Daily Archives: August 1, 2017

August 1, 2017 by Ethan Varian, Los Angeles Times

At an after-party for the red carpet premiere of the seventh season of "Game of Thrones" at Walt Disney Concert Hall, partygoers watched as Westeros came to life on the building before them.

An icy visage of the Night King loomed over the affair while dragons soared across the hall's sweeping arched facade, breathing flames that appeared to envelope the iconic structure.

Local designer Bart Kresa created the multimedia installation for the HBO event using a technique called projection mapping. Employing high-powered video projectors and sophisticated spatial mapping software, projection mapping enables artists and designers to cast virtual graphics onto the physical world, fitting them to the exact contours and dimensions of just about any surface.

Projected light shows have been popular in Europe for years, thanks to generous public funding for the arts. But as the underlying technology has advanced and become more affordable, projection mapping has exploded in the U.S.

LA in particular, with its year-round calendar of Hollywood premieres, parties and theme park events, has become a hotbed for this emerging medium. Projected installations have been recently featured at TCL Chinese Theatre and the "Harry Potter" attraction at Universal Studios Hollywood. Disneyland also showcases projections at a number of its attractions, including Sleeping Beauty Castle and It's a Small World.

TV and film executives say the technology helps create social media buzz around certain events. "I had phone calls from vendors and friends around the world," said Billy Butchkavitz, HBO's event designer who used projection mapping for the premiere of "Game of Thrones," "Westworld" and other shows.

"Whenever the budget allows I try to work in some form of projection mapping in the overall design of the event," Butchkavitz said.

Many companies hired to work on these events are based in LA, tapping the city's pool of experienced animators to meet a growing demand for projection mapping shows.

In addition to the HBO premiere, Kresa and his 30-person team at Bartkresa Studio have created shows for Disney, Warner Bros., Universal Studios and the Grammy Awards. A projection for a Warner Bros. party in 2012 filled nearly an entire movie studio lot, creating optical illusions that gave the multistory buildings the appearance of depth and movement.

"It's a large-scale, bigger-than-life experience," Kresa said.

To create a projection, mappers first take hundreds of photos of an object or building or use laser scanning technology to gather its exact dimensions. The information is then analyzed by specialized software that stitches together a 3-D computer model of the structure. Onto the model, the software overlays graphics that are created using commercial animation programs. Next, designers produce a warped, two-dimensional image of the digital reproduction that perfectly fits to the shape of the physical object.

The final product is projected onto the space using extra-bright laser or LCD projectors built by retailers such as Panasonic and Epson, which can cost as much as $100,000 apiece. Kresa and his crew operated 12 projectors to cover the concert hall for the HBO after-party.

To captivate an audience, telling a compelling story with the technology is just as important as creating striking visual effects, said Garson Yu, founder and chief executive of LA-based design company YU+co.

Yu and his team of designers have projected New Year's Eve light shows onto Los Angeles City Hall since 2015. The projections, which covered the historic building's nearly 30-story face, not only featured dazzling 3-D effects but also each had unique narrative themes. One followed a young boy as he explored different neighborhoods in LA and discovered the history of the city.

"When I look at a building, I don't just look at it as an object or as a canvas we project an image onto," Yu said. "I look at it as almost like a character - as something that carries a lot of stories and memories."

Yu declined to reveal the company's finances but said demand for projection mapping has helped boost his company's revenue by more than 50 percent in recent years.

Philippe Bergeron, founder and head of LA-based projection mapping company Paintscaping, also has enjoyed brisk business since its founding in 2009.

Bergeron declined to reveal finances but said 2017 is poised to be the company's most profitable year. The company usually charges $50,000 to $100,000 per project, Bergeron said.

Most of his team of 20 to 30 contractors have experience working in local film and video game studios such as Dreamworks Animation and Digital Domain. "There is an availability of the most incredible animators on the planet right here in LA," Bergeron said.

