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Joe Hage
🔥 Find me at MedicalDevicesGroup.net 🔥
August 2017
Bill Vick is Dying
11 min reading time

This email from group member Bill Vick deserves your attention and pass-along through email, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. He writes,

“In September 2011 after months of tests, my physician gave me the news, “Bill, you have Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis. There is no cure. You have about 3 years to live, so get your things in order.”

My wife and I were in disbelief. Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis? What is that?

IPF is an irreversible and incurable lung disease. It kills the same number as breast cancer every year, but is relatively unheard of. Without any known cause, IPF starts with scarring of the lung and prohibits oxygen from moving into the bloodstream, making breathing difficult.

After diagnoses, most live 3-5 years. I’ve been lucky, I’ve had 6 years, but I can feel its progress.

Joe, consider this: You can start your car from your cell phone and set your DVR thousands of miles away, but when I need to turn up my oxygen tank, I get up, walk to another room and make an adjustment. Why is that still happening in this age of smart devices?

Did you know for the most part, you can’t tell if oxygen is flowing through the tubes? Or that portable oxygen tanks don’t provide enough flow for most IPF patients to leave home, so many are home-bound? These problems are fixable with innovation and motivation.

Please direct your group members to https://medgroup.biz/IPF. It links to the $1,000,000 IPF Catalyst Challenge, a competition for ideas to improve quality-of-life for IPF patients and families.

The answer won’t come in my lifetime. But wouldn’t it be great if one of your readers suggests the breakthrough innovation we need?

My thanks to you and those who respond to our message.

Sincerely, Bill Vick”

My dear readers, can you help – at least by spreading this message?

Thank you.

+++

Make it a great week.

Joe Hage
Group Leader

P.S. Virpi and Anne-Marie invented a device for cartilage repair in weight bearing joints. See https://medgroup.biz/COPLA


Joe Hage
🔥 Find me at MedicalDevicesGroup.net 🔥
Bill’s LinkedIn profile at https://www.linkedin.com/in/billvick

Joe Hage
🔥 Find me at MedicalDevicesGroup.net 🔥
Super like, Scott Thielman! Separately, a group member wrote me, “There are some guys from the University of Minnesota Medical Device Center who started Aria CV with a device solution that may help. I believe they have done first in man, not sure where they are now. See http://www.ariacv.com

Joe Hage
🔥 Find me at MedicalDevicesGroup.net 🔥
Johan Westermark, you can share this link which will direct people here. https://www.medgroup.biz/Bill-Vick-IPF

Joe Hage
🔥 Find me at MedicalDevicesGroup.net 🔥
Bill, I got a few comments to relay from my inbox.

One said, “Please let Bill know of a intratranstrachea cannula, cannula goes into the trach does not require high liter flow of oxygen during ambulation(this is when O2 sats dive). We did this a lot in the 90s. Only a few older pulmonogist that does this procedure on fibrosis patients.”

And Steeve Asselin wrote, “It is indeed saddening to see how much innovation, sometime, is put in some seemingly ridicule things. But as an Industrial Technology Advisor for the NRC-IRAP in Canada I have the chance to meet many innovative SMEs in the medical devices sector. One of them, http://www.oxynov.com/en/, may have a technology that could help people suffering from the same illness as Mr. Vick. Not understanding exactly the needs of that specific population I cannot provide more. Please let them know you were informed of their product by me. Wishing the best finishing miles to Mr. Vick.”

Joe Hage
🔥 Find me at MedicalDevicesGroup.net 🔥
http://imua-services.com/071-bill-vick-is-dying/

Joe Hage
🔥 Find me at MedicalDevicesGroup.net 🔥
Anwar Abdullah, you are most welcome to share and spread this message. No approval necessary. Thank you for spreading the word!

Richard Paul
Senior Partner at Strategy of Things
Win it Bill. There’s a path that exist which we don’t see today.

Perhaps 300k + Medical Devices group could organize a crowd source and crowd funding challenge— Similar to an X Prize —directed by members with strong expertise in the disease and relevant technology domains. A few Venture groups that may be interested in taking a position.

There’s incredible research taking place in respiratory diseases around the world. An Israel team recently announced a number of new discoveries (bio-markers) for exhaled breath and treatments.

There are a few teams in Silicon Valley working on organ forensics and research technologies focused on matching organ transplants for lower rates of rejections.

We’ve been pursuing patents that were locked up by patent troll lawyers that are directly related to the elements of the disease and management.

Keep the story fresh and I bet several contributors to the discovery process will arrive. Thanks to sharing Joe 👼

Don Smith
Inventor and Founder at 1nhaler
Fight the good fight Bill.
As an inventor, this type of challenge thrills me.
Over the coming months I’m pulling a small team of brilliant people together in Scotland to look at a solution.

