What I thought was starting out as a superhighway to the fast lane of implant technology turned into a naked hike through bramble bushes, poison ivy, and a few snake pits.
It has been a long long trek that is finally coming to an end… at a road… a road to civilization! I won’t burden everyone with the long drawn-out history of the whole saga… I’m sure those who have been waiting are acutely aware of each and every advancement and setback over the last several years. Still, a quick rundown of most major of hurdles couldn’t hurt;
The hurdles
- Prototype installed in my left arm based on P40 SmartMX chip!
- P40 chip has hardware bug that bricks chip in certain situations. Advised to wait for P60 chip.
- … 2 years later …
- P60 chip comes out. Create Flex One beta program. Ship.
- Beta participants discover new but similar bricking problem to P40. Advised to wait for P71.
- … 2 years later …
- P71 comes out. Prototypes made. Tests ok.
- Fidesmo requires contract re-negotiation before production can start.
- Walletmor failures based on flex PCB antenna design. Investigate.
- Identify / resolve antenna issues. New antennas ordered.
- Fidesmo contract revised and signed. New license model solid.
- Logistics companies refuse to ship vials with chlorhexidine solution anymore (required for flex).
- Sell first born to buy gas plasma sterilizer to ship sterilized flex with no vial or chlorhexidine.
The announcement
So now I am posting this announcement to say the following;
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We have finished our first batch of Apex Flex, fully programmed and ready to go.
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I am reaching out to Flex One beta participants via email to get updated shipping details.
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I will be taking down forum.vivokey.com completely. It may re-appear later as a general public forum for VivoKey related things, but at this time I will be taking it down since it functioned primarily as a forum for the Flex One beta. If there is any information on that forum you would like to save, do so now.
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We are looking for ways to include the needle inside the sterilization pouch with the Apex Flex so the product and installation tool can be supplied together, fully clinically sterilized. This will require a different pouch, some heat sealing magic, and a protective silicone tube for the point of the needle. This approach is being validated with the gas plasma sterilization manufacturer to ensure complete sterilization is still occurring. with this configuration.
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I will be fulfilling Flex One beta replacements first, then DT Club pre-orders will ship next.
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The Apex Flex (and possibly the Apex Mega) will be put up for sale to the public within 1 week following fulfillment of DT Club pre-orders.