LA County is a major hub for artistic talent with more than 5,800 animators and multimedia artists, according to the 2017 Otis Report on the Creative Economy.

Despite the abundance of quality animators, projection mapping makes up only a small fraction of event spending in LA. One reason is that it's hard to get approvals. City officials can be reluctant to issue permits for large-scale installations, fearing they will distract drivers on local freeways.

Still, Kate Johnson, a digital media professor at Otis College, said an increase in public city-sponsored events is driving a higher demand for projection shows.

"Projection mapping has been huge throughout Europe, where it had a history of public gatherings," Johnson said. "LA is now an emerging market because it's beginning to figure out how to put on a big public event."

Bergeron's company has created a number of projections for public venues, including LA landmarks such as Rodeo Drive and the entertainment district called Hollywood and Highland Center, which has become a key source of revenue.

Paintscaping has produced mapping effects in music videos for Rihanna, John Legend and Eminem, as well as television commercials for Infiniti and BMW. For BMW, Bergeron and his team concocted projections that appeared to spiral and twist inside of the body of a car.

"It's not just an artist's paintbrush, but a new paradigm in lighting, marketing and entertainment," Bergeron said.

Eventually, projection mapping may replace your smartphone. San Francisco startup Lightform is building a computer that will be able to attach to any projector and, in effect, turn it into a real-time 3-D scanner. It would enable an individual artist to project graphics onto an object at the same time he or she is designing them.

Lightform CEO Brett Jones said the computer will be available by fall. The company, which launched in 2014, has raised $2.6 million in seed funding and grants led by Silicon Valley venture capital firms Lux Capital and Seven Seas Partners.

"Projection mapping can provide visual illusions that are compelling magic, similar to (virtual reality) headsets that you would wear," Jones said.

"In our version, you have projectors as light sources and every surface in a room can become an interactive display."

In Jones' future, which he refers to as "projected augmented reality (AR)," you'll be able to order a ride with Lyft or shop on Amazon just by touching or talking to a projected display.

"We have a vision for being the Apple of projected AR," Jones said.

Bergeron also predicts a bright future for projection mapping.

"I see every light bulb being an intelligent light bulb that can scan in 3-D in real time and re-project," he said. "In the future, we're not going to be able to trust reality because we will be able to create effects that are so incredibly real that you're not going to know the difference."

Explore further: New technology for dynamic projection mapping

2017 Los Angeles Times Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.

It has been thought technically difficult to achieve projection mapping onto a moving/rotating object so that images look as though they are fixed to the object.

A team from the Ishikawa Watanabe Laboratory at Tokyo University and Tokyo Electron Device (TED) have come up with a prototype of a high-speed projector called "DynaFlash" which can project 8-bit images up to 1,000fps with ...

Once upon a time family entertainment meant checkers, darts and playing charades. Then came game consoles and headsets. Now a Microsoft Research effort shows RoomAlive, a proof-of-concept prototype that makes rooms immersive ...

The facial appearance of actors can be transformed during live stage performances using a new advanced system developed by a team at Disney Research that can track an actor's movements and changing expressions so that the ...

NICT has developed a new projection-type see-through holographic 3-D display technology combining an optical screen of a digitally designed holographic optical element (DDHOE) and a digital holographic projection technique. ...

Projecting images on curved screens poses a dilemma. The sharper the image, the darker it is. A novel optical approach brings brightness and sharpness together for the first time on screens of any curvature and additionally ...

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Use of this visual technology is becoming popular for big events - Phys.Org

It may be tempting to pick up some Egalet Corporation (EGLT) stock now that the price has dropped over 75% in the last year, but be wary of catching knives which may still be falling. Much of Egalets apparent value is reliant on its Guardian Technology proving itself as a credible abuse-deterrent technology. Egalet stock should remain stagnant in the near future, and I advise to keep an eye on it and re-evaluate in mid-to-late 2018.

