EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES TO MAKE A SUCCESSFUL CAREER PIVOT

A modern fighter jet making a sharp turn; in making a career pivot, you will have to make many sharp turns.

I’ve done quite a bit of this “career pivoting”. I’ve learned a great deal through these career journeys and I’d like to share these lessons learned via this article. Career pivots are becoming more and more common with fields and industries experiencing rapid change and employment opportunities shifting accordingly. So, in response, we change course and head for the richest fishing grounds. One graduating from college, vocational, or other certificate career programs, can expect not to have three different jobs, but three different careers. And this is reflected by the countless LinkedIn profile I’ve had the opportunity to review over several years. For many, their respective profiles tell a story. Personally, I find these stories very interesting and one of the reasons I’ve done more and more career coaching and mentoring over the past few years. It’s a two-way street and I’ve learned so much from my mentorees or they prompted me to conduct research in certain areas; most recently marketing analytics.

To put this career pivoting into context, please allow me to share some related stories. When I went back to school around age 28 for cardiovascular technology [i.e., with an emphasis on echocardiography or cardiac sonography], it was driven by the post 9/11 recession and its harsh impact on the telecommunications sector where I had previously worked in. Many other “adult learners” in my class were in the “same boat”. One woman in her mid-40s was a COBOL programmer, https://www.microfocus.com/en-us/what-is/cobol , [i.e., this programming language was used primarily for business and mainframe computer driven applications; the advent of personal computers with GUIs in the 1990s proved to be the death-knell for mainframes] who was forced to make a career pivot. Her knowledge and skills with COBOL programming became obsolete.

Technological change can be harsh on workers. Just think about all of the people employed on Trans-Atlantic ocean liners prior to commercial airliners offering air transportation across the continents. When these commercial flights became regularly available and enabled travelers to get from New York City to London in a little less than a day [i.e., the very early commercial Trans-Atlantic flights were flown on propeller-driven planes which requires several stops for refueling in places like Nova Scotia and Greenland which meant the total transit time was much longer than today’s direct 7–8-hour flights from the Northeastern U.S. to Western Europe]. When the passenger ocean-liner industry was superseded by commercial airlines, most of the respective jobs were eliminated. One might ask if some of those passenger ocean-liner Captains decided to attend aircraft pilot training programs? Imagine that challenge, having been an expert maritime navigator and ship captain for decades and now having to make a dramatic pivot. Perhaps some of their leadership and navigation skills can carry over, but certainly, for those who embarked on becoming pilots faced a tremendous amount of new knowledge and skills they had to master.

Some other examples that stand out in my mind are an insurance executive who decided to become a mortician and an Emergency Room Doctor with a side-hobby in computer programming who decided to leave practice and launched an Emergency Department Information System (EDIS), https://www.medsphere.com/blog/emergency-department-information-systems/, company. Additionally, military veterans leveraging their discipline, leadership skills, ability to learn quickly, and “can do” attitude move into the civilian or private sector and move into executive management positions with Fortune 500 companies, launch their own ventures [i.e., including military and/or federal government contracting], or go into politics and public service.

But no matter where they came from or where they are going, they all have some things in common. And that is, they came from somewhere, some industry change, change in their life, or some other driving factor sparked something in their mind to take a leap of faith and pivot, and they are now heading for unchartered territory on a personal level. I don’t have to tell you this, but this is a major, major decision. We all know, our careers are a key and integral part of our livelihoods and our ability to support ourselves and for some of us, our families, are one of the biggest components of our identities and lives. And this means more than ever with the daily “cost of living” escalating rapidly and unpredictably. And this is the main reason why I have decided to take the time and share my knowledge and write on this topic. One can arguably say that possessing career pivoting skills has become a survival skill in the “job market jungle”. Just as if you find yourself lost and isolated in a real jungle, your knowledge of that environment and wilderness skills will allow you to survive; in the case of career management, our career pivoting skills can be our “career and employment survival skills”. Not many things are as important or meaningful.

We’ve all heard and read from career experts that we must be “adaptable” in today’s job market. But oftentimes the specifics are left out. My aim with this piece is to bridge that gap. This article is a type of recipe or instruction manual for making the career pivot or major “career move”, successfully. You need not use every tip or suggestion offered, but I believe the more of it you incorporate into your pivot strategy, the more successful that you will be in this endeavor. And it doesn’t matter where you are in your career. If you’re two years post-graduation or a thirty-year veteran in your prior field, now looking for a change, these tips are applicable to all making this move. The three key things you will need to be willing to do are:

1.    Be willing to learn new knowledge, skills, and applications.

2.    Be willing to take instruction, direction, and constructive feedback from veterans and experts in your new chosen field. This might be a bit more challenging for those in mid-to-late career as this instruction, direction, and feedback might be coming from someone decades your junior. My advice is, put your ego aside and learn from them; they grew up with advanced technology so it comes naturally to them. If you want to understand Dolphins and their behavior, swim with the Dolphins. This might be one of the toughest things.

