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I don't say this often... But this is GOLD! ... and well-worth 10 minutes to read start-to-finish with no distractions. It's simple and it works! Dickie Bush shares how David Ogilvy taught his team to communicate for success in just one page. Enjoy!

Pro2Health: Developing and bringing a Medical Product to Market (Part II) The MVP process progressed through 5 different iterations of product design. One key revision was due to customer breaking the mouthpiece which had a quarter-turn push-to-lock/unlock feature when the unit was dropped. This method of attaching/detaching the mouthpiece also defied good human-factors design practices since once the mouthpiece was attached, it was not obvious how to remove it. As a result, we redesigned the mouthpiece, retaining the quarter-turn feature but switching from the push-to-lock model to simple threads that provided 360 degree engagement between the mouthpiece and the Pro2FIT unit. This passed drop tests easily and the familiarity of threads made it easy to understand how to remove and replace the mouthpiece. Since this product was really a new category of health and wellness products, there was no existing product to “anchor” the price of the unit. For this reason, we created two different SKU’s or variants of the product, one with AA Batteries no display, the other with rechargeable batteries and an OLED display. This would let clients review both and one would provide an “anchor” for the other when customers are evaluating the product. Providing an “anchor” is often done in Consumer products to help drive customer decision-making with new or unfamiliar products. Since Mobile phones now had improved Bluetooth BLE capabilities, we revised the internal PCB to include a microcontroller with an internal BLE radio and internal lithium battery charger, and we submitted and received FCC approval for the new design . This update, reduced our cost-of-goods by 50% and the new BLE micro solved many Bluetooth pairing headaches that were present in the earlier design. This was a substantial improvement and a big win for the user experience. This cost-reduction also allowed us to drop the AA battery version and instead we created four SKU’s with options for an OLED display and for inductive charging. The micro-USB cable had been a challenge for some of the users in the clinical trials who were jamming the micro-USB cable into the connector upside-down, causing the charging connector to be ripped of the PC Board. With our upgraded electronics in our MVP, we shifted from 3D Printed units to building housings from rapid-tooling methods, and we were now building the PrO2FIT product in batches of 200 units. Although we had de-risked building a product and a platform and had proven that it delivered value in a clinical trial environment, investors still wanted to see results on three key milestones: >> FDA clearance, >> Traction showing repeat sales in Hospitals, and >> A full-time team dedicated to the Pro2Health business. We will revisit these three goals in the next chapter….

Most people come up with an idea for a great new invention, but think it may have already been done, or think they do not have the time or experience to make it real. Here are a few steps you can take to research your idea for free: 👉 Research the IP landscape to learn if others have similar inventions or if your idea improves upon existing “art”. 1) Search on " Google Patents" website for similar products to learn about “prior art”; the legal term for other inventions that have already been patented based upon a similar idea. 2) As you research patents, drill down through the links of patents referenced within each patent AND patents that reference each one you read. This latter group has built upon an invention and could be closer to your IP (Invention). 3) Create a document listing reviewed patents including a comment about why you believe each is relevant with a YES/NO/MAYBE and a single sentence explaining why. This will save you time and money if / when you meet with a patent attorney. 4) Identify how your product improves upon the “prior art” , specifically what they missed that makes your invention more valuable or of greater use. 5) Further define product features that set your product apart from those identified as "prior art" 6) Draft Claims - Create a bullet-list that lists the features to be included in each claim. For example, if you invented the iPhone, you may have bullets like the following i) A touch-screen handheld computing device with a cellular-phone and a phone app ii) A touch-screen handheld computing device that supports a variety of installable mobile apps such as a media player, games and weather apps. iii) A touch-screen handheld computing device that includes claims i & II iv) ... 7) Once you have completed these activities, you will know how novel your idea is and you will have a sense of whether it infringes upon someone else's patent. You can then assess whether a few changes might keep you clear of the prior art, and whether you believe it is worth progressing to pursue the invention with a patent attorney. 8) If you decide to pursue the invention, I highly recommend engaging with a patent attorney to draft your claims since very specific language must used in writing claims. You will also want your patent attorney to review your patent-review document and then perform a patent search to ensure that you have proof of performing this prior-art search to prevent you from being subject to trebled damages, should an infringement come to light in the future.

