Tag: Kim Bellard

Nanoparticles On My Mind

Mar 23, 2021

By KIM BELLARD

Nanoparticles are everywhere! By that I mean, of course, that there seems to be a lot of news about them lately, particularly in regard to health and healthcare. But, of course, literally they could be anywhere and everywhere, which helps account for their potential, and their potential danger.

Let’s start with one of the more startling developments: a team at the University of Miami’s College of Engineering, led by Professor ****@***mi.edu“>Sakhrat Khizroev, believes it has figured out a way to use nanoparticles to “talk” to the brain without wires or implants. They use “a novel class of ultrafine units called magnetoelectric nanoparticles (MENPs)” to penetrate the blood-brain barrier.

“Once the MENPs are inside the brain and positioned next to neurons, we can stimulate them with an external magnetic field, and they in turn produce an electric field we can speak to, without having to use wires,” Professor Khizroev explained. A special magnetic helmet would communicate with the MENPs, in real-time.

Other efforts, such as Elon Musk’s Neuralink, have been looking at using implants to achieve the brain-computer interface, but Dr. Khizroev is skeptical of this kind of approach:

Other efforts have used external instruments like microelectrodes to try to solve the mysteries of the brain, but because of its complexity and difficulty in accessing, such methods can only go so far. There are 80 billion neurons in the human brain, so imagine how difficult it would be to attach 80 billion microelectrodes to access every single neuron. The only way to truly tap in is wirelessly—through nanotechnology.

Roblox and Healthcare’s Metaverse

Mar 16, 2021• 1

By KIM BELLARD

As neither a gamer nor the parent of a gamer, I’ve been proud that I’ve stayed even mildly in touch with the cultural phenomenon that gaming is. I’ve written about, for example, the Metaverse, Fortnight, and e-sports. Still, I somehow managed to be completely oblivious to the existence of Roblox, until they went public this week and was valued at $45b, larger than Electronic Arts (which I had heard of).

Once again, I think there are lessons for healthcare.

P.J. McNealy, CEO of Digital World Research, described Roblox to NPR as: “Minecraft meets Nintendo, which meets Lego and mobile phones enable a whole bunch of it.” Whatever the metaphor, Roblox is booming. It was valued at $4b a year ago, but the pandemic was very, very good for it.

Half of America children use Roblox. Two thirds of its users are 16 and younger, and most of them were spending lots of time at home last year. It is now estimated to have 37 million unique daily users, spending some 30 billion hours on the site last year. It is available in 180 countries, in 11 languages.

What makes Roblox particularly unique is that it is not a game developer; it is a platform where users develop the “experiences”. Roblox describes its mission thusly:

Roblox’s mission is to bring the world together through play. We enable anyone to imagine, create, and have fun with friends as they explore millions of immersive 3D experiences, all built by a global community of developers.

It claims 8 million developers have created 20 million experiences — and that it paid over $300 million to them. The games are free but users can buy and spend an in-game virtual currency (Robux), which can be exchanged for actual money (Roblox shares 30% of the revenue with developers). At least one developer made over $1 million in a single year; over 1200 made at least $10,000, with over 300 making over $100,000.

Mr. McNealy believes the IPO will allow Roblox significant expansion:

This money will either give them an opportunity to build more content for the for the platform or to go to adjacent platforms like music or partnering with Spotify or movie service. That’s where this is going to go.

CEO and co-founder David Baszucki isn’t content with the younger market, wondering: “So how do we make it possible for Roblox to connect with everyone in the world?” Alex Hicks, cofounder of Roblox studio Red Manta, sees such potential, telling Polygon: “Lots of kids already know what Roblox is, but they’re just scratching the surface with the older audience.”

Your Health Data May Be a NFT

Mar 9, 2021• 1

By KIM BELLARD

I must admit, after I wrote about digital currency last week, I did not expect to be writing about crypto anytime soon. Then I heard about “non-fungible tokens” (NFTs) and got a sense of the hype they were causing — how I could I resist?

There may even be a connection to health care.

You may have seen the Nyan Cat (pictured below), which is not new; it turns 10 in April. What is new is that last month its creator “sold” it. You may be thinking, wait, the GIF is everywhere, anyone can download it, so in what sense could he “sell” it?

That’s where NFTs come in. As you may know, “fungible” means that two things can be interchanged; one dollar is just like any other dollar, one bitcoin is like any other bitcoin, one electron is like any other electron. Non-fungible, then, means the item in question is unique, and this is where the “token” comes in. Basically, NFTs use digital certificates via blockchain to mark that something is one-of-a-kind, a claim of digital ownership.