3.    Be willing to work very hard, apply yourself, and make some short-term personal time sacrifices during this period; in a way, whether literally or figuratively, you are “going back to school”.

I went from telecommunications, https://www.technofunc.com/index.php/domain-knowledge/telecom-industry/item/overview-of-telecom-sector –> Healthcare [Cardiac Diagnostics / Echocardiography], https://www.predictiveanalyticstoday.com/what-is-healthcare-industry/ and U.S. Military [U.S. Navy Reserve, https://www.navyreserve.navy.mil/] –> Medical Device Marketing Consulting, https://www.advamed.org/medical-device-industry-facts/ –> Federal Work [Training Instruction, https://www.lawinsider.com/dictionary/training-and-instruction] –> Teaching, Tutoring, Career Coaching [i.e., I continue to provide medical technology & medical education marketing consulting services]. It’s been a journey. It’s not as hard as you think. I think the hardest part is just making that initial decision or leap and choose what you are leaping into.

You can significantly increase your probability of success through preparation and data gathering. You must be patient, but also work very hard to get up-to-speed and be very determined in your new path. Utilize the knowledge and skills that you already possess which you can leverage in your new career or field. Initially, you will have to sacrifice some personal time, but it will be well worth it. Here are some other key tips to make this happen:

·      You will find that the skills and knowledge that you have acquired to date will apply to your new field; it will all come together. Leverage this optimally. This is really key. I found that my combined business, U.S. Navy, https://www.navy.mil/ business analyst, https://www.iiba.org/professional-development/career-centre/what-is-business-analysis/, program management, https://www.productplan.com/glossary/program-management/, background all really helped me and came together as a Federal Training Instructor, which involved a lot of cross-functional coordination. Related article: https://www.rhythmsystems.com/blog/dos-and-donts-of-coordinating-cross-functional-teams

·      Read and learn as much as you can about your new field and obtain the key certifications. When I got into echocardiography in 2003, I really jumped into it. I was also drilling in the U.S. Navy Reserve while in this full-time program, hospital internship and working several part-time jobs in the evenings and weekends. I set and adhered to a very strict study and work schedule. But I made sure that I found time to exercise, which is a MUST. I purchased every major echocardiography book that I could find. I went to every echocardiography conference that I could in my area [i.e., meeting one of the echocardiography leaders in the process, Terry Reynolds, https://www.pegasuslectures.com/faculty/terry.php], really studied hard, pursued registry status [i.e., Through the American Registry of Diagnostic Medical Sonographers (ARDMS), https://www.ardms.org/, and became nationally registered in adult echocardiography [Adult Echocardiography (AE) – Registered Diagnostic Cardiac Sonographer (RDCS)] [2006] by passing board exams [i.e., Ultrasound Physics and Cardiac Pathologies], maintained my continuing medical education credits (CMEs) and went to prominent echocardiography conferences [i.e. University of Pennsylvania – Perelman School of Medicine, https://www.med.upenn.edu/, Emory University School of Medicine, https://www.med.emory.edu/, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson School of Medicine, https://rwjms.rutgers.edu/, etc.], read cardiology journals [i.e. Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC), https://www.jacc.org/, Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography (JASE), https://www.onlinejase.com/, and eventually went on to teach [i.e., Didactics: Anatomy & Physiology of the heart, Cardiac Pathologies, and Doppler Principles & Instrumentation] and instruct [i.e., echocardiography scanning techniques and use and application of cardiovascular ultrasound systems] echocardiography at a healthcare trade school [Healthcare Training Institute (HTINJ), Union, NJ, https://www.htinj.edu/]. Also, network as much as you can in your new field.

·      Join industry groups [i.e., online and otherwise] for your new field; it’s a great way to network, learn, and build your “personal brand“. Related article: https://www.thinkific.com/blog/personal-branding-guide/

·      Find a mentor or two in your new field; this is really key and they ideally should be an expert in your chosen field.

·      Once you get experience in your new field, look into getting co-chair and leadership positions in the industry groups that you’ve joined.

·      Join the industry groups here on LinkedIn and other professional networking sites.

