Miamisburg, Ohio – Just more than one year after breaking ground, United Grinding North America Inc. has officially opened the doors of its new 110,000ft² headquarters in preparation for a ribbon cutting event on November 3, 2017. The building brings together the company’s cylindrical, surface, and profile grinding business units as well as its automation and rebuilding departments from its existing offices in Miamisburg, Ohio, together with the staff from its tool and cutter grinding machines and measurement systems sectors who were formerly located in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

With this consolidation of its diverse product lines and customer service initiatives, United Grinding has sought further process optimization and stabilization in the name of providing exemplary service for its customers across the hemisphere. “We’re sending a strong, powerful message to the market and our customers that United Grinding is investing in the future,” said the company’s President and CEO, Steve Jacobson. “This new facility, with all its productivity improvements and attention to detail, is the best way to build upon the partnerships we’ve developed and bring innovative services to our customers in the most efficient and cost-effective way possible.”

The building’s design is one that will further enhance efficiency, strengthen customer service, and boost operational agility.

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“Our customers have expressed a need for faster response times and complete life-cycle solutions,” says Dr. Michael Gebhardt, United Grinding Group’s project leader for the new headquarters and vice president of operations. “To that end, we designed a building as advanced as our machines, engineered for precision and speed.”

Rodger Pinney, vice chairman of the Board of Directors at United Grinding, agreed with Dr. Gebhardt, adding, “By consolidating our resources and increasing both our company-wide efficiency and support synergy, we are able to deliver an unparalleled level of customer service while creating a foundation for further growth.”

With its new facility, United Grinding has positioned itself to offer the complete grinding experience, all under one roof. Its Solutions Center provides space for comprehensive software training and demonstrations, while its streamlined rebuilding process has made it possible to reach new levels of workflow efficiency. The result is an optimized process designed to offer customers the turnkey solutions they require at the speed of modern manufacturing.

Cleveland, Ohio – August U.S. cutting tool consumption totaled $196.23 million according to the U.S. Cutting Tool Institute (USCTI) and AMT – The Association For Manufacturing Technology. This total, as reported by companies participating in the Cutting Tool Market Report (CTMR) collaboration, was up 14.8% from July’s $170.95 million and up 11.6% when compared with the total of $175.81 million reported for August 2016. With a year-to-date total of $1.462 billion, 2017 is up 7.7% when compared with 2016.

“The U.S. cutting tool market continues to benefit from a growing domestic economy. 2017 to 2016 comparisons are all positive,” says Steve Stokey, President of USCTI. “Current indicators such as the PMI, industrial production, and consumer confidence point to continued positive growth for the industry as we move into 2018.”

The Cutting Tool Market Report is jointly compiled by AMT and USCTI, two trade associations representing the development, production and distribution of cutting tool technology and products. It provides a monthly statement on U.S. manufacturers’ consumption of the primary consumable in the manufacturing process – the cutting tool. Analysis of cutting tool consumption is a leading indicator of both upturns and downturns in U.S. manufacturing activity, as it is a true measure of actual production levels.

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Historical data for the Cutting Tool Market Report is available dating back to January 2012. This collaboration of AMT and USCTI is the first step in the two associations working together to promote and support U.S.-based manufacturers of cutting tool technology.

These numbers and all data in this report are based on the totals reported by the companies participating in the CTMR program. The totals here represent the majority of the U.S. market for cutting tools.

Cleveland, Ohio – Cleveland Clinic officials unveiled their Top 10 Medical Innovations of 2018 at a presentation on the last day of the 2017 Medical Innovation Summit. Now in its 15th year, the annual Medical Innovation Summit is organized by Cleveland Clinic Innovations, the development and commercialization arm of Cleveland Clinic.

The list of up-and-coming technologies was selected by a panel of Cleveland Clinic physicians and scientists. Top 10 Medical Innovations of 2018:

1) Hybrid closed-loop insulin delivery system
Hailed as the world's first artificial pancreas, the hybrid closed-loop insulin delivery system helps make Type 1 diabetes more manageable. FDA approved in late 2016, this new technology enables direct communication between the continuous glucose monitoring device and insulin pump to stabilize blood glucose at an unprecedented level. The technology replaces the "open loop" concept that requires patient to use information from their continuous glucose monitor to determine how much insulin to inject.

Experts are optimistic that the outcomes demonstrated in Type 1 diabetes will accelerate a similar product for Type 2 diabetes patients in the near future.

2) Neuromodulation to treat obstructive sleep apnea
Sleep apnea, the most common sleep disturbance, impacts 21 million Americans and can lead to high blood pressure, heart disease and stroke. While continuous positive airway pressure device, (C.P.A.P.) is the gold standard treatment, it is estimated that more than 40% of sleep apnea patients refuse to wear the device.

Companies are now marketing an implant that delivers stimulation to open key airway muscles during sleep. Controlled by a remote or wearable patch, the technology acts like a pacemaker, helping to synchronize the intake of air with the action of the tongue. These neuromodulation systems have had positive results in clinical testing.