Nadya Ivanova, chief operating officer of research firm L’Atelier explained NFTs to The Wall Street Journal:

Think of it like a digital passport that comes with an asset. They allow for this trust and authenticity to be established in a way that we haven’t been able to do before, whether it’s with physical assets or digital assets.

Artists have been using NFTs for a few years now, and auction house Christie’s is auctioning off the “First Purely Digital NFT-Based Work of Art Ever Offered by a Major Auction House,” featuring the digital artist Beeple (aka Mike Winklemann). Christie’s promises:

…the buyer receives the artwork file containing a digital signature from the artist and all vital details including time of creation, edition size and a record of any prior sales. These details are permanently attached to the artwork, providing an enduring guarantee of value.

NFTs have gone beyond art. The NBA is all over this, with NBA Top Shot selling highlight clips; one of Lebron dunking just went for $200,000. Maverick’s owner Mark Cuban is a big proponent. “The tech is real,” he told CNBC. “The impact is real, and permanent.”

THCB Gang Episode 45, Thursday March 4, 1pm PT – 4pm ET

Mar 3, 2021

Joining me, Matthew Holt (@boltyboy), on this week’s THCB Gang will be THCB regular writer Kim Bellard (@kimbbellard), medical historian Mike Magee (@drmikemagee), policy & tech expert Vince Kuraitis (@VinceKuraitis), patient safety expert and all around wit Michael Millenson (@MLMillenson), and consumer expert and current President of the Medical Board of California, Denise Pines.

Vaccines at warp speed, some “Neanderthal” state governors opening up, but also a pandemic bill passes the house with some health policy implications. Plus lots of fun and games in the world of digital health and startup health plans. We should have something to discuss!

You can see the video below live and the audio will be on our podcast channel (Apple/Spotify) from Friday

Wanna Buy Some Bitcoin

Mar 3, 2021

By KIM BELLARD

To healthcare organizations, digital currency is the thing you’re forced to deal with when your systems are held for ransomware. To the rest of the world, it’s increasingly starting to look like the future.

Tesla caused somewhat of a stir last month when it disclosed that it had bought $1.5b of bitcoin. It also said it would start accepting bitcoin payments for its cars. CEO Elon Musk added to the furor, saying: “I do at this point think bitcoin is a good thing. I’m late to the party, but I am a supporter of bitcoin.”

Most of us are late to the digital currency party.

Bitcoin’s market cap hit $1 trillion in mid-February, although it now hovers just over $900b, with Ethereum another almost $200b. Tesla is making more money from its bitcoin investment than from its core businesses. In the scheme of global financial markets, digital currencies are still small, but are not something any CFO should be ignoring.

Tesla is not the only major company accepting digital currencies; Overstock, Starbucks and Twitch do, as three wildly different examples. Twitter is thinking about paying vendors or even employees with bitcoin. Facebook expects to launch its own cryptocurrency this year.

I’m not aware, though, of any major healthcare companies accepting or paying with digital currencies. No Tesla-type breakthroughs in healthcare.

THCB Gang Episode 43, Thursday Feb 18, 1pm PT – 4pm ET

Feb 17, 2021

THCB Gang was broadcast live on Thurs Feb 18

Joining me, Matthew Holt (@boltyboy) were THCB regular writer Kim Bellard (@kimbbellard), patient advocates Grace Cordovano (@GraceCordovano) and Robin Farmanfarmaian (@Robinff3), newly-minted VC Marcus Whitney @marcuswhitney, and medical historian Mike Magee @drmikemagee.

We touched on the impact of the extremes of global warming on health! And in a pandemic nonetheless!. Plus the wild world of SPACs, more funding for mental health, and the sausage making of health care’s place in the upcoming stimulus bill. But I’m not sure the group is ready for the big policy move that the pandemic may give us the opportunity to pursue! A great conversation nonetheless.

The video is below but if you’d rather listen to the episode, the audio is preserved as a weekly podcast available on our iTunes & Spotify channels.

Health Care Needs Its Mary Barra

Feb 17, 2021

By KIM BELLARD

With all that has been going on, I’ve been remiss in reflecting on General Motor’s big announcement a couple weeks ago: it is going to have an all electric, zero emissions fleet of “light duty” vehicles (cars, SUVs, pickups) by 2035, and be carbon neutral by 2040. One of the largest manufacturers of internal combustion vehicles for over a hundred years is recognizing that its past is not its future.