·      Subscribe to as many industry-specific journals as you can and read them [i.e., as opposed to collecting dust; and yes, I recommend reading hard copies as scientific studies show that we absorb hard-printed material better]. Also, order key books about your industry

[i.e., ensure the publication is recent and that the material is up-to-date]

and read them in entirety.

·      Keep up-to-date on current events and trends in your new industry through the industry journals and articles about your field in the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, Newsweek, Reuters, etc… Use keywords to search for related articles on these sites. This is very important given how fast things are changing in this world. I also recommend reading the newsletters from McKinsey [Quarterly], https://www.mckinsey.com/quarterly/overview, and Deloitte [Insights], https://www2.deloitte.com/us/en/insights.html, which are industry-specific. You can sign up for free.

·      Connect with fellow Alumni from your Alma Mater that work in your new field. For example, for mine, NYU Stern, https://www.stern.nyu.edu/, we can connect and communicate through our “Violet Network“, https://violetnetwork.nyu.edu. You can search for people in your field and connect with them. This is highly recommended. Many of my mentorees found me through this dedicated University network.

·      Also, look for industry-specific resources that your Alma Mater has for your new field. You may even want to enroll in a specific course they have in this field. And I recommend for anyone in management to check-out offerings from the American Management Association (AMA), https://www.amanet.org/.

·      Really dig into your new field. Ask questions. Volunteer for related work projects. Be proactive. Learn about cutting-edge technologies and techniques in your new field and maybe even apply them and use them in your new job. You can even quickly surpass others [i.e., incumbents] in skill and expertise in a given field if you really go after it; others may be in the downshift mode. There are many advantages to being new in a field and some employers will even prefer to hire you because you will have a fresh perspective and unbiased views on new technologies. [i.e., Think about that ocean-liner captain going to pilot school; I would think that the much faster aircraft speed forced that person to rethink navigation as miscalculations are much more costly.] There is always that silver lining.

·      Get to know all of the acronyms and lingo in your new field. I’ve found this is very important, especially in tech and acronym heavy fields, which coincidentally for me, telecommunications, cardiology, U.S. Navy, and Federal Government are all very acronym heavy. Some acronyms even overlap as you can imagine [i.e., in cardiology “CAD” represents “Coronary Artery Disease” and for the U.S. Navy “CAD” represents “Computed-Aided Design”]. It’s important to get this piece down so you can both understand others when they use the acronyms or jargon and also so you can communicate your points in a way that makes others feel that you know what you’re talking about. People will usually tune-in more when you “speak their language“. It’s 1/2 acceptance, 1/2 credibility. Unfortunately, a lot of professionals will tune-out quickly if they feel you don’t really know their language and the lingo. I suppose it’s a part of human nature. Related article: https://megankillion.com/blog/f/7-reasons-why-you-should-be-using-industry-jargon

·      Learn and master the software and applications in your new field and the major manufacturers and/or software vendors for your field. This is really helpful. As an echocardiographer technician performing cardiac sonograms, I became very familiar with the major ultrasound system manufacturers including Philips, https://www.usa.philips.com/healthcare/solutions/ultrasound, General Electric (GE), https://www.gehealthcare.com/products/ultrasound, Toshiba [Canon], https://us.medical.canon/products/ultrasound/, Siemens, https://www.siemens-healthineers.com/en-us/ultrasound, and others. And I also got to know the respective sales and clinical representatives. This really helps to understand the industry. I studied the operating manuals for each cardiovascular ultrasound system [i.e. Medical ultrasound systems have specific hardware and software for each clinical application be it General / Abdominal, Vascular, OB/GYN, Echocardiography, etc.; some of these systems allow for multi-modality function and some are single-application systems], which was kind of mandatory. I ended up using all of these vendors’ systems in different hospitals and private cardiologists’ offices. Again, my background as a business analyst allowed me to quickly understand the echocardiography field as far as hospitals, cardiologists’ offices, and the equipment manufacturers. The bottom line here is that getting to know the ecosystem in your new field will help you on many levels.

Thank you for taking the time to read this article. I hope you found it helpful, readable, and useful. As always, I welcome your feedback on this article as I am always looking to improve as a writer. Originally, I intended to keep this brief, but I decided that by conveying some of these stories and make it, perhaps, a bit entertaining, that it will paint a more vivid picture within your mind, it might spark some new ideas in your mind, and put all of this into greater context. Neurological science proves that we prioritize data that we can relate to and for which we can identify an immediate use for. Anything else, our minds categorize as “fluff“. Related article: https://psychology.ucdavis.edu/news/brain-prioritizes-high-reward-memories

With that, if you require specific advice regarding the above, please feel free to send me a connect request.

