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Veterans recognized for plan to 3D-print patient-specific medical implants | PlasticsToday.com
Veterans recognized for plan to 3D-print patient-specific medical implants | PlasticsToday.com
Veterans recognized for plan to 3D-print patient-specific medical implants
By Norbert Sparrow
Published: November 11th, 2014
Published: November 11th, 2014
On this day when we honor our veterans, it's especially gratifying to congratulate OsirisBiomed 3D on winning the $10,000 grand prize at the Greater Philadelphia Veteran Network's (GPVN) second annual Veteran Entrepreneur "Shark Tank" Business Pitch. CEO Theodore Gerstle, MD, (USMA 1999), COO Christopher Gerstle, Esq, and VP Nathan Gargus, MD, (USMA 2000) received the award for their plan to offer 3D-printed patient-specific implants made in real time using proprietary software.
Speaking shortly after the awards ceremony on Nov. 6 in Philadelphia, Theodore Gerstle commented, "As veterans and healthcare providers, we are passionate about improving patient care and providing improved solutions and better outcomes for trauma patients. 3D medical device printing provides many opportunities to improve patient care and decrease healthcare costs. We believe we are uniquely positioned to bring lifesaving and life-improving changes to the current standard of care for military and civilian patients alike," said Gerstle.
While he was working in the Department of Defense, Gerstle desiged 3D CAD models of modular ceramic body armor. "After becoming a plastic surgeon, it became obvious that there is a huge unmet need in our current biomedical environment," Gerstle told PlasticsToday.
OsirisBiomed 3D has applied for a patent for single-anesthetic reconstructive surgery, which would allow 3D printing a custom device or implant based on a patient scan, and sterilizing and surgically implanting it in one procedure. Currently, high cost, poor fits, and long lead times for custom implants and models limit patient accessibility and overall health outcomes, according to the company. Its unique business model would decrease surgery lead time and hospital visits for patients, and reduce costs. Moreover, the system's mobility would allow operating suites to be set up in the field, reducing time to surgery for wounded soldiers, decreasing costs, and drastically decreasing inventories.
Polylactic acid, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene, and oxepanone are the most commonly used materials in the company's technology, but "our platform is designed to use an array of biocompatible materials," says Gerstle.
While the $10,000 check from GVPN is welcome validation, much more heavy lifting is on the horizon for Gerstle and his partners to get the project off the ground.
"We are looking for funding for the technological and regulatory hurdles we need to overcome," Gerstle toldPlasticsToday. The regulatory pathway, in particular, is keeping them up at night. "This is all we think about. We recently participated in a webcast of the FDA's summit on medical 3D printing. We need to ensure that the final product is exactly congruent with the digital model. Our utmost priority is to ensure patient safety," stressed Gerstle.
You can follow OsirisBiomed 3D on its journey @OsirisBiomed3D
3D-Printed Instrument Measures Oxygen Levels in Infants - PSFK
3D-Printed Instrument Measures Oxygen Levels in Infants - PSFK
The Pelican is a device designed to help diagnose pneumonia in newborn babies
Massachusetts-based non-profit design company Design that Matters has been using 3D printing technology to create prototypes of a diagnostic tool designed to measure the oxygen levels in infants and help diagnose pneumonia in babies.
The instrument is called the Pelican pocket pulse oximeter, which is an affordable and durable tool that is used to help diagnose newborn babies with pneumonia in developing countries.
Pneumonia is the leading cause of death in children under the age of five worldwide. The condition is treatable and preventable, and isn’t something people worry about in countries like the US, but health care providers in developing countries lack access to tools that can help them diagnose pneumonia in babies and help them get better.
The Pelican pocket pulse oximeter for newborns was successfully funded via Indiegogo last May and, in the months that followed, Design that Matters conducted demonstrations at hospitals, including the Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital. The demonstration, as well as interviews with hospital physicians and staff, provided valuable insights into how to improve the Pelican prototypes.