Could a dialog with ChatGPT help cut through our tendancy toward confirmation bias?

We can do all of our favorite activities today, we’re in decent shape, and our daily activities give us plenty of exercise. >> But do we really get enough exercise ? >> Will we be able to do our favorite activities next year? In 5 years? In 10 or 20 years? 👉 With respect to the attached sobering graph: Vo2Max levels are typically measured with users wearing a mask that measures lactate output while on a treadmill. Our Vo2Max level indicates the upper limit of our ability to convert oxygen into energy to power our muscles, when we exercise. The attached graph shows the level of Vo2Max required for typical activities of daily living. Note how typical age-related muscle-loss impacts our ability to perform these activities - unless we pursue an exercise program to maintain our breathing-muscle strength. But all is not lost. Many activities can help improve our Vo2Max. Here are several effective strategies recommended by experts on the Huberman Lab: - Maximal Exertion Exercises: Undertaking brief, maximal exertion activities like running up stairs or doing jumping jacks for periods as short as 20 seconds can lead to significant improvements in cardiovascular fitness and VO2 max. - Heart Rate Elevating Cardiovascular Training: Incorporating workouts that elevate heart rate near VO2 max levels, such as jogging, cycling, high-intensity interval training, or rowing at a high effort where conversation is difficult. - Coordinated High-Intensity Workouts: Structured high-intensity interval training that challenges maximal output over specific durations can effectively boost VO2 max and overall health. -Understanding Physiological Failure: Recognizing the point of physiological failure during VO2 max tests or high-intensity workouts helps identify where your body needs most adaptation, whether it's pulmonary exchange, muscular endurance, or cardiovascular capacity. Consistency and safety are key in applying these methods. It’s advisable to progressively challenge your body's capabilities and include recovery to foster adaptations effectively. Always consult a professional before starting a high-intensity training routine, especially if you have underlying health conditions. As a final note, there is one other exercise option, that is done while sitting: Inspiratory Muscle Training (IMT) IMT improves Vo2Max substantially and rapidly when performed at 80% of our one-rep max (maximum level of ability). IMT is effective because the greater muscle-strength increases negative pressure in the lungs with each breath. +20% pressure ==> 33% greater perfusion +33% pressure ==> 50% greater perfusion This greater perfusion is with every breath as a result of improved efficiency of the cardio-pulmonary pump which leads to greater oxygen availability (Vo2Max) in our blood, to fuel our muscles during exercise. Check out Inspiratory Muscle Trainers on the web. Note that I am a co-founder in Pro2Health.

AI Systems can be fooled by changing a few pixels proving we are not always aware of what they have learned. I'll be sharing this and more in my InnoGuidePodcast this Friday about Melanie Mitchell's book Artificial Intelligence: A Guide for Thinking Humans