I wish those making the jump the best of luck to you in making your career pivot!! It’s mostly about self-will and raw determination. So, take a deep breath, “saddle-up” and get ready for a challenging and rewarding ride!

MY TOP 10 LEADERSHIP TRAITS, BEHAVIORS, AND PRACTICES: Leading with Courage and Integrity

July 1945: The prime minister of the wartime Coalition government Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill, (1874 – 1965), during a speech. The July 1945 general election resulted in a resounding victory for the Labour Party. (Photo by Hulton Archive/Getty Images)

The thing to remember and I think we sometimes forget is that leadership, in essence, is about achieving a common goal. With that, everything a “leader” does should be working toward this goal. And, unfortunately, this is not always the case. Some are attracted to leadership because of the “power” it affords them. Well, as a leader, one of the most important things is to utilize that power responsibly, wisely, and morally. A leader should be like the conductor of an orchestra, making sure everyone is in-step and correcting if they are not. To lead is to leave no one behind and to give your team equal attention and consideration. Favoritism can be toxic for morale. And this is hard as human behavior leads us to favoritism, but we must do our best to remain unbiased; it’s called exercising discipline. Here are my top 10 leadership traits, behaviors, and practices:

1. A leader must be competent and knowledgeable in the area or business that their company or organization operates in

2. A leader must be able to clearly, concisely, and effectively communicate the mission, goals, and objectives in all ways

3. A leader must be able to relate to their people on many levels

4. A leader must be considerate and understanding to their team’s needs, priorities, concerns, values, and overall health and manage in a way that allows for a fair and balanced compromise between business operational demands and the team’s needs.

5. A leader must be consistent for the most part in their message, their management techniques, and how they direct operations and initiatives. Yes, of course pivots are needed as trends can change things rapidly (such as a global pandemic), but if a leader changes her/his management style, message, etc. too often, your people are going to be confused as to what message to follow, what management philosophy or style they should replicate, and how you want them to operate. This goes back to the conductor analogy; yes she/he may change the tone, pace, and/or intensity now and again, but if they do it too often, it’s not going to be a pleasant or rhythmic result.

6. A leader must be courageous (in terms of standing up for their employees, customers or clients, and/or stakeholders), steadfast (in achieving the mission, goals, and objectives), and the ability to motivate their people, even during the most difficult or trying times.

7. A leader must know the environment that they are working in and have the pulse of their market. They must be able to identify key market trends, or at least have people with the ability to do this exceptionally and then the willingness to actually listen to them and then act swiftly and effectively in capitalizing on these trends and/or defending their interests.

8. In all actions, decisions, and communications, a leader must exercise and demonstrate integrity, goodwill, consideration, honesty, strength, clarity in purpose, and responsibility. The buck stops with them. I like the plaque that Ted Turner (founder of CNN) keeps on his desk, “Lead, follow, or get out of the way.”

9. A leader must be able to identify talent (in all functional areas), build and strengthen that talent (must be committed to training & development), and effectively utilize and leverage that talent in achieving the said mission, goals, and objectives.

10. When things go “south” or major unexpected actions by competitors that significantly affect your interests occur (hostile takeovers, a competitor’s innovation that makes your product or service irrelevant, etc.), there are major missteps by your leadership or management team, or your company just fails to execute their business plan effectively or fails to deliver on promises to customers, vendors, investors, partners, and/or other stakeholders, they take responsibility for these failures and missteps. And then they require the willingness and competence to develop and activate a well thought-out and clever damage control, recovery, and counter-offensive plan.

Thanks very much for reading this piece. I wish you and your company or organization the best in incorporating some or all of these tenets of leadership! I am also a strong believer in the power of positive thinking and exercising a positive mindset for positive change and achieving marked results. At the end of the day, that is what it’s about; that is, achieving results. And these results can be both quantitative and qualitative. I recommend making your vice president level executives, departmental or functional manager heads, second level managers, supervisors, and team leads cognizant of these tenets and then ask them to develop and document a proposed plan to incorporate and actualize these plans into their respective functional areas. And then review, evaluate, adjust, and approve these plans. Following their release and execution, it would also be advised to set-up 3 week, 2 month, and 6 month evaluations of how effective, practical, and sustainable these plans are and to what extent they are motivating and empowering employees in the way of achieving the targeted mission, goals, and objectives.

I also believe this is true, “How a company treats its employees is a direct reflection of its values and operating mantra.”