Design that Matters has also brought the Pelican newborn pulse oximeter prototypes to hospitals in Haiti, with the assistance of Partners In Health and the Saint Boniface Haiti Foundation, last September. The organization was able to visit three different health care facilities and were able to gain even more insights into how the Pelican pulse oximeter are being used in the hospitals and how the instrument has helped improve health care for newborns in the facilities. The research trip also gave the team ideas on opportunities for improvement not only in the tool itself but also in designing health technology in general.
Project Pelican is a collaboration between the MDG Health Alliance Pneumonia Innovations Team, and the Consortium for Affordable Medical Technologies at the MGH Center for Global Health. The Pelican was also created with the help of a team from the MIT and Rhode Island School of Design Product Design and Development Class.
Friday, February 28, 2014
Sunday, February 2, 2014
Hiring the Disabled @KavalonThatsMe
Monday, August 12, 2013
Event September 28th William's Chapel Church Broadway, NC 27505
Saturday September 28, 2013 12 pm
1750 Buie Rd, Broadway, NC 27505
Come out for Free Food, Door Prizes, Games for the kids
Hots Dogs, BBQ !!
Health Checks and more.
Hula Hoop Contest
Horse Shoe Contest
Track Racing
Local Fire Department, Police Department, and Health Department will be in attendance.
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Veteran Trains for Wheelchair Games | WUSF News
Veteran Trains for Wheelchair Games | WUSF News
Ten years ago, Dwayne Scheuneman was competing on the wheelchair racing circuit when he went looking for some cross-training in the off season. The Navy veteran started wheelchair dancing and never returned to the track, until this year.
Having the 33rd annual National Veterans Wheelchair Games hosted in the Tampa Bay region was too delicious of an opportunity to pass up.
Scheuneman plans to compete in the 100, 200 and 400 meter races to be held at Jefferson High School track and he’ll play Quad Rugby, the wheelchair form of rugby.
“One of the reasons I’m going out on the rugby court is to show them (the rugby athletes) that a dancer can be just as tough as they are,” Scheuneman said. “And I plan to knock a few of those guys over myself, all in good fun of course.”
He will be one of 650 wheelchair athletes expected to for the Games. Scheuneman said wheelchair athletes are like able-bodied athletes in many ways.
“We are just as competitive, train just as hard, the sport is just as tough,” Scheuneman said.
He’s been training since this spring, weight lifting and doing sprints in a racing chair borrowed from the VA. He gave away his track chair when he focused on dance.
And he thinks he’s got a pretty good chance even though he’s not raced for 10 years because dance has maintained his strength and endurance. All that’s left is fine-tuning the racing wheelchair.
When the Games are over, Scheuneman will go back to teacheing dance to children with disabilities as well as able bodied kids. And the 44-year-old has just a year left to earn his degree in elementary education at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg.
All of the wheelchair competitions are open to the public. A schedule of the events from July 13-18 is available here.
10News - Marine, Vietnam veteran Roger Kimble to receive medal of valor - 10News.com - News
10News - Marine, Vietnam veteran Roger Kimble to receive medal of valor - 10News.com - News
SAN DIEGO - After nearly five decades, a Camp Pendleton Marine and Vietnam veteran will soon receive a medal of valor.
Months after joining the Marines at the age of 18, Roger Kimble left Camp Pendleton for Vietnam.
In May 1966, he was on patrol as part of a convoy in the northern part of south Vietnam when a roadside bomb blew up near his truck, rupturing the fuel line and tossing him 30 feet.
"I remember opening my eyes and seeing a big red-orange ball of flame," said Kimble.
When Kimble came to, he said he saw the platoon sergeant on fire head to toe.
He and another Marine quickly tackled the sergeant, wrapped him in rain gear and put out the flames.
With ammunition going off from the explosion, Kimble would pull three others away from the burning vehicle.