Opioid abuse, including the prescription drugs oxycodone, hydrocodone, and others, has risen exponentially in the last decade. Drug overdoses were the leading cause of accidental death in the United States in 2015, with prescription opioid deaths making up roughly 40% of these. As the problem grows worse, more and more companies are creating abuse-deterrent technology platforms to attempt to curb the epidemic. Egalet Corporation is focused on developing abuse-deterrent formulations of opioids using its proprietary Guardian Technology. The Guardian Technology platform is designed to make pills more resistant to physical and chemical manipulation, but Egalet's first approved product utilizing Guardian Technology, Arymo ER, did not receive all abuse-deterrent designations for which they were hoping. This could lead to a very slow stock price recovery for Egalet as much of their pipeline is reliant on Guardian Technology, which now seems like it will not be able to stand out in a crowded market.

The companys stock has been decimated in the last year due to labeling problems of its most recently approved drug, Arymo ER. Though gaining FDA approval of Arymo ER early this year, Egalet was not able to secure the coveted intranasal or oral abuse-deterrent labels. The FDA has been fairly relaxed regarding Arymo ER abuse-deterrent marketing material, but the only abuse-deterrent label granted was deterrence against intravenous use. The FDAs relaxed oversight of marketing material may be indicative of anything helps attitude in the fight against opioid abuse. While this may help Egalet market Arymo ER, there are still many problems associated with marketing a similar product in a crowded market.

Egalet has two other approved products which it is currently marketing, SPRIX Nasal Spray and Oxyado. SPRIX nasal spray is an NSAID (Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug) targeted at short-term (up to 5 days) pain management for moderate to severe pain which requires analgesia at the opioid level. SPRIX, which accounts for ~75% of Egalets sale, may face competition beginning in 2018 from generics as its patent protection runs out. The other approved product, Oxyado, is an IR oxycodone pill aimed designed to discourage against nasal and intravenous abuse. Egalet recently submitted approval for higher dose Oxyado (10 mg and 15 mg) which could help boost sales in 2H17. Revenues have been growing steadily for these two products, seeing double digit percentage growth quarter over quarter for the past year.

Guardian Technology is Egalets proprietary technology used to create abuse-deterrent forms of opioid pills. Apart from SPRIX nasal spray and Oxyado, all Egalets approved and pipeline products rely on Guardian Technology being accepted by the healthcare field as a viable abuse-deterrent technology. Guardian Technology takes advantage of injection molding a polymer matrix to create a physically hard and difficult to manipulate pill. The technology also resists chemical manipulation and API extraction by turning into a viscous hydrogel on contact with liquids. This allowed Arymo ER to secure an intravenous abuse-deterrent label.

It is important to note that Guardian Technology does not actually alter the API of the drug, but is a way to make it more difficult to abuse. The problem with Arymo ER and other abuse deterrent opioids on the market is that they are not effective in deterring against the most common way prescription opioids are abused orally.

During a recent conversation I had with an abuse counselor, he described drug addicts as some of the smartest, most clever people he knew. This conversation got me thinking about the innovation needed to curb the opioid abuse crisis in the United States. Yes, Guardian Technology will make it more difficult for patients to misuse prescription drugs. Yes, Guardian Technology is a step in the right direction. No, Guardian Technology should not be considered a game-changer in the fight against oral and nasal opioid abuse.

Figure 1. Orange Arrows Represent Use of Guardian Technology.

To make matters worse, the abuse-deterrent opioid market is crowded and growing more crowded rapidly. Many of the players in this field utilize abuse-deterrent mechanisms very similar to Egalets Guardian Technology (MorphaBond ER, RoxyBond, etc.). Arymo ER only securing the intravenous abuse-deterrent label greatly hindered its chance to set itself apart from the other players in the market. The FDAs comprehensive action plan to reduce opioid misuse and abuse has a provision to expand abuse-deterrent formulations (ADFSs) to discourage abuse - which should encourage even more players to enter the market.