3) Gene therapy for inherited retinal diseases
In 2018, the FDA is anticipated to approve a new gene therapy for inherited retinal diseases. The ability to deliver a new gene to targeted cells in the body via viral "vectors" is expected to provide visual function improvements in some patients with IRDs.

Caused by biallelic RPE65 mutations, these rare genetic conditions result in progressive vision loss and blindness. Currently, there are no FDA-approved treatments for them. This innovative gene therapy delivers a "normal" working copy of the gene that results in a functional protein. Researchers place this gene inside a modified virus and this "vector" delivers it to retinal cells.

In 2017, the FDA awarded orphan drug status to RPE65 gene therapy, and last week a panel of U.S. health advisers recommended approval for this approach.

4) The unprecedented reduction of LDL cholesterol
Low-density lipoprotein ("LDL") cholesterol is known as bad cholesterol, bringing about fatty deposits that can clog arteries. With certain new drug combinations, LDL levels are reduced by 75%. While this stat is remarkable, many patients and doctors wonder how low is too low?

A number of trials have been in progress recently testing this theory. So far, the floor has yet to be found. New studies reported a 20% reduction in the risk of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction or stroke for patients who took statins combined with a new class of cholesterol-lowering drugs (PCSK9 inhibitors) to reach ultra-low LDL levels.

Doctors now have the tools and the research to take the fight to LDL cholesterol.

5) The emergence of distance health
Extending the healthcare environment to the patient's home has been a goal for decades. Removing geographic barriers to care can result in timelier, more efficient and more optimal outcomes as well as significant cost savings. Due to an increase in connectivity through mobile technology and consumer demand, hospitals are getting ready for widespread adoption in 2018.

These technologies are also expanding beyond the simple two-way video platform. More patients are now equipped with attachable devices that record and report medical information to doctors to monitor their condition. Over 19 million patients are projected to use these remote monitoring devices in 2018.

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6) Next generation vaccine platforms
Developing one vaccine is estimated to cost $200 million and take at least 10 years. The toughest challenges, however, often lie in timing and delivery. With the recent Ebola and Zika outbreaks, it was clear that the process needs to be expedited.

In 2018, innovators will be upgrading the entire vaccine infrastructure to support the rapid development of new vaccines, as well as breaking ground on novel mechanisms to deliver new and existing vaccines to vast populations. For example, innovators are perfecting the use of freeze drying vaccines which can allow shipment to more remote locations. Companies are finding faster ways to develop flu vaccines using tobacco plants, insects and nanoparticles.

At the point-of-care, innovators are thinking outside the syringe. Oral, edible and mucosally delivered vaccines, intranasal vaccines, and vaccine chips are all under development. In 2018, a Band-Aid-sized patch for the flu vaccine is expected to be on the market. These new ways of developing, shipping, storing and vaccinating are being swiftly connected to stave off current and future diseases and epidemics.

7) Arsenal of targeted breast cancer therapies
The most full-scale attack on breast cancer is currently underway. The tried-and-true treatment mechanisms – via hormone therapy, chemotherapy and radiation – are still valuable options for prolonging life. But these treatments are often not enough to keep cancer at bay, and can also lead to the collateral damage of healthy cells.

2018 marks the year that targeted therapies are most widely used to treat breast cancer. A variety of new targeted treatments, such as PARP inhibitors for patients with specific mutations in BRCA1 or BRCA2, and novel CD K 4/6 inhibitors for ER-Positive/HER-2-negative breast cancer are having positive outcomes in clinical trials. Addtionally, HER-2 targeted agents continue to show benefit in this subgroup of HER-2-positive patients. Experts believe the results from these studies are pointing to an increasing survival rate, and perhaps the eventual end of chemotherapy for a significant population of breast cancer patients.

8) Enhanced recovery after surgery
For decades, the pre-and post-surgery routine has been standard for nearly all procedures: No eating before surgery; use pain medications; and stay in bed during recovery. After substantial growth in hospital readmissions and an opioid epidemic, innovators are overhauling post-surgery strategies, and delivering impressive results.

Several centers have been developing the concept of "fast-track" or "enhanced" recovery after surgery. Research indicates that ERAS ("Enhanced Recovery After Surgery") protocol that permits patients to eat before surgery, limits opioids by prescribing alternate medications, and encourages regular walking reduces complication rates and speeds recovery. These protocols can reduce blood clots, nausea, infection, muscle atrophy, hospital stay and more.

9) Centralized monitoring of hospital patients
Hospitals have long struggled with "alarm fatigue," when busy caregivers become desensitized to the constant noise emanating from cardiac telemetry monitoring systems. Reports indicate that up to 44% of inpatient cardiac arrests are not detected appropriately.

