The "Pet Inhaler"

For those of you old enough to remember the pet rock, here’s the medical device equivalent. German biomedical company Activaero just announced the FDA 510(k) clearance of its Watchhaler device, a mechanical inhalation system. The appearance of the device is obviously designed to appeal young children — it resembles an animal of some sort (although I can’t decide which one). Anyway, it is a reservoir system designed for use with standard metered dose inhalers that controls the inhalation flow rate/volume to target the lungs. The inhalation volume is limited by an accordion-like balloon, which can be seen in action through the clear plastic chamber that houses it. You can read more about it (and see a bigger image) in the product brochure, here.

Not to beat a dead horse, but the topic of whether or not to vaccinate comes up over and over again in parenting circles down here in Atlanta. It’s hard to read about the recent measles outbreak in the US and not wonder if it might not be related to the vaccination controversy that’s being stoked by actress Jenny McCarthy. The idea saddens me. I’m sure you’ve heard most of what’s being passed around from parents in your office, but if you haven’t taken a look at her website, you should. It will give you a bird’s eye view of the kind of information being evangelized.

An article in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that it is time to reconsider the education students undergo prior to entering medical school. The author, Jules Dienstag, M.D., of Harvard Medical School, makes some very good points, including one that promotes the currently required coursework as “a necessary gauntlet that thins out the applicant pool” as opposed to being focused on adequately preparing students for medical studies. I agree that the field of medicine is changing and the curriculum should likewise evolve, and the pre-med requirements I see today are basically the same as the requirements from when I was an undergraduate 30 years ago. What do you think?

I always loved to travel, but I may never fly again. Who really needs this much information? Seriously. I mean, medical professionals don’t want to see this kind of detail when they don’t have to…