still followed today.

Researchers in the UK looked at 378,000 medical records of patients who were free from cardiovascular disease. In 2015 they compared AI vs the ACC/AHA guidelines to predict cardiovascular events in the same patients over 10 years. Of the 24,970 events that did occur, all four of the AI methods (that incidentally included 22 extra data points) outperformed the ACC/AHA guidelines, predicting 7.6% more events, and
1.6% fewer false alarms. The study confirmed that machine-learning (an application of AI that automates analytical model building) significantly improves the accuracy of cardiovascular risk prediction.  

This translates to hundreds of patients who could have benefited from preventative treatment, and many who could have avoided unnecessary treatment over the course of the study. The researchers are hoping to include lifestyle and genetic factors along with more computational power to improve predictive accuracy, which could result in a better understanding of the complex biological interactions that influence cardiovascular risk.

Networking and Trade Show Events

  Med Tech Monday Irvine - In August we attended (and sponsored) the second bi-annual Med Tech Monday conference in Irvine. The one day symposium featured an impressive list of speakers who discussed alternative financing sources, digital and tele-health, wearables, FDA, licensing, cyber security, and other timely topics. Med Tech Mondays are informative conferences with limited seating, and you can get more information here. The next one will be held on January 22 in Irvine. If you plan to attend, and want to purchase a discounted ticket, use the code: Omnica. We will see you there.

  BioMedevice San Jose- On December 6 and 7 we will be exhibiting at the BIOMEDevice show in San Jose. It's a much smaller event than MDM, and should introduce Omnica to prospects from the Bay Area who won't be attending the ambitious Anaheim show early next year. We will be displaying in booth 118.  

OMNICA News and Announcements . . .  
 
  3D Printing in HiDef - In a newsletter article from years ago we announced the use of  SLA stereolithography (SLA) as part of our design process. It was cutting edge technology that allowed us to create very accurate models "in as little as 3 days".  The machines were big and expensive, and there weren't many materials to choose from. Seventeen years later we have a tabletop SLA printer in our rapid prototyping shop that augments the FDM and Polyjet workhorses that see daily use. 
 
The formlabs Form2™ is a resin based printer that cures rather than melts plastic like an FDM printer. The UV cured parts feature much greater detail than our two FDM printers.  It's nearly as accurate as the three PolyJet machines, but unlike those machines, the Form2 allows us to easily substitute medical, engineering grade, and investment casting formulations for model building. Access to a wide range of resins and high accuracy are reasons this machine allows us to seamlessly transition from prototype to traditional manufacturing methods like machining or injection molding. At right, a part straight from the printer shows no stair-stepping on curved surfaces. 
 
   When we have the option to build models in a matter of hours with layer thicknesses of less than a human hair, the concept-to-verification process is accelerated. Mike,  our modelshop specialist (at left, removing finished parts from the building platform) , can produce parts with standard, engineering, jewelry (investment casting), and dental resins.  
   
  Which Way Out? -  You may not realize it, but we have been sending newsletters to our clients and prospects for a long while. This is a brain teaser (with minor modifications) we thrilled our readers with almost 20 years ago!

You are in a room with two doors. There is no way out except through the door to your right or one to your left. Each is guarded by a sentry. You have been told that one door leads to your favorite Starbucks. The other leads to somewhere you would rather not go, a Spin Class.
 
You must leave the room, and when you do, either through door right or left, you cannot return. To help make your decision which door to choose, you may ask one sentry one question and it will be answered. Before you commit your question, there are two things you need to know. 1) One sentry is always honest, and the other is a persistent liar, and 2) Each one knows which exit leads to which destination: Spin Class or Starbucks.
 
What one question can you ask either guard that will assure you will be rewarded with a sweet treat?  If you know the answer (don't peek until you make your best guess :-), email me and I'll send a Starbucks gift card pronto.     Answer at the bottom of the page.   
           
Omnica Pumpkin Party - October 31 is Omnica's 34t h birthday, and the yearly Pumpkin Party  spectacle. Come by in the afternoon for dessert, and try to make sense of our creative efforts. As you can see from this October's calendar image, last year's event showcased some inventive interpretations of a carved pumpkin display. 
 
   
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               Please Call:   Ron Sully - 949-472-0275

 
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   We are different than other product developers. Omnica is a full service high-tech design and engineering firm in business for 33 years. We have 29 full-time employees, and perform all design and engineering services in house, at our Irvine facility. Our specialty is developing medical devices for both start-up companies, large firms like Terumo, Abbott, BD, Medtronic, Allergan, J&J, Thermo Fisher, Alcon, Biomerieux, and others.

Which Way Out answer: Ask either guard, "If I asked the other guard which is the door to Starbuck's, what would he say?" Then exit through the opposite door.