Until relatively recently, people living with diabetes were shut out of conversations about improving the devices that keep them alive. Device manufacturers saw clinicians as their customers, not patients, and nobody was asking them to change that stance, including the FDA. Patients and their loved ones were grateful to have insulin pumps and continuous glucose […]
health data
Rebel Health: Rare Disease
The Global Genes RARE Advocacy Summit in September 2023 provided a forum for me to talk, for the first time, about my upcoming book and how rare disease communities have been a key part of my professional life. Here’s a set of questions that Sravanthi Meka of Global Genes asked me in advance of the meeting: […]
Too legit to quit
Sara Riggare, PhD, an expert in patient-led research and personal science, tweeted this animated GIF depicting the common process in starting personal science, which is based on Anne Wright’s work: Andrea Downing was among those who replied, writing: “My feedback: We’ve been saying for years what you outline here. The question is: how do we […]
Consumer-strength tools,
industrial-strength innovation
On August 31, I’ll be part of the 2021 Federal Wearables Summit. This post is my attempt to “flip” the event by sharing what I intend to say. Please let me know what you think in the comments below. In 1986, Eric von Hippel of MIT identified “lead users” as people who identify and solve […]
Doing the work
I am thrilled to share that I am writing a book for MIT Press about the alchemy, grit, and soul of the health innovation pipeline that is powered by people connecting with each other to solve problems. Here’s the back story, which illustrates one of my core principles: Do the work that needs to get […]
Inventing the future
If you want to meet the future faster, go out to the edges of your field of vision. Find out what pioneers and rebels are doing and learn from them. Sometimes that means taking a virtual helicopter ride up to the zenith of tech development, as I did recently, watching Dario Gil, SVP and Director […]
Recent Comments