Pro2Health: Developing and bringing a Medical Product to Market (Part III) Just as a brief review, our team of three cofounders designed the Pro2Fit product with the Pro2Health platform having a mobile app and a clinical management web portal that is clinically proven to do the following: A) It reduces breathlessness (dyspnea) in patients with respiratory conditions including Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) and COPD, B) It increases Vo2Max in both patients mentioned above and in athletes and us ordinary folks via Inspiratory Muscle Training (IMT) app-guided breathing exercises, that are essentially “weight-lifting” for our breathing muscles, C) It plays a key role in what Dr Peter Attia calls “Medicine 3.0”, where we use metrics and the tools at our disposal, to maintain our Vo2Max to ensure that we can continue doing our favorite 10 activities thru every decade of our lives. Peter calls this our “Centinarian Decathlon”. The graph below shows how quickly we lose the ability to perform activities of daily living if we allow traditional muscle-loss to take its course. We had a continuing dialog with several investors; One VC from NYC, another from RI, and an Angel group. The RI group wanted FDA clearance, the NYC group wanted the focus shifted from healthcare to a low-cost direct-to-consumer model, while the Angels would only invest if our team was full-time in the business, and their typical check-size would not support building product plus the overhead of a full-time team. So, we continued our bootstrapping model, filing for, and receiving FDA clearance as both a therapeutic and a diagnostic. This meant that physicians could be reimbursed, under existing CPT codes, for using the Pro2Health platform to do patient testing and to do patient therapy. We then returned to several hospital groups with our new reimbursement in-hand, only to discover headwinds that slowed adoption at every turn. While some pulmonology and cardiology teams were supportive of using Inspiratory Muscle Training to help their patients, it was difficult to introduce anything new into their patient-care process within the hospital. Meanwhile, a doctor with a large physical therapy (PT) and respiratory therapy (RT) practice had learned about the pro2health platform from his colleagues at UMiami, who had led and published a number of clinical trials using the Pro2Health platform. He began ordering Pro2Fit devices for his patients and reported significant improvements for patients with COPD, Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) and even improvement in Heart Rate Variability (HRV) in just a few treatments. In an interview, he even suggested that this should be a primary treatment option presented to patients with these conditions, by every cardiologist. We will pick up next time with what this PT/RT physician taught us about how to move forward to satisfy Medicine 2.0 acute-care and Medicine 3.0 preventive care patients.

8 Simple Rules for Startups I wish I knew 20 years ago Knowing these simple rules would have made life simpler for most startups I've worked with including my own: 👉 1) Your startup must fulfill a personal passion. 2) Your Elevator pitch must be one short sentence. 3) Build an MVP with your own resources. This can include co-founders or working partners. 4) Focus insanely on your customers, gathering frequent feedback to tune your MVP to meet and exceed their needs. 5) Identify and Target one customer with an urgent problem for whom you bring great value. 6) Price your product according to the value it delivers, rather than settling for a lower price derived from your actual costs. 7) Don't waste any time building decks for investors until they approach you. They will find you once you have cash-flow from serving your customers successfully. 8) Don't be afraid to refuse investor involvement if you don't need it. It will complicate your life and you will have a new partner to explain things to, who does not work for you or your firm.

Most people come up with an idea for a great new invention, but think it may have already been done, or think they do not have the time or experience to make it real. Here are a few steps you can take to research your idea for free: 👉 Research the IP landscape to learn if others have similar inventions or if your idea improves upon existing “art”. 1) Search on " Google Patents" website for similar products to learn about “prior art”; the legal term for other inventions that have already been patented based upon a similar idea. 2) As you research patents, drill down through the links of patents referenced within each patent AND patents that reference each one you read. This latter group has built upon an invention and could be closer to your IP (Invention). 3) Create a document listing reviewed patents including a comment about why you believe each is relevant with a YES/NO/MAYBE and a single sentence explaining why. This will save you time and money if / when you meet with a patent attorney. 4) Identify how your product improves upon the “prior art” , specifically what they missed that makes your invention more valuable or of greater use. 5) Further define product features that set your product apart from those identified as "prior art" 6) Draft Claims - Create a bullet-list that lists the features to be included in each claim. For example, if you invented the iPhone, you may have bullets like the following i) A touch-screen handheld computing device with a cellular-phone and a phone app ii) A touch-screen handheld computing device that supports a variety of installable mobile apps such as a media player, games and weather apps. iii) A touch-screen handheld computing device that includes claims i & II iv) ... 7) Once you have completed these activities, you will know how novel your idea is and you will have a sense of whether it infringes upon someone else's patent. You can then assess whether a few changes might keep you clear of the prior art, and whether you believe it is worth progressing to pursue the invention with a patent attorney. 8) If you decide to pursue the invention, I highly recommend engaging with a patent attorney to draft your claims since very specific language must used in writing claims. You will also want your patent attorney to review your patent-review document and then perform a patent search to ensure that you have proof of performing this prior-art search to prevent you from being subject to trebled damages, should an infringement come to light in the future.

