Medtrade lookback: Manufacturers take center stage on show floor

ATLANTA - Manufacturers and vendors strutted their stuff en mass at Medtrade in October in Atlanta. Here's a roundup of what some of them had on offer.

3B feeds cash-hungry providers

3B Medical's Alex Lucio said at Medtrade that the company has sold out of its Lumin Bullet, a device that cleans CPAP hoses, even though it hasn't even started production yet. The company expects to make the device available in December.

Why is the Lumin Bullet resonating so much with providers? Two reasons: First, it's an easier sell to CPAP users at $99 retail than a Lumin CPAP Cleaner at $249 retail; second, “Dealers are hungry for more cash items, in general,” said Lucio, CEO of the Winter Haven, Fla.-based company. “The Lumin line is outselling anything else we sell.”

3B was also talking up its first portable oxygen concentrator, the Aer, at Medtrade. It plans to make that available in January.

AirAvant's CPAP alternative—for HME

Ron Richard, who has been a presence in the HME industry at a number of companies over the years, was back on the scene at Medtrade this year with a new company called AirAvant Medical, which makes the Bongo Rx, a small device that goes in each nostril and creates back pressure when users exhale.

The company is positioning the Bongo Rx as a retail product that needs a prescription, and it was at the show to build a dealer network to provide the product to users. It envisions them selling the devices in a four pack, one each for 90 days.

AirAvant Medical plans to release the results of a clinical trial in January that compares the device to CPAP devices and shows that it meets all AASM guidelines for mild to moderate sleep apnea.

Viva the VivaLift

Half of Pride Mobility's booth at Medtrade this year was dedicated to the company's VivaLift Power Recliners. Pride rebranded its power recliners to VivaLift about a year ago, but the company has since grown the line from four to 10 models.

“We've also produced a new catalogue that highlights the features and benefits of the product,” which include an automated footrest extension and power headrest, said Renae Storie, director of Pride Field Sales & Strategic Accounts.

The recliners have an “aggressive” price point, Storie says, at $1,599 to $2,149 MSRP and $1,099 to $1,499 MAP.

The other side of Pride's booth was dedicated to cash mobility products, including the new Jazzy Air 2. Storie says the company is stealing a page from Apple by continually and consistently releasing new models of the popular power wheelchair.

“Our goal is, when you buy something from us, how do we make sure you buy again,” she said.

Apacheta rides the wave

Last year at Medtrade, Apacheta, which provides a cloud-based mobile delivery management solution, launched a forms capability; this year, the company's President and CEO Gregg Timmons was talking about plans for an “open platform.”

“We want providers to be able to take almost any data from their back end (operations) and put it directly into our platform, so there's one system,” he said. “Integration is the next wave, with the plethora of mobile stuff out there. We believe we have a role to play to be a consolidator.”