He was running on adrenaline and didn't realize he had shrapnel in his knee and burns on his arms and face.
"I just thought if I don't get those guys out of there, they could get killed or hurt even worse. My training kicked in and I did exactly what I was trained to do," said Kimble.
For his actions, Kimble was awarded a Purple Heart.
More than four decades later, at a battalion reunion in San Diego in 2009, his former commanding officer, Humberto Gonzalez, asked him about the Bronze Star he had put him up for.
"What Bronze Star?" Kimble answered.
Gonzalez said something must have slipped through the cracks and spent the next year gathering statements for a resubmission.
Several years later, Kimble got a call from the Secretary of the Navy that he would receive the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation medal, which is just below the Bronze Star.
"To me, this is just a great honor," said Kimble.
He said it's an honor because he gets to represent those who never came back from the war.
"Those young people who never had a chance to have a life or family ... I wear this medal in their honor," said Kimble.
Kimble, who lives in Indiana, will receive the medal in a ceremony on July 13.
SAN DIEGO - After nearly five decades, a Camp Pendleton Marine and Vietnam veteran will soon receive a medal of valor.
Months after joining the Marines at the age of 18, Roger Kimble left Camp Pendleton for Vietnam.
In May 1966, he was on patrol as part of a convoy in the northern part of south Vietnam when a roadside bomb blew up near his truck, rupturing the fuel line and tossing him 30 feet.
"I remember opening my eyes and seeing a big red-orange ball of flame," said Kimble.
When Kimble came to, he said he saw the platoon sergeant on fire head to toe.
He and another Marine quickly tackled the sergeant, wrapped him in rain gear and put out the flames.
With ammunition going off from the explosion, Kimble would pull three others away from the burning vehicle.
He was running on adrenaline and didn't realize he had shrapnel in his knee and burns on his arms and face.
"I just thought if I don't get those guys out of there, they could get killed or hurt even worse. My training kicked in and I did exactly what I was trained to do," said Kimble.
For his actions, Kimble was awarded a Purple Heart.
More than four decades later, at a battalion reunion in San Diego in 2009, his former commanding officer, Humberto Gonzalez, asked him about the Bronze Star he had put him up for.
"What Bronze Star?" Kimble answered.
Gonzalez said something must have slipped through the cracks and spent the next year gathering statements for a resubmission.
Several years later, Kimble got a call from the Secretary of the Navy that he would receive the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation medal, which is just below the Bronze Star.
"To me, this is just a great honor," said Kimble.
He said it's an honor because he gets to represent those who never came back from the war.
"Those young people who never had a chance to have a life or family ... I wear this medal in their honor," said Kimble.
Kimble, who lives in Indiana, will receive the medal in a ceremony on July 13.
Somerset Patriots to honor veteran K-9 military dog handler cousins | NJ.com
Somerset Patriots to honor veteran K-9 military dog handler cousins | NJ.com
BRIDGEWATER — Two military K-9 dog handlers from a family of veterans will be honored by Operation Shoebox at Sunday's Somerset Patriots game.
Second cousins Air Force Staff Sergeant Kyle Luthman of Bridgewater and Vietnam veteran Nels Luthman of Piscataway — both military K-9 dog handlers — will be honored Sunday during the Somerset Patriots 'Stars 'n' Stripes' celebration at 4 p.m. at TD Bank Ballpark for their service to their county 40 years apart from one another.
All proceeds will be donated to Operation Shoebox New Jersey. The event is co-sponsored by Operation Shoebox and AT&T.
The Luthmans share a common bond beyond family. They are proud members of an elite group within the military community — expert military K-9 dog handlers.
Both men are from military families. Nels Luthman's father, Nels Luthman Sr., served aboard a U.S. destroyer escort in the South Pacific during World War II. Kyle’s father Joseph served in the Navy; grandfather, Carl Luthman — who also served in the South Pacific aboard an amphibious attack ship — and grandmother, Catherine Luthman, both served in the Navy during WWII.
