Medgadget.com Goes to Frost & Sullivan’s Awards

If you can’t tell from our last few posts, we were really excited to be welcomed to Frost & Sullivan’s “Excellence in Medical Devices & Healthcare Awards” banquet last night. After “the future’s so bright i gotta put on my oakleys”-styled inspirational speech by Frost & Sullivan, we had the rare opportunity to listen to a legend in the medical device inventors guild – Alfred Mann of Advanced Bionics Co & MannKind Co. He waxed lyrical on the $9 B his companies have garnered for him, but much more on the revolutions they’ve brought about in pacemakers, insulin delivery (pump & inhaled), bringing hearing to the deaf and sight to the blind – biblical in importance. His philanthropy was equally impressive.
Over the next few weeks, we will present to you most (if not all) of the cool new inventions awarded last night.
Here’s a sneak peek: the HydraBrush “automatic car wash for your mouth.” We had a demonstration right up on the podium last night, pictured above. The description taken from company’s website:

… “self-positions” relative to the teeth and gums… It has six (6) brushes that are positioned to correctly contact tooth and gum surfaces. The user simply bites into the brushing head, and self-positioning is automatic. The brushes reciprocate in short strokes in accordance with ADA recommended “Bass” brushing technique”, (placing bristles 1/2 on teeth and 1/2 on the gums at approximately a 45 degree angle, and brushing with a short/quick back and forth action).
… relies on accurate bristle positioning to obtain effectiveness, and as a result, the brushes can reciprocate at a fraction of the speed of other products, resulting in user enjoyment of a comfortable massage with every use.
In addition to six brushes, HydraBrush™ has four (4) water jets that effectively oral irrigate during the brushing process. HydraBrush™ is much more effective than other oral irrigation devices because the water jets are preset to an angle that directs the pressurized fluid precisely into the gingival pockets and between teeth, again eliminating the element of human error.
HydraBrush™, with its six brushes and four water jets all working simultaneously, generates an oral cleansing with effectiveness far beyond that of any other oral care product. The cleaning process is also very enjoyable.

Hook me up! No, seriously. This product was the most accessible to any attendee, and … I want one!
UPDATE (3/17/05):
You can see the photos here. Many thanks to Frost & Sullivan for a great event and many congrats to all the winners!