Pro2Health: Developing and bringing a Medical Product to Market (Part II) The MVP process progressed through 5 different iterations of product design. One key revision was due to customer breaking the mouthpiece which had a quarter-turn push-to-lock/unlock feature when the unit was dropped. This method of attaching/detaching the mouthpiece also defied good human-factors design practices since once the mouthpiece was attached, it was not obvious how to remove it. As a result, we redesigned the mouthpiece, retaining the quarter-turn feature but switching from the push-to-lock model to simple threads that provided 360 degree engagement between the mouthpiece and the Pro2FIT unit. This passed drop tests easily and the familiarity of threads made it easy to understand how to remove and replace the mouthpiece. Since this product was really a new category of health and wellness products, there was no existing product to “anchor” the price of the unit. For this reason, we created two different SKU’s or variants of the product, one with AA Batteries no display, the other with rechargeable batteries and an OLED display. This would let clients review both and one would provide an “anchor” for the other when customers are evaluating the product. Providing an “anchor” is often done in Consumer products to help drive customer decision-making with new or unfamiliar products. Since Mobile phones now had improved Bluetooth BLE capabilities, we revised the internal PCB to include a microcontroller with an internal BLE radio and internal lithium battery charger, and we submitted and received FCC approval for the new design . This update, reduced our cost-of-goods by 50% and the new BLE micro solved many Bluetooth pairing headaches that were present in the earlier design. This was a substantial improvement and a big win for the user experience. This cost-reduction also allowed us to drop the AA battery version and instead we created four SKU’s with options for an OLED display and for inductive charging. The micro-USB cable had been a challenge for some of the users in the clinical trials who were jamming the micro-USB cable into the connector upside-down, causing the charging connector to be ripped of the PC Board. With our upgraded electronics in our MVP, we shifted from 3D Printed units to building housings from rapid-tooling methods, and we were now building the PrO2FIT product in batches of 200 units. Although we had de-risked building a product and a platform and had proven that it delivered value in a clinical trial environment, investors still wanted to see results on three key milestones: >> FDA clearance, >> Traction showing repeat sales in Hospitals, and >> A full-time team dedicated to the Pro2Health business. We will revisit these three goals in the next chapter….

Could a dialog with ChatGPT help cut through our tendancy toward confirmation bias?

We can do all of our favorite activities today, we’re in decent shape, and our daily activities give us plenty of exercise. >> But do we really get enough exercise ? >> Will we be able to do our favorite activities next year? In 5 years? In 10 or 20 years? 👉 With respect to the attached sobering graph: Vo2Max levels are typically measured with users wearing a mask that measures lactate output while on a treadmill. Our Vo2Max level indicates the upper limit of our ability to convert oxygen into energy to power our muscles, when we exercise. The attached graph shows the level of Vo2Max required for typical activities of daily living. Note how typical age-related muscle-loss impacts our ability to perform these activities - unless we pursue an exercise program to maintain our breathing-muscle strength. But all is not lost. Many activities can help improve our Vo2Max. Here are several effective strategies recommended by experts on the Huberman Lab: - Maximal Exertion Exercises: Undertaking brief, maximal exertion activities like running up stairs or doing jumping jacks for periods as short as 20 seconds can lead to significant improvements in cardiovascular fitness and VO2 max. - Heart Rate Elevating Cardiovascular Training: Incorporating workouts that elevate heart rate near VO2 max levels, such as jogging, cycling, high-intensity interval training, or rowing at a high effort where conversation is difficult. - Coordinated High-Intensity Workouts: Structured high-intensity interval training that challenges maximal output over specific durations can effectively boost VO2 max and overall health. -Understanding Physiological Failure: Recognizing the point of physiological failure during VO2 max tests or high-intensity workouts helps identify where your body needs most adaptation, whether it's pulmonary exchange, muscular endurance, or cardiovascular capacity. Consistency and safety are key in applying these methods. It’s advisable to progressively challenge your body's capabilities and include recovery to foster adaptations effectively. Always consult a professional before starting a high-intensity training routine, especially if you have underlying health conditions. As a final note, there is one other exercise option, that is done while sitting: Inspiratory Muscle Training (IMT) IMT improves Vo2Max substantially and rapidly when performed at 80% of our one-rep max (maximum level of ability). IMT is effective because the greater muscle-strength increases negative pressure in the lungs with each breath. +20% pressure ==> 33% greater perfusion +33% pressure ==> 50% greater perfusion This greater perfusion is with every breath as a result of improved efficiency of the cardio-pulmonary pump which leads to greater oxygen availability (Vo2Max) in our blood, to fuel our muscles during exercise. Check out Inspiratory Muscle Trainers on the web. Note that I am a co-founder in Pro2Health.