While the fundamentals arent looking great, Egalets technical indicators imply a bounce may be coming soon. The Relative Strength Index (RSI) has been hovering in the low 30s for the last few weeks indicating oversold, and the Moving Average Convergence Divergence (MACD) seems to be crossing the signal line, indicating potential bullish momentum.

Financially speaking, Egalet is in a decent position. Net Product sales increased from $2.5 million in 1Q16 to $5.5 million in 1Q17 while net loss increased from $18.5 million to $25.4 million in the same timeframe. Arymo ER sales may rely heavily on how well product is marketed. The company has a relatively high cash burn rate, but management has expressed confidence the company has enough cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities to last until at least June 30, 2018. The company will continue to have a high cash burn rate for the foreseeable future as it continues R&D and marketing efforts.

This stock may be a buy if you are looking to sell on any bounce in stock price. Shorting does not seem logical at this point due to the stock losing ~75% of value in under a year, but may be a good move on a substantial bounce. Overall, the risk/reward is currently not in a good enough place to establish a position either way. I would suggest keeping an eye on this ticker and establishing a contrarian position on any big move either way. Short-term, this stock may be a good buy due to a possible technical bounce.

Yes, Guardian Technology discourages abuse by making the API less accessible and more difficult to alter, but to what extent? Egalet and their proprietary Guardian Technology are obviously improvements over the large number of opioids being prescribed with no abuse-deterrent properties whatsoever. The problem is whether Guardian Technology is a game-changing innovation or small step in the right direction which could soon be overshadowed by innovations of other companies. I lean toward the latter due to the fight against opioid abuse epidemic being such a potentially profitable market. Long-term, I do not believe Egalets Guardian Technology to be the solution for the opioid crisis taking place.

Overall, while Egalet Corporation may seem like a good buy at the current price, there is still room for further falling and the possibility the company may never be profitable. The long road to profitability for Egalet, coupled with the fact Guardian Technology is not a particularly game-changing technology, leads me to recommend avoiding this stock for now. There are better places to put your money which offer a much better risk/reward ratio. If you do feel the urge to invest in this company, I would encourage you to wait until at least August 9th to better evaluate after the conference call and Arymo ER sales data.

Disclosure: I/we have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.

I wrote this article myself, and it expresses my own opinions. I am not receiving compensation for it (other than from Seeking Alpha). I have no business relationship with any company whose stock is mentioned in this article.

Editor's Note: This article covers one or more stocks trading at less than $1 per share and/or with less than a $100 million market cap. Please be aware of the risks associated with these stocks.

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Egalet's Guardian Technology Begins Fight Against Opioid Abuse Epidemic - Seeking Alpha

By: Eden Collinsworth

Morality is a personal set of beliefs, and you could say that its the core of who we are as individuals. Ethics is expressed in terms of the expectations and the sanctions that are defined and enforced by a certain culture and society.

Whats completely confounding today is that the world has never been so interconnected, but what we forget is that the ethical positions or decisions or expectations occur within a given period of time in a certain cultural silo.

That is why many of us are completely disconcerted by what we think is so obviously right and wrong when other people dont believe that. Quite honestly, the book that Ive written was the result of living in China for a period of timeand they are simply operating with a different set of moral values.

The perspective is not one from aJudeo-Christian sense of rightand wrong. Theyre far more philosophical and dont believe that theres any one way of beingright, and there are very few ways of being wrong. A business contract becomes extremely vague and amorphous even after youve signed it because theres a belief that its a continuation of a dialogue and not the culmination of one.

This led me to contemplate whether my own values were at all germane or applicable any longer in the US, as an American. I explored that question with a variety of other people in terms of the moral choices theyve made. Some of them have upheld the moral status quo, others have been defiant. From Technology and the Decline of Morality

DISCLAIMER : Views expressed above are the author's own.