Charlie Higgins
Executive Director at HIRA, Sales Manager and National Accounts ARC Medical
Bill, I understand your disease, as I have a very close friend who has been diagnosed with IPF. He is currently involved in some clinical trials. I have passed this article along to him. May God Bless!

John Eckberg
Media Relations
Aw shoot, Bill. Hang in there.

Ash Taha MD
President/CEO at SpineLOOP™ LLC
Dear Bill, sending love and light. Please contact me, i would like to discuss with you my thoughts on IPF and if I can help in anyway I will. All the best, Ash

Debbie Black
Focus on Health
He needs an Elanra MkII.

Bill Vick
PF Warriors – We are the Voice of the Patient
Thanks, Mary Audette – I use a Nonin Bluetooth enabled Pulse Ox that feeds into an app from Irish based patientMpower. Also, a BT scale and BT Spirometer to track stats daily. All become part of the iPhone app to track and chart out my stats.

Mary Audette
Medical Device Marketing and Business Management
A medical grade pulse oximeter will help provide feedback on oxygen status – knowing the O2 saturation helps to manage flow of O2 which can change with exercise, cooking, bathing, etc. See research of Dr. Petty – prayers for you.

Kris Simmons McCulloch
Marketing Communications Manager at TransEnterix, Inc
I had never heard of this disease either, so thank you for this post. I shared it!

Jeff Gaus
Building Oregon’s Blockchain Ecosystem.
Bill should connect with Prolifiq Director, Mike Henderson. Mike is the Board Chair for the Ideopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation and is an 12+ year post operative double lung transplant survivor. His work and personal story are truly inspiring and quite possibly will help inspire Bill with hope.

Bill VickS
PF Warriors – We are the Voice of the Patient
Thank you, Joe Hage, on behalf of both myself and the over 132,000 people living in the US with IPF. IPF is a nasty disease and solutions are so close yet so far away. I know there is somebody in this group who can reach out and help both us (the PF community) with solutions and win their share of the million dollar prize. We all appreciate your call to awareness.

Mark C Adams, MBA
Medical Device Leader/Executive
We get busy being busy and tend to take much for granted.
Then you see the courage of a guy like Bill and a light comes on.
I’m not an engineer but today I wish I was.

Scott Thielman
Chief Technology Officer at Product Creation Studio
My late uncle Fred died of a related disease (they thought it was IPF for years). I would love to help in some way. My company has worked on vents in the past and could definitely apply technology to the quality of life issues. PCS could provide designers and engineers to a team if there is someone who wants to champion a great idea or strategy here? Let me know.

Jackie Bojor
Emerging Europe Market Entry and Development Consulting: Market Research, B2B, M&A, Sourcing in: Romania, Poland etc.
This is a sad and true case… of brave fight and hope. My True Respects!

Doreen Milford
Senior Quality Assurance Specialist l Device Industry | CQA CQE Instructor Trainer
Bill, my prayers are with you! Stay Strong!!!!

Meghan M. Alonso
Global Sales, Marketing, and GTM Strategy for Medical Devices, Diagnostics, and Life Sciences
Bill Vick Let’s spread the word to my network on my award winning medtech podcast here (I’ll interview you or someone from the challenge): http://imua-services.com/featuredexpertguest/ I’ll get you on the show very soon. How else can I help?

Michelle Springhorn Kingsbury
Transportation Supply Chain Logistics provider of innovative shipping solutions
Bill, my thoughts and prayers are with you and your family and I will be happy to spread the word

Cherie B. Mathews
Founder & CEO at Healincomfort
Some natural products that may help
…He is taking 2 Chinese herbs, Clear Air (Perilla Fruit) AND Cordyceps PS (Dong Chong Xia Cao) One in the morning and one at night. Also NAC (N-A CETYL-CYSTEINE) 600 MG. one in morn. and one at night.
The trouble you are experiencing is caused by mycoplasma infection and biofilm in your lungs. Most autoimmune disorders are a not so good response by the immune system at trying a feeble attempt at eradicating this organism. Your lungs fill with fibrosis scar tissue slowly reducing your airspaces.

Go to youtube, look up “weaponised mycoplasma” Dr Garth Nicholson, then study serrapeptase a systemic enzyme. Google serrapeptase /pulmonary fibrosis or serrapeptase copd they are very similar. Our lungs are being filled with fibrin. Serrapeptase a systemic enzyme tones down an over reactive immune system and literally eats the fibrin plugging your lungs. Serrapeptase also acts against biofilm and attacks mycoplasma. It destroys biofilm and eats foreign proteins found in your blood that germs require for replication. This is the only known way to stop the disease.