Centralized monitoring has emerged as the answer, as part of a "mission control" operation in which off-site personnel use advanced equipment, including sensors and high-definition cameras to monitor blood pressure, heart rate, respiration and more. Complex data are assimilated to trigger on-site intervention when appropriate while filtering out unimportant alarms. In 2016, results from the CMU's first 13 months of using the standardized criteria were published showing that there's real hope of reducing rates of redundant or less significant alarms while improving clinical outcomes.

Since then, further innovation has yielded a system that can double the number of monitored patients per technician, improve clinical outcomes, and decrease communication transit times.

10) Scalp cooling for reducing chemotherapy hair loss
Newly diagnosed cancer patients have a lot to process. For women, the inevitable loss of hair is often one of the hardest. There is a new technology making its way to the U.S. that is looking to eliminate this problem from some patients' lists of worries.

"Scalp cooling" – which works by reducing the temperature of the scalp a few degrees immediately before, during and after chemotherapy – has been shown to be effective for preserving hair in women receiving chemotherapy for early-stage breast cancer. The scalp cooling system was FDA approved in May 2017.

Medical implants can save lives by correcting structural defects in the heart and other organs. But until now, the use of medical implants in children has been complicated by the fact that fixed-size implants cannot expand in tune with a child's natural growth.

To address this unmet surgical need, a team of researchers from Boston Children's Hospital and Brigham and Women's Hospital have developed a growth-accommodating implant designed for use in a cardiac surgical procedure called a valve annuloplasty, which repairs leaking mitral and tricuspid valves in the heart.

Currently, children who undergo life-saving cardiac surgeries, such as mitral and tricuspid valve repairs, may require several additional surgeries over the course of their childhood to re-repair or replace leaking heart valves. The novel growth-accommodating implant is meant to enhance the durability of pediatric heart valve repairs while also accommodating a child's growth, decreasing the number of heart surgeries a child must endure.

Beyond cardiac repair, the research team says the tubular, expanding implant design used in their proof-of-concept – reported in Nature Biomedical Engineering – could also be adapted for a variety of other growth-accommodating implants throughout the body.

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"Medical implants and devices are rarely designed with children in mind, and as a result, they almost never accommodate growth," says Pedro del Nido, MD, co-senior author on the study, who is chief of cardiac surgery at Boston Children's and the William E. Ladd Professor of Child Surgery at Harvard Medical School (HMS). "So, we've created an environment here where individuals with expertise and interest in medical devices can come together and collaborate towards developing materials for pediatric surgery."

By partnering with Jeff Karp, PhD, a bioengineer and principal investigator at Brigham and Women's Hospital (BWH) and an associate professor of medicine at HMS, his laboratory's expertise in chemical engineering and biopolymer materials was brought into the mix for this research.

After vetting many different concepts for a growth-accommodating implant, the team took its inspiration from the braided, expanding design of a Chinese finger trap, selecting their first proof-of-concept to be a tricuspid valve annuloplasty ring implant.

"The implant design consists of two components: a degrading, biopolymer core and a braided, tubular sleeve that elongates over time in response to the tensile forces exerted by the surrounding growing tissue," says Eric Feins, MD, co-first author on the paper, who was formerly a research fellow in del Nido's lab and is currently a fellow in cardiothoracic surgery at Massachusetts General Hospital. "As the inner biopolymer degrades, the tubular sleeve becomes thinner and elongates in response to native tissue growth."

To create the degrading core, Karp's team recommended the use of an extra-stiff, biocompatible polymer that begins to erode on its surface following implantation. The polymer itself is made of components that already exist in the human body.

"By adjusting the polymer's composition, we can tune the core to degrade predictably over a pre-determined amount of time," says Karp, co-senior author on the study.

Based on the promising in vivo experimental data presented by del Nido and Karp's team, the biomedical device company CryoLife Inc., is already developing their concept into a growth-accommodating annuloplasty ring implant for pediatric heart valve repair.

"In combination with the braided sleeve exterior, this two-part implant concept could have many medical applications beyond the most obvious ones to enhance cardiac valve surgery in children," del Nido says.

The proprietary design of the braided sleeve developed by del Nido and Karp's team doesn't just share resemblance to a Chinese finger trap but also to an organic structure engineered by nature itself.

"We solved this problem of growth accommodation with a concept that already exists in nature: the octopus has a special ability to stretch its arms into confined cracks and spaces between rocks, in search of its prey," says Yuhan Lee, PhD, co-first author on the study and a materials researcher at BWH. "It can do this because of unique, braid-like crossfibers of connective tissue that enable the simultaneous elongation and shrinking diameter of its arms, allowing it to extend its reach two to three times beyond the original arm length."

This type of elongating movement is also found in natural tissue structure of the mammalian intestines and esophagus.

"This concept could be adapted for many different clinical applications, with exciting potential to be converted into an actively – rather than a passively – elongating structure that could act as a tissue scaffold encouraging growth," Feins says.

Photo Credit: Randal McKenzie