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Technology and morality - Times of India (blog)

Federal IT budgets are expected to exceed $4.8 billion in 2019, and the amount of money spent on IT is predicted to outpace other industries [1][2]. But which software and tech trends are dominating the medical field? Here are three that you need to know about.

Patient scheduling tools optimize patient management. This software makes it easier for hospitals and medical facilities to arrange appointments and communicate with patients. Unlike other types of software, patient information is centralized in one place, providing users with quick access to valuable data. The best new software automates patient scheduling, sends appointment reminders to patients via SMS or email and optimizes record keeping and billing. Some of the most popular patient scheduling tools include NueMD, ECLIPSE and WebPT.

There are various benefits of patient scheduling software. Medical practitioners reduce no-shows, save money and improve the level of service they provide to patients. Unlike manual patient scheduling, everything is automated.

Patients can also book appointments online -- a growing trend in the medical sector. Seventeen percent of patients scheduled a doctor's appointment online or through a mobile app in the last year, while a further 42 percent said they would schedule an appointment online if they had the opportunity to do so [3]. Moreover, 66 percent of US health systems will provide online self-scheduling by the end of 2019 [4].

Around 610,000 people die of heart disease in the United States every single year, making it the leading cause of death for both men and women [5]. Tech developers are trying to solve this problem with new products like diagnostic chips and portable devices. There's even a smartwatch that prevents heart-related conditions: iBeat features tiny micro sensors that monitor a user's heart rate for symptoms of a heart attack or cardiac arrest [6].

With these sensors, iBeat constantly monitors heart rate and notifies users -- and 911 -- in the event of an emergency. It's water-resistant, comes with a touchscreen interface and has built-in GPS for location tracking. The product was designed to save lives and could change cardiovascular disease prevention forever.

It's not just iBeat, either. Apple Watch offers a heart rate monitor and could predict heart attacks before they occur [7].

Marketing automation software is a medical administrator's best friend. These tools automate everyday processes -- think data integration, patient monitoring, patient outreach, and so on -- for more effective healthcare management. Marketing automation software gathers data from various sources and combines it all in one place. This lets medical professionals send targeted communications to patients -- something that could reduce patient churn significantly.

Marketing automation also provides healthcare professionals with real-time analytics about patients. Medical administrators can use this information to make important decisions and solve problems quickly. Forty-nine percent of businesses already use marketing automation tools [8], but expect more hospitals and healthcare facilities to adopt this software in the future.

Patient scheduling software, smartwatches that detect heart disease and marketing automation tools are just three software and tech trends that are changing the medical profession. These tools improve patient communication, optimize healthcare management processes and could even save lives.

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Avi Savar is CEO and Managing Partner of Dreamit, a top venture accelerator and early stage investment fund. He is the author of Content to Commerce and consults globally on trends in digital media, disruptive technologies and corporate innovation. He has been featured on Fox News, Forbes, Mashable, Business Insider, TechCrunch, VentureBeat, the New York Times and is a contributing editor for Inc.

Dreamit Health is currently accepting applications for fall 2017.

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[1] https://www.nuemd.com/news/2016/11/14/global-spending-reach-3-5-trillion-2017-healthcare-rises-with

[2] https://www.enterpriseinnovation.net/article/healthcare-it-spending-forecast-outpace-other-industries-1727170764

[3] https://smallbiztrends.com/2015/10/online-appointment-scheduling.html

[4] http://www.fathomdelivers.com/blog/healthcare/are-these-2015-healthcare-marketing-statistics-guiding-your-digital-strategy/

[5] http://www.cdc.gov/heartdisease/facts.htm

[6] https://www.ibeat.com/

[7] https://www.cultofmac.com/322011/how-apple-watch-could-one-day-predict-heart-attacks/

[8] http://www.cmo.com/features/articles/2017/2/16/15-mind-blowing-stats-about-marketing-automation.html#gs.Mwo7rOs

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3 Trends in Healthcare Technology That You Need to Know About - Inc.com