If you, your company or organization requires help developing and documenting a leadership or business operational plan, job coaching, process improvement or the like, I would be happy to help as I am available for related management consulting projects. I can be reached via email at: clifford.thornton@gmail.com

A New Approach to Tackling America’s Weight Problem: Making America Stronger and Improving Lives

By Clifford Thornton-Ramos

I invite all to read this important article about the ever growing weight problem and obesity crisis in the United States. Obesity has been classified as a disease by the American Medical Association (AMA). Also, Obesity has been called “The New Smoking” because of its link with various types of cancers.

I’ve provided key statistics, expert commentary, and my own perspectives on overweightedness and obesity in the United States, focusing on the following matters:

• Widely accepted indicators and metrics
• Prevalence in the U.S. (for adults and children)
• National economic cost / economic losses and related drivers
• Causes
• Clinical consequences and adverse outcomes
• National defense implications (U.S. military recruitment pool)
• Proposed solutions (employers, government, individual, etc.)

This problem affects us all in some shape or form, which is what primarily drove me to investigate and write on this issue. My goal for this article is to raise awareness, encourage others to be proponents and champions for this issue, and to ignite meaningful discussion around real and practical solutions. Thank you!

Please feel free to download and view the article in Adobe PDF format here:

a_new_approach_to_tacking_americas_weight_problem_06-01-2021_v9Download

AN OVERVIEW OF KEY RELATED STATISTICS:

“1. More than one-third of adults in the United States are obese.
In the United States, 36.5 percent of adults are obese. Another 32.5 percent of American adults are overweight. In all, more than two-thirds of adults in the United States are overweight or obese.

2. Obesity affects 1 in 6 children in the United States.
   Around 17 percent of American children ages 2 to 19 are obese. That’s more than 12.7 million American children. One in 8 preschoolers is obese. The good news is obesity rates among preschool children have been falling in recent years.”
   According to MedPage:
   “Over 73% of U.S. adults are overweight or obese.”
   This means that only 27% of U.S. adults fall within a healthy, normal weight range.
   And According to the CDC:
   Adults
   • Percent of adults aged 20 and over with obesity: 42.5% (2017-2018)
   • Percent of adults aged 20 and over with overweight, including obesity: 73.6% (2017-2018)
   Children and adolescents
   • Percent of adolescents aged 12-19 years with obesity: 21.2% (2017-2018)
   • Percent of children aged 6-11 years with obesity: 20.3% (2017-2018)
   • Percent of children aged 2-5 years with obesity: 13.4% (2017-2018)
   According to the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington:
   “The highest proportion of overweight and obese people – 13% of the global total – live in the United States, a country which accounts for only 5% of the world’s population, according to a first-of-its-kind analysis of trend data from 188 countries.”
   “An estimated 160 million Americans are either obese or overweight. Nearly three-quarters of American men and more than 60% of women are obese or overweight. These are also major challenges for America’s children – nearly 30% of boys and girls under age 20 are either obese or overweight, up from 19% in 1980.”
   Obesity is a common, serious, and costly disease
   • “The prevalence of obesity was 42.4% in 2017~2018.
   • From 1999–2000 through 2017–2018, the prevalence of obesity increased from 30.5% to 42.4%, and the prevalence of severe obesity increased from 4.7% to 9.2%.
   • Obesity-related conditions include heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer that are some of the leading causes of preventable, premature death.
   • The estimated annual medical cost of obesity in the United States was $147 billion in 2008 US dollars; the medical cost for people who have obesity was $1,429 higher than those of normal weight.”
   Childhood Obesity Facts & Prevalence in the United States
   “Childhood obesity is a serious problem in the United States, putting children and adolescents at risk for poor health. Obesity prevalence among children and adolescents is still too high.
   For children and adolescents aged 2-19 years in 2017-2018:
   • The prevalence of obesity was 19.3% and affected about 14.4 million children and adolescents.
   • Obesity prevalence was 13.4% among 2- to 5-year-olds, 20.3% among 6- to 11-year-olds, and 21.2% among 12- to 19-year-olds. Childhood obesity is also more common among certain populations.
   • Obesity prevalence was 25.6% among Hispanic children, 24.2% among non-Hispanic Black children, 16.1% among non-Hispanic White children, and 8.7% among non-Hispanic Asian children.”

