With hip and knee joint markets still registering slow to modest growth, orthopedic companies looking to add bulk to their bottom line through mergers and acquisitions have pursued two distinct directions – the extremities and emerging markets.
DC Devices Inc. has developed the first transcatheter, permanent implant for treating heart failure with preserved ejection fraction. The implant, placed in the atrial septum, creates a small, controlled shunt, allowing blood to move from the higher-pressure left atrium to the lower pressure, more compliant right atrium; this serves to reduce left atrial pressure and relieve HF symptoms, without compromising cardiac output.
For the past several years, TAVI and renal denervation have dominated EuroPCR, the largest interventional cardiology conference in Europe. This year’s conference in Paris in May was a bit more balanced, leaving room for interest in bioresorbable stents and mitral valves.
The American College of Radiology, the Society for Vascular Ultrasound and the Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonography voiced anxiety about possible changes to CMS standards for hospital equipment servicing in letters obtained by “The Gray Sheet.”
Rapid diagnosis of infectious diseases can make the difference between life and death in hospitals, but the wait for results from standard hospital in-house laboratory tests may take days. STAT-Diagnostica & Innovation SL’s self-contained mini-lab is not only portable and can be administered easily by a nurse, but it also allows for a short, 30-minute turnaround time from taking a patient specimen to identifying one of roughly 50 specific pathogens associated mainly with infectious diseases.
Innovation in sensors and nanostructured materials are paving the way for new wearable artificial kidney devices, a technology with a worldwide market potential of more $26 billion.
Already the fourth largest medtech market in the world, China’s $17 billion medical device industry is expected to more than double in size in the next five years, paving the way for incredible opportunities for growth. But entering or expanding within this market is not without its challenges: identifying where the opportunities lie, navigating the tendering process, and determining the right sales and distribution models are all essential for achieving profitable gain in the Middle Kingdom.
In a Q&A with NIH health sciences administrator Wendy Nilsen, “The Gray Sheet” discusses the quality of data for mHealth and other digital health tools, as well as new study designs to accommodate the faster pace of technology development.
No one would place drug-eluting stents among the hot technologies showcased at this year’s EuroPCR, not with all the buzz around renal denervation, percutaneous valves, and bioabsorbable stents and scaffolds. But an early morning session on DES from India and China underscored how the technology debate is changing in a world of cost constraints and emerging markets, particularly for mature categories.
Medtech start-ups are pioneering innovative device solutions that they hope will end the vicious cycle of costly hospitalizations and declining patient health. Profiles of BioVentrix, Calon-Cardio Technology, Cibiem, DC Devices, and LoneStar Heart.