AI Systems can be fooled by changing a few pixels proving we are not always aware of what they have learned. I'll be sharing this and more in my InnoGuidePodcast this Friday about Melanie Mitchell's book Artificial Intelligence: A Guide for Thinking Humans

Pro2Health: Developing and bringing a Medical Product to Market (Part III) Just as a brief review, our team of three cofounders designed the Pro2Fit product with the Pro2Health platform having a mobile app and a clinical management web portal that is clinically proven to do the following: A) It reduces breathlessness (dyspnea) in patients with respiratory conditions including Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) and COPD, B) It increases Vo2Max in both patients mentioned above and in athletes and us ordinary folks via Inspiratory Muscle Training (IMT) app-guided breathing exercises, that are essentially “weight-lifting” for our breathing muscles, C) It plays a key role in what Dr Peter Attia calls “Medicine 3.0”, where we use metrics and the tools at our disposal, to maintain our Vo2Max to ensure that we can continue doing our favorite 10 activities thru every decade of our lives. Peter calls this our “Centinarian Decathlon”. The graph below shows how quickly we lose the ability to perform activities of daily living if we allow traditional muscle-loss to take its course. We had a continuing dialog with several investors; One VC from NYC, another from RI, and an Angel group. The RI group wanted FDA clearance, the NYC group wanted the focus shifted from healthcare to a low-cost direct-to-consumer model, while the Angels would only invest if our team was full-time in the business, and their typical check-size would not support building product plus the overhead of a full-time team. So, we continued our bootstrapping model, filing for, and receiving FDA clearance as both a therapeutic and a diagnostic. This meant that physicians could be reimbursed, under existing CPT codes, for using the Pro2Health platform to do patient testing and to do patient therapy. We then returned to several hospital groups with our new reimbursement in-hand, only to discover headwinds that slowed adoption at every turn. While some pulmonology and cardiology teams were supportive of using Inspiratory Muscle Training to help their patients, it was difficult to introduce anything new into their patient-care process within the hospital. Meanwhile, a doctor with a large physical therapy (PT) and respiratory therapy (RT) practice had learned about the pro2health platform from his colleagues at UMiami, who had led and published a number of clinical trials using the Pro2Health platform. He began ordering Pro2Fit devices for his patients and reported significant improvements for patients with COPD, Congestive Heart Failure (CHF) and even improvement in Heart Rate Variability (HRV) in just a few treatments. In an interview, he even suggested that this should be a primary treatment option presented to patients with these conditions, by every cardiologist. We will pick up next time with what this PT/RT physician taught us about how to move forward to satisfy Medicine 2.0 acute-care and Medicine 3.0 preventive care patients.

8 Simple Rules for Startups I wish I knew 20 years ago Knowing these simple rules would have made life simpler for most startups I've worked with including my own: 👉 1) Your startup must fulfill a personal passion. 2) Your Elevator pitch must be one short sentence. 3) Build an MVP with your own resources. This can include co-founders or working partners. 4) Focus insanely on your customers, gathering frequent feedback to tune your MVP to meet and exceed their needs. 5) Identify and Target one customer with an urgent problem for whom you bring great value. 6) Price your product according to the value it delivers, rather than settling for a lower price derived from your actual costs. 7) Don't waste any time building decks for investors until they approach you. They will find you once you have cash-flow from serving your customers successfully. 8) Don't be afraid to refuse investor involvement if you don't need it. It will complicate your life and you will have a new partner to explain things to, who does not work for you or your firm.