Zurn’s 5th Revolutionary Cardiovascular Medical Device: Implanted Vessel Clearing Modules & System

Please feel free to download and view the Adobe PDF document: Presentation – Zurn’s 5th Revolutionary Cardiovascular Medical Device: Implanted Vessel Clearing Modules & System

Vascular_Devices_LLC_Implanted_Vessel_Clearing_Modules_&_System_09-01-2021Download

The World’s First Untethered Catheter Explained: William Zurn’s Implanted Vessel Clearing Module & System

I invite you to view this explanatory video about the world’s first untethered catheter, represented by William Zurn’s Implanted Vessel Clearing Module & System. I am currently working with Mr. Zurn, a Silicon Valley based scientist and inventor, to commercialize and market this revolutionary system.

The main purpose of the device is to clear occlusions or blockages of the human cardiovascular system. Another words, to address atherosclerotic disease (i.e. hardening of the arteries), coronary and peripheral, and provide an alternative to the dangerous and risky guide wire based approach; wires can get looped, fracture (which then literally has to get “fished out”), the sizing is very difficult, and the wires can cause trauma to the arteries. In the worst case, this can result in cardiac arrest and death. According to the American Heart Association (AHA), America spent $555 Billion on cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) in 2016; these costs are expected to reach $1.1 Trillion by 2035. If you would like more information regarding this, please feel to contact me at: clifford.thornton@gmail.com

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_GcBUI9lojidFM2QkxOblQ5LWs/view?usp=sharing

 

A FANTASTIC VESSEL CLEARING INNOVATION – How a 1960s era science-fiction movie, “Fantastic Voyage”, about a miniaturized submarine navigating through the human vessel system is becoming a reality

In 1966 the science-fiction movie, “Fantastic Voyage”, produced by Twentieth Century Fox and Directed by Richard Fleischer was far ahead of its time in its concepts and the actual special-effects and cinematography utilized in recording the movie were cutting-edge for 1960s technology.  But, what is most remarkable is the foresight of the creators and directors of the film to capture a very hard-to-imagine concept at the time for which the technologies available today (i.e. nano-technology, micro-electro mechanical systems (MEMS)) are coming very close to making it a reality.  Another words, the creators of the film, who I would call “visionaries”, were thinking nearly a half-century ahead of their time.

 

Science fiction movies, since the genre came about, have mostly focused on traveling to distant worlds via Space (i.e. outer-space, galactic travel) and imagining what exploring outer-space would be like for humans and the plethora of challenges they might face.  Well, Fantastic Voyage delves into another kind of space, that is, “inner space” meaning the space inside the human body.  And this is accomplished through a theoretical “miniaturization” process in a highly sophisticated and well-equipped scientific and clinical laboratory.  A crew, consisting of a Doctor, who is supposedly the most successful brain surgeon in the United States, scientists, and other specialists board a customized submarine, commissioned “Proteus” designed to navigate through the human vasculature or vessels and is miniaturized or shrunk to a microscopic size.  The miniaturization process consists of four phases where Proteus is incrementally shrunk to a smaller and smaller sizes until it is of microscopic size and then can be placed into a syringe.  Their mission – to save the life of a scientist, who holds the secrets of miniaturization technology, for which is invaluable to the Army.  The scientist has been afflicted with a life-threatening blood clot in his brain which has left him in a coma.  The submarine and its crew, once miniaturized, are inserted into the scientist’s blood stream via his carotid artery through a syringe, which holds the miniaturized submarine, and a needle.  In order to limit the level of turbulence of the blood flow experienced by Proteus, the scientist is placed into hypothermia (i.e. around 20 degrees Celsius) to slow his circulation.

But, this is just the beginning of their arduous journey.  They must determine the shortest route through the scientist’s vessels to the clot; they use various diagrams of the human anatomy and vessel systems as navigation charts.  However, this proves to be quite challenging as an accidental traversing by Proteus of an unknown fistula (i.e. an abnormal passage-way in the body; in this case between arterial and venous blood-flow) throws them off-course, forcing them to navigate through the ill scientist’s heart via the right atrium, which is perilous for the submarine because of turbulence. Therefore the scientist (i.e. patient) who lies in a lab in a coma during all of this, his heart must be temporarily paused in order to allow the submarine to pass through it, and he is then defibrillated to re-start his heart into normal sinus rhythm (NSR). During this process, one of the crewmembers draws insight saying, “Every (heart) beat separates a Man from eternity.” Fortunately, all the while, the submarine’s status and location in the body are being tracked and monitored by personnel in a control & command center.  Radio communication is also enjoyed between the submarine and the control center, except for one instance where the submarine crew must cannibalize Proteus’ telecommunication equipment to repair the laser, which is mysteriously damaged.