Doctors give steroidal antiinflammatories for this condition. This increases the speed of disease progression since mycoplasma feeds off of preformed sterols.

Next thing go to george eby research and spend a few days there studying gallium nitrate. These two things are 99 percent of what you need to reverse the disease. Other treatments that will help are uvbi, whole body blood ozonation, blood electrification or simply buy a hbot chamber. Blood ozonation kills the mycoplasma that drives the disease. Hbot only slaps it around a bit being much weaker than ozone. Once you learn about mineral solutions like gallium nitrate you will see it is able to help a wide variety of seeming totally unrelated diseases. For example pulmonary fibrosis, cancer, multiple sclerosis, lupus, crohns, various std’s, arthritis, and a mind boggling variety of other autoimmune diseases are all helped by one simple mineral solution, gallium nitrate. Yet 99.9% of the world has never heard of it.

He perceives that this has improved his breathing, as before he was only able to climb 3 flights of stairs and now can do at least 5 flights of stairs. And the oxygen levels have improved, according to doctors tests.

Richard Paul
Senior Partner at Strategy of Things
Win it Bill. There’s a path that exist which we don’t see today.

Perhaps the 300k + Medical Devices group could organize a crowd source and crowd funding challenge— Similar to an X Prize —directed by members with strong expertise in the disease and relevant technology domains. We could put you in touch with a few Venture groups that may be interested in taking a position.

There’s incredible research taking place in respiratory diseases around the world. An Israel team recently announced a number of new discoveries (bio-markers) for exhaled breath and treatments.

There are a few teams in Silicon Valley working on organ forensics and research technologies focused on matching organ transplants for lower rates of rejections.

We’ve been pursuing patents that were locked up by patent troll lawyers that are directly related to the elements of the disease and management.

Keep the story fresh and I bet several contributors to the discovery process will arrive. Keep up the great work Joe .

Thanks for sharing.

Robert Garvie
Outside Director at CIRCULOGENE
Have you been checked for A1ATD? Alpha one anti-trypsin deficiency? There is some enzyme therapy work in progress, but best option would be for a single or double lung transplant. I was diagnosed with this in 2009. It destroyed my liver and kidneys. I had a Liver at Stanford in 2011 and a kidney in Spokane in 2014. I believe Stanford does lung transplants. I met a lung transplant patient in a rehab center and he was doing very well, had just received his second lung. Good luck, and don’t ever give up. You have to fight. Too many people counting on you.

Peter Rogal
Owner, GCE-GSS
So Sad, We all need to jump in and help; especially those in the high tech space!
God Bless you!
Peter

Melody Bullock, Infusion Science Specialist
CSL Behring
Please read and consider Robert’s advise!!!

Anwar Abdullah
Pharmaceutical & Medical Devices
I want to share & spread this but still awaiting your approval.

Phyllis Jones
Sr. District Sales Manager at Janssen, Pharmaceutical Companies of Johnson and Johnson
I believe technology and a passionate community of innovators and caring front line of medical companies and insurance providers can easily lobby behind this effort as it is needed and wanted.

Suresh Tiwari
HR professional with business expertise
Enjoy every moment of your life Bill. Our prayers are with you and prayers do cause miracles………

Ricardo Drugovich
Director of Biocontinental
Bill, my thoughts and prays are with you and your family. I’ll make my efforts in sharing this need.

Dr. Joerg Poetzsch
CFO at Satina Medical UG
Satina medical’s diaphragm stimulating device induces deep belly breathing. We could show that it increases blood oxygen saturation in #COPD patients, reduces heart and breathing rate. Patients reported to be much less stressed and have an increased quality of life. We haven’t tested the effect in IPF patients.

Kerry Mellin
Founder/Designer of EazyHold Adaptive Grips and Costumer at Nickelodeon TV
Am so sorry to here of your struggle, my hopes and thoughts for a cure are with you.

Elaine Iuanow, MD
President, INTERPRET4U, INC.; Breast Imaging Radiologist/ Entrepreneur/Chief Medical Officer Advisor
Naturopathic healing and stress reduction, anti-inflammatory foods, turmeric, etc. God Bless..

Guido Blödorn
Sr Director Global Regulatory Affairs bei HOYA Surgical Optics
Because we love people, we work in this industry. I am convinced that we will develop a solution. I sincerely wish you and your family a lot of strength for this difficult section in life.

Diane Zeh
Corporate Recruiter at QSpex Technologies, Inc.
First and foremost, I am so sorry that you have this horrific disease! Prayers to you and your family. It is an honor to share this post.