Nels Luthman, who grew up and lived in Piscataway, was drafted in 1971 after graduating college and went through basic training at Fort Dix before deploying to Vietnam where he paired up with K-9 Casey in the 48th Scout Dog unit out of Da Nang.
The team parted company at the end of Nels Luthman's deployment in 1972 when he headed home to Piscataway and Casey returned to Lackland Air Force Base in Florida, where she served for another two years. She was one of only 204 military guard dogs who returned safely to the United States from Vietnam.For his service in Vietnam, Nels Luthman was awarded the U.S. Army Combat Infantry Badge, Army Commendation Medal and Air Medal for participating in over 20 air assault missions where troops were inserted into battle zones by helicopter.
Nels Luthman is a retired school teacher now living in Toms River. He and his wife Ginny have two children and two grandsons.
Staff Sergeant Kyle Luthman, of Bridgewater, trained at McGuire Air Force Base, served in Europe, and has been deployed and served with military working dogs in Kyrgyzstan, Afghanistan and Oman, all in support of the global war on terrorism.
Kyle Luthman has been awarded the Joint Service Commendation Medal; Air Force Achievement Medal; Air Force Combat Action Medal; Air Force Good Conduct Medal; National Defense Service Medal; Afghanistan Campaign Medal; Global War On Terrorism Expeditionary Medal; Global War on Terrorism Service Medal; and NATO Medal.
During his Afghanistan deployment, Kyle Luthman worked with soldiers from the U.S. Army 1st Infantry Division and conducted over 45 missions with K-9 Fara, who also served in Iraq with a previous handler.
In between deployments, Kyle Luthman has conducted demonstrations with military working dogs in New York’s Times Square, at the New York Stock Exchange and on national television.
A graduate of Bridgewater High School, Kyle Luthman and his wife Brielle live in Bridgewater with K-9 Fara, who retired from the Air Force in 2012 and “transitioned” to civilian life.
Gates open at 4 p.m., ceremonies will preceded the game, and the first pitch is scheduled for 5:05 p.m.
Tickets are $10 and are available by calling 908-698-0333.
Iraq War veteran's suicide note draws attention to struggles faced by thousands of returning soldiers | al.com
Iraq War veteran's suicide note draws attention to struggles faced by thousands of returning soldiers | al.com
The heart-wrenching suicide note written by an Iraq War veteran is drawing widespread attention, even as his family questions the effectiveness of the system that was supposed to help him and other soldiers.
Daniel Somers went on more than 400 combat mission as an Army machine gunner in Baghdad, Iraq while stationed there from 2004-2005. He then ran the North Iraq Intelligence Center from 2006-2007, according to the website Gawker.
Somers, who served as a senior analyst, suffered from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and had been diagnosed with traumatic brain injury and several other war-related conditions. He sought treatment through a variety of therapies, but took his own life June 10. His suicide note (You can read the entire text here) went viral after his family released it to the local media.
In the letter, Somers said he is "sorry that it has come to this."
"The fact is, for as long as I can remember my motivation for getting up every day has been so that you would not have to bury me. As things have continued to get worse, it has become clear that this alone is not a sufficient reason to carry on. The fact is, I am not getting better, I am not going to get better, and I will most certainly deteriorate further as time goes on. From a logical standpoint, it is better to simply end things quickly and let any repercussions from that play out in the short term than to drag things out into the long term." Somers wrote.
He goes on to describe physical condition as "nothing short of torture."
"Everything simply comes down to passing time until I can sleep again. Now, to sleep forever seems to be the most merciful thing," he wrote, adding the medical system has failed him and other veterans in offering treatment.
"Thus, I am left with basically nothing. Too trapped in a war to be at peace, too damaged to be at war," he wrote.
Somers' family said they shared the 30-year-olds' last words in an effort to help other veterans. You can read more about Somers' story and efforts to improve care for all veterans here.
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