 

Since the submarine is nuclear powered, the nuclear isotopes it emits can be used to track it by the control center.  Once they navigate their submarine through the heart, they decide that the best way to make it to their ultimate destination, the clot in the scientist’s brain, is through his inner-ear.  However, this also presents challenges as a surgical nurse caring for the scientist (in the lab at normal size) drops metal scissors on the floor and the decibels or noise produced by the scissors hitting the floor activates the scientist’s ear drum and then this of course creates turbulence in his inner-ear fluid, creating a sort of tsunami for the submarine and its crew.

But once the submarine reaches the clot, they are armed with a laser-beam or laser energy gun which they eventually use to pry or untether the clot from the blocked vessel.  In the film, actress Raquel Welch, who serves as the laser specialist, comments, “The laser can be regulated to one-millionth of a millimeter.”

The journey proves to be quite exciting as the crew can “See what no Man has seen before”.  Meaning that in the imaginary landscape of the film, no human has been able to visualize, at the microscopic level, and in such close proximity, detail and visual accessibility, the wonders of the workings of the inner-body.  One of the scientists amongst the crewmembers also verbalizes the moment saying, “This is the result of 500 million years of evolution.”  Of course we now know that evolution has been on course on our planet Earth for around 3 billion years; therefore this statement is a reflection of the limitations and naivety of science at that time. Just as in other science-fiction movies which involve the exploration of outer-space in which those crews encounter hostile aliens and violent environments, so do the submarine crew members in the form of bacteria and “seaweed” like structures, which represents reticular fibers that almost strangle the inner-space travelers when they must exit the submarine and don their inner-space suits to clear Proteus’ clogged intake vents.

I believe the point the creators of Fantastic Voyage are trying to make is that the human body is a dynamic environment and a sometimes hostile world within itself.  The mission, to remove the clot from the scientist’s brain, turned out to be peppered with adventure as well as danger.  The film also reflects on our species perception of our relationship with the Universe, as one Proteus crewmember states, “So Man is the center of the Universe”.

Now, you ask, what does miniaturized submarines imagined in the 1960s, a dying scientist with a clot in his brain and a surgical laser-beam have to do with nano-technology and MEMS – the technologies of today?  Well, this imagined medical surgical capability, as far-fetched as it seemed at the time (i.e. 1960s), is extremely close to becoming a reality thanks to inventor and founder of Zur Technology,William Zurn.  Mr. Zurn, exercising his decades-long experience in high-technology development & engineering, has designed a now patented vessel clearing system which will accomplish, in a very similar fashion, what Proteus and its crew set out to do.  But, of course in a more modern and realistic way.

There are many analogies one can draw between the miniaturized submarine and Mr. Zurn’s vessel clearing apparatus, and I will outline those analogies, in terms of the technology and techniques which will be utilized by his innovative system.  But, first let us ask, why and how do blood-clots occur in the human body and what are their clinical ramifications or presentations?

Clotting of the blood is a so-called “normal” occurrence in the body, such as when an external wound occurs and the body limits or stops blood to the wound by clotting.  However, clotting can also be very threatening to a human, causing irreparable bodily damage or even death.  Clots which pose a risk or threat to a patient can occur in the heart, veins or the arteries.  Some of the causes include – when a clot occurs in the heart it can be the result of an abnormal heart rhythm called Atrial Fibrillation (i.e. A-Fib), when occurring in the veins it can be due to prolonged immobility, pregnancy, inherited blood clotting disorders, smoking or hormone therapy (i.e. birth-control pills), and when occurring in the arteries is can be the result of high blood-pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, or heart disease (i.e. heart failure).  The clinical symptoms or ultimate effects, to the body, can be – in the case of atrial fibrillation of the heart, embolization of the clot causing a stroke, in the case of the veins, deep vein thrombosis (DVT), which can result in a clot traveling to the lungs and causing a pulmonary embolism (PE) which can be fatal, and in the case of an arterial clot, it can cause a heart attack as it can restrict blood-flow to the heart itself (i.e. the heart and its muscle (i.e. myocardium) require its own blood supply, which is transported and delivered by way of the coronary arteries. (Source: emedicinehealth.com)

