If musician Ozzy Osbourne can get his own reality television, and Rebecca Black can become an overnight YouTube sensation with a song about our favorite day of the week, then it’s not too surprising that four years ago, musicians associated with the Grateful Dead created an FDA-approved medical device.
Forbes has an interesting piece about how hippie rock musicians became associated with an innovative solution to making Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) masks more comfortable. It all started in 2007 when Jeff Chimenti, a keyboardist for former Grateful Dead stars Bob Weir and Phil Lesh, was thinking of ways to make his mother’s CPAP mask more comfortable, as the mask was digging into her face, leaving painful cuts and bruises. He put in a call to his band’s instrument technician, A.J. Santella, who came up with a solution made from a gel material used for dampening vibration on drum heads.
Fast-forward to today, and the product, known as “Gecko Nasal Pads”, is being manufactured by San Diego, California based ResMed, and expects to sell upwards of 1 million units this year.
Not a bad venture for a bunch of Deadheads!
Article from Forbes: The (Grateful) Dead’s Life-Altering Medical Device…
Product page: “Gecko” Nasal Pads…