We were a little tardy in posting last week’s Medgadget product summary, so here they are in all it’s glory.

Crutchfield Dermatology’s Zeno’s Zit Zapper. Perhaps the folk at Crutchfield sat around drinking Zima when they came up with this name. Seriously, Zit Zapper isn’t exactly the most appealing name and I have a hard time imaging a teenager asking his parents to buy him one. Worse, could you imagine a teen’s response upon receiving one as a gift. The comic name shows a lack of sensitivity toward the people who will be buying this FDA-approved device.

MLI’s RetCam for retinopathy of prematurity. This noble machine helps fight blindness in infants and children. Another straightforward, descriptive name that will do nothing to build a brand.

Sharp Corporation’s Plasmacluster Air Purifier technology. A technology that will likely show up in a number of products. Plasmacluster is a great name. I’m just not sure it’s the right name for this product, especially if Plasmacluster is going to appear inside several appliances `a la “Intel Inside.” A better name is Oxygena, which is being used to create air purifying tiles.

IBM’s Blue Gene super-computer for creating a 3d model of the human brain. This incredible device has a name that is a play on pants.

The Independence Technology $25,000, Dean Kamen-designed iBOT mobility system. I bought one… No seriously, as robots proliferate and become more a part of our daily lives, the names for them are going to have to be more creative and more distinctive. iBOT does not sound like a wheelchair and that is a good thing.

Medical Intelligence’s geolocation, automated alert Columbia bracelet for Alzeheimer’s patients. Columbia, which comes from Christopher Columbus, is a somewhat overused name. In fact, the Columbia Wiki lists 18 things and 22 places named Columbia. So, while the idea of discovery and being able to discover a lost patient is a good one, the name is overused and there are a few negative associations with the existing Columbia brand, including the Space Shuttle Columbia and La Republic de Colombia.

Covalon Technologies’ ColActiveAg, an antimicrobial silver / collagen wound dressing. This is an absolutly brilliant and highly useable piece of technology. Too bad the name does it no justice. Col-ac-tive-agg?

Overall, it was a not a great week for medical device branding.