Mr. Zurn, the principle inventor, was inspired to develop a patentable stent after researching the causes & effects of aneurysms.  This in-depth research led to a system of controlling, guiding, and placement of the medical implant modules utilized within principles of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR).  The vessel clearing device, developed by Mr. Zurn, enables a leap in medical technology, transcending present methods of clearing atherosclerotic plaque and clots from human vessels and arteries.  The vessel clearing system will enable complete mapping of the cardiovascular system via magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and precise locating and targeting of the occlusion(s).  Additionally, computer assisted surgical methods of clearing said clots and atherosclerotic plaque will be employed.  What this means is that the computer system computes the circulatory system path algorithm and this, in-turn allows for navigation to, around, and from the source of the blockage(s).  Finally, an algorithm for removing the blockage(s), which is programmed into the master computer, directs the motion of a biocompatible module apparatus (BCM), constructed by nano-technology and/or semiconductor material, which then utilizes laser energy to remove the blockage.  This is a much more effective, safer, and efficient method over traditional angioplasty procedures.  In angioplasty, a catheter wire is place into the arteries and then a micro-balloon inflates from the wire and pushes or compresses the blockage or plaque against the artery walls.  Recent studies have shown that quite often, in just a few years after an angioplasty procedure, that same patient has to return for another angioplasty procedure.  “As many as 50 percent of coronary arteries forced open by balloon angioplasty close up again within one year.” (Source: http://drcranton.com/chelation/angioplasty.htm)

What exactly is the vessel clearing system composed of and how does it basically work?  As stated earlier, we can compare Proteus and its imagined capabilities to the vessel clearing system.  Within the vessel clearing system, a biocompatible module (BCM) comprised of multiple sub-sections, which we can refer to as “pods” are constructed by a combination of nano-technology and integrated circuit technology.  The actual size of these injectable pods will be approximately 100 nanometers by 50 nanometers (i.e. a nanometer is equal to one-billionth of a meter or 10-9 meter).  These pods will be analogous to Proteus. And just as Proteus was introduced to the Scientist’s body through a syringe and needle, the BCMs or pods will be inserted into patients in the same fashion, through a syringe and needle and into a patient’s vessel, in the surgical room.

In the way that Proteus offered radio communication between its crew and the control center, the vessel clearing system will allow for similar communication between the pods and the control console (i.e. located outside of the patient’s body, controlled by an operator (i.e. the surgeon) in the surgical room).  As such, the pods have a communication unit, radio frequency (RF) receiving section, RF conversion section, and a laser transmitting section (possessed by the BCMs or pods).  The laser will function as the tool to untether and fragment the clot.  The remaining residue is processed by the kidneys.  Also, just as Proteus’ location in the scientist’s body was tracked by the control center via nuclear emissions, the vessel clearing pods will be transmitted and closely and very accurately tracked by nuclear resonance imaging (NMR), information which will be displayed on the control console.

In the film, Proteus and its crew have a certain time-window or duration, 60 minutes max, in which the miniaturized-state will be active. Past that time, they will return to normal size; this is similar to the fairytale of Cinderella’s coach turning into a pumpkin at midnight.  At this point, the crewmembers are independent of Proteus (i.e. inner-space walking), having targeted their laser gun on the clot and a rogue crewmember goes mad and sets Proteus on an erratic course.  They now need to quickly exit the scientist’s body before their “midnight” arrives.  They decide that the quickest route is through the optic nerve to the eye, and just in time, a glass microscope specimen slide is used by one of the lab scientists to collect a tear drop with the crewmembers, still miniaturized, contained on it.  And just in time the glass slide is placed in the lab holding area and the inner-spacetronauts return to their actual or normal size.  But, Mr. Zurn’s vessel clearing system will not experience this problem.  There is no “time-window” for the BCMs.  However, the vessel clearing system and related procedure will be carried out in an efficient and timely manner with a focus on patient-safety.  Once, it is determined that all applicable and dangerous blockages have been cleared, the BCMs will be collected and extracted from the patient’s body in the same way in which they were introduced, via a syringe and needle.

So you say, all of this sounds very exciting, but at the same time it might even elicit a few “No ways”!!  Well, we can understand that. But, they said the same things about the first human heart catheterization, the first manned flight, and some even still question whether Man really travelled to and stepped foot on Earth’s only moon.  But, we know the reality, all of these historical events were planned and executed, and they did in-fact happen.  The vessel clearing device, USPO Patent 8,663,209 truly exists and you can look it up by going to:

http://www.google.com/patents/US8663209

Also, see related press release: “USPTO Approves Patent for Robotic Medical Device Available through IpAuctions, Inc.”:

http://www.benzinga.com/pressreleases/14/04/p4452195/uspto-approves-patent-for-robotic-medical-device-available-through-ipau#ixzz3rGPvOitf

FOR MORE INFORMATION OR FOR PERMISSION TO REPRINT THIS STORY, PLEASE CONTACT WILLIAM ZURN – PHONE: 408-720-8680 – EMAIL: WILZUR@MSN.COM