Medtech start-ups have closed on some impressive venture capital funding rounds so far this year, with the largest investments concentrated in a few “hot” technology areas. But the biotechnology industry garnered far more VC funding in Q2 than did the medical device sector, particularly with regards to early-stage funding.
Start-ups developing technologies to help hospitals avoid preventable medical errors known as “never events” are developing solutions to nosocomial infections, retained surgical objects, pressure ulcers, and medication errors.
After emerging from the DOJ settlements, the leading pure-play orthopedics company is emphasizing – and redefining – innovation to drive growth. Zimmer CEO David Dvorak talks to IN VIVO about his company’s commitment to innovation, and how the very notion of innovation is changing.
Covidien says its decision to halt development of its OneShot renal denervation system was made prior to Medtronic’s recent announcement that its Symplicity device missed its endpoint. Covidien cites slower-than-expected development of the renal denervation market.
New research findings presented at a joint meeting of FDA’s gastroenterology and radiological devices panels persuaded experts that CT colonography is safe and works well for screening adults over 50 for colorectal cancer.
During insertion of central venous catheters, physicians may unintentionally advance into an artery rather than the desired vein, an error that can cause serious complications, even death. Mirador Biomedical Inc. aims to improve the safety of central venous access with its Compass platform, battery-powered, pressure-measurement devices that can rapidly detect the difference in pressures between arteries and veins.
Medtronic’s subdued showing at NASS in October revealed the sometimes rocky relationship among industry, clinicians, and academia: The Yale University Open Data Access Project suggested rhBMP-2 didn’t fuse bone any better than standard-iliac crest bone graft, yet Medtronic executives found some vindication in the process, saying it supported on-label use of BMP, and suggested the Yale University-led process could be a model to settle future controversies in the medical industry.
Frustrated congressmen lambasted the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs at a Jan. 15 congressional hearing for failing to follow its own implant procurement procedures, according to an analysis by the Government Accountability Office. Lawmakers also scrutinized the VA’s policies on ensuring that company sales representatives don’t perform procedures on patients and gaps in the agency’s ability to track patients who received implants.
Intermountain Healthcare, a Utah-based nonprofit hospital system, has teamed up with six leading information technology companies to launch the Healthcare Transformation Lab, a project aimed at helping foster the development and commercialization of innovative new technologies with the potential to improve patient care and provider efficiency.
More than five million central venous catheter lines are placed in the US each year, but the high-volume, invasive procedure has a troubling 2% to 26% procedural error rate, and can cause serious and expensive complications. Houston Medical Robotics Inc. has developed the Euclid Tier 1 Mini Access image-guided medical robotics vascular access platform to standardize, automate, and increase the safety of this critical procedure.