Of course, I immediately wondered what the equivalent move in healthcare would be, and from whom.

In the announcement, GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra declared:

General Motors is joining governments and companies around the globe working to establish a safer, greener and better world. We encourage others to follow suit and make a significant impact on our industry and on the economy as a whole.

You can just imagine Henry Ford fuming in his grave.

GM has had electric vehicles for some time, but they remain a small percentage of its business, as they do among the auto industry generally (Tesla’s market cap notwithstanding). GM had supported the Trump Administration’s policies efforts to rescind emission standards, which benefited internal combustion engines, but quickly changed course in light of Biden Administration priorities on climate change.

GM now plans to spend some $27b on electric and autonomous vehicles over the next few years. “We’re committed to fighting for EV market share until we are No. 1 in North America, Ms. Barra said at an investor’s conference. “EVs are core to creating GM shareholder value.”

THCB Gang Episode 42, Thurs 11th

Feb 11, 2021

THCB Gang was live on Thurs Jan 28. The recording is below.

Joining me, Matthew Holt (@boltyboy) were patient safety expert and all around wit Michael Millenson (@MLMillenson), THCB regular health writer Kim Bellard (@kimbbellard), futurist Ian Morrison (@seccurve), surgeon & innovation dude Raj Aggarwal (@docaggarwal), patient advocate Grace Cordovano (@GraceCordovano), and policy & tech expert Vince Kuraitis (@VinceKuraitis).

The impeachment barely came up but several of us had direct experience of the chaotic vaccine rollout. Lots of speculation about what aspects of shoring up the ACA in the stimulus $1.9bn, and a bunch of discussion and disagreement about whether the lava is cooling in a new data and technology infrastructure on which to build a new health system. A great conversation.

The video is below but if you’d rather listen to the episode, the audio is preserved as a weekly podcast available on our iTunes & Spotify channels.

If It Ain’t Real Time, It Ain’t Really Real

Feb 10, 2021

By KIM BELLARD

Here’s a damning opening paragraph from an article in The New York Times about the frustrations that COVID-19 vaccinations are causing:

For a vast majority of Americans, a coronavirus vaccine is like sleep for a new parent: It’s all you can think about, even if you have no idea when you will get it.

Because, as Kaiser Health News reported: “Many states don’t know exactly where the doses are, and the feds don’t either.”

Think about that: in 2021, we can’t – or don’t – track something as vital as where vaccine doses are, in the midst of the pandemic they were designed in record time to mitigate. Nor, as it turns out, are we doing a good job of tracking how many have already had them, who is now eligible for them, or assuring that essential workers or disadvantaged populations are getting them.

Amazon tells me when my purchases have shipped, where they are in the shipping process, and when they’ve been delivered. They even send me a picture of purchases sitting on my porch to make sure I notice. Walmart’s supply chain management is equally vaunted.

Health care executives evidently aren’t required to learn supply chain management.

Better Get Your Quantum Computer

Feb 4, 2021

By KIM BELLARD

By all rights, I should be writing about the battle between Reddit forum WallStreetBets and Wall Street hedge funds. Depending on one’s point of view, it’s hilarious, frightening, or a searing indictment on stock trading – maybe all three.

But I’m going to let Elon Musk and Elizabeth Warren handle that one. Instead, I want to talk about quantum computing – and why healthcare needs to be looking ahead to it.

Let’s start with this: for the low, low price of $5,000, you could have your very own quantum computer. Spin Q Technology, a Chinese company, has recently introduced its Spin Q, a less expensive, less powerful version of its Spin Q Gemini, which went for $50,000. Other quantum computers, such as those by Google, IBM, or D-Wave, have a few more zeroes in their price. Spin Q Technology has a clear goal in offering this version:

We believe that low-cost portable quantum computer products will facilitate hands-on experience for teaching quantum computing at all levels, well-prepare younger generations of students and researchers for the future of quantum technologies.

You may remember that Steve Jobs and Apple had a similar strategy in the 1980’s, establishing a presence in the education market and among a generation of users that has served it well.

If you’re looking for something more powerful, maybe even use for business purposes, you are also in luck: today Microsoft announced that Azure Quantum “is now open for business.” Microsoft bills Azure Quantum as “the world’s first full-stack, public cloud ecosystem for quantum solutions.”