Tolu P.
OPERATIONS | LEAN | COST CONTROL | PROFIT GROWTH | SOURCING & PROCUREMENT
Bill, thank you for reminding us, even in your pain, that the industry we’re in is about saving individual lives and improving individuals’ quality of life. Many blessings to you and your family.

Jo Ann V.
Sales professional seeking a new organization to positively impact, located in a new hometown with a new dynamic ; excited to explore all opportunities
Thank you for sharing. Humbled and honored to share this post.

Taimur Channa
Head of Quality and Commercial Operations at XOR Labs
Check out the work XOR Labs is doing (http://xorlabstoronto.com/) Contact Dr Shaf Keshavjee or Dr Thomas K Waddell whom have increased the number of lungs available for transplant at Toronto General by 40 – 50%.

Rosanne Wilson, CLFP
President of 1st Independent Leasing, Inc.
I will pray for Bill daily that God will heal him from this dreadful disease.

Jesus G.
CQE |CMfgE
Improvement idea.

Robert Jacox
Global Marketing Manager at Thermo Fisher Scientific
Sobering message and a good reminder why many of us choose to enter this profession. Thank you for sharing.

Michael “Mac” MacCartney
MS, RRT
Hello, my prayers for all affected.
My Mother has been diagnosed with pulmonary
Sarcoidosis and is fighting a similar battle.
As an R.R.T. Since 1985 and a sales rep for 15
Years before my retirement, I have watched as
Our world wide medical quality status went from
#1 to #27(just below Costa Rica.)
I have seen 90% of the Medicare reimbursement
Cuts come from Oxygen and D.ME. Which is just 10%
Of the market.
Until legislators quit feeding the fat and cutting the muscle,
We will continue to suffer.
Again, My prayers for all affected, including
The United States of America .
🙏🏻Mac

Johan Westermark
Chief Executive Officer | Leadership | Strategy | Motion Technology | Piezoelectric Material
Bill, my thoughts are with you and your family and I really want to spread the Word. These incurable diseases are so sad. I really would like to se the Tech World to help.
I find only the Like button and the Comment button, how do I share this on LinkedIn, Facebook etc?

Marie N.
Pharmaceutical Drug and Medical Device Clinical Trials
My prayers to Bill and his family.

Paul Doolan
Technical Support Engineer at Cardiac Science
I had never heard of this particular problem, however my thoughts are with Bill. One of the comments in the email related to O2 flowmeters for oxygen cylinders. Digital O2 flowmeters are production items from Draeger Medical. Monitoring pressure in the cylinders digitally and displaying the values & linking into appropriate monitoring & alarms systems are all there in the acute clinical environment. I suspect one of the issues may be translating the technology of the acute hospital setting into the domicillary setting.

Bill states that most portable gas cylinders fail to deliver sufficient flow. What O2 flow is required?

Yudhvijay Nautiyal
T&D Specialist /SSGB / Certified & Accredited Trainer /Kaizen Certified/Lean Management /Master Life Coach and Mentor
Our prayers for you Bill. Your will power may create a miracle . Life and death is beyond anyone’s control and everyone who is born will depart sooner or later . My father . You are adding life to days and may be we are mostly adding days to life . Best regards .

Daniel Couchman Kendall
Host of the Digital Health Today podcast and Editor of the Health Podcast Network.
Shared on twitter! Thanks for sending it!

Helen Allton
Quality Manager at Merxin Ltd
Dear Bill, my thoughts are with you and your family at what is only going to be a difficult time. I speak from first hand experience. My father was diagnosed and subsequently died of IPF. Like you, I had never heard of it. Like you I discovered that there is no effective treatment. Which, for someone working in inhalation, was a blow. I felt so incredibly helpless. Like you, he beat the predicted span of life. But that’s not to say there were not bad days. Some days he had lost all colour and was a deathly shade of grey. He missed my graduation, he didn’t make it to walk me down the aisle.
I can only admire your courage in wanting the community to come together and put the best minds on the topic of how to make this less of a struggle, how to treat it and, ultimately, how to cure it.
My heart goes out to you.

Joseph Hale, PhD
Medical Device Innovator | Educator | Leader
Check out https://www.sansohealth.com/our-solution.html
This technology seemingly addresses a number of the shortcomings Bill has identified with oxygen delivery.

Clarence Outland Jr, MBA
Field Sales Trainer/Executive Territory Account Leader at Ethicon, Inc.
🙏🏿God Bless!!!!

Mateja Mlakar Krzisnik
Product Manager Imunohematology and Clinical Biochemistry
I hope, somebody finds a solution!

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Asked on August 22, 2017 12:32 pm
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