Netflix ’ s ‘ The Bleeding Edge ’ raises big questions for medical device manufacturers

Sandra Maddock, president and CEO, IMARC Research Thanks in large part to innovation in the medical device industry, the average human lifespan has nearly doubled in the past hundred years. Medical devices have undoubtedly improved the quality of life for millions of people, too. But a provocative new Netflix documentary raises an important question: Is there a point when innovation goes too far? The Bleeding Edge, produced by Academy-Award nominated filmmakers Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering, tells the stories of patients who say they’ve suffered serious health problems as a result of recent medical devices being used in their procedures. For instance: A woman suffers painful cramps, headaches and other problems she believes are due to complications from a permanent birth control device. Using Facebook groups, she finds thousands of other women who all say they’ve experienced similar problems after having the device implanted. An orthopedic surgeon has a chrome-cobalt hip replacement and later experiences serious neurological issues, including tremors, memory loss and a psychological breakdown in which he vandalizes a hotel room. He tests his own blood and discovers the amount of cobalt in his system is 100 times greater than normal due to the disintegration of the joint replacement. A woman experiences chronic pain after having a pelvic mesh treatment to improve bladder control. Doctors were unable to fully remove the mesh, and as a result of complications, she is no lon...
Source: Mass Device - Category: Medical Devices Authors: Tags: Blog IMARC Source Type: news