The Medical Device Business Journal — Medical Device News & Articles | MassDevice
Calypso Medical Technologies Inc. treated its 10,000th prostate cancer patient with GPS for the Body in May, an important landmark for the Seattle-based targeted radiation therapy company and its flagship device.
GPS for the Body won FDA clearance in 2006 for focused prostate cancer radiation therapy using a proprietary guidance system that tracks a tumor in real time as the body moves, keeping the radiation beam on target.
Sagentia is a company that thrives on complexity. Its business is built around helping both established and emerging technology companies avoid the uncertainties of innovation.
"We operate best where there is a complex scientific or technical problem that needs resolving as part of product development,” CEO Brent Hudson told MassDevice.
Hudson, who joined the research and development consulting firm in 2009, describes the services they offer as having a little ‘r’ and a big ‘D.’
Laser-based lab equipment maker Hamilton Thorne Inc. (CVE:HTL) derives a major part of its revenues from the life sciences R&D market. CEO Meg Spencer says that requires the company to surf the leading edge of several life science research waves, including stem cells and regenerative medicine.
The Beverly, Mass.-based company looks to help solve some of the problems scientists encounter as they develop their research on stem cells into regenerative medicine techniques. Those often involve the growth of millions — or even billions — of cells, so anything that can accelerate or automate that process is vital to innovation in the space.
Medical device developers have long sought to reduce the risks involved with implants by applying coatings to prevent both bacteria and blood from sticking to the objects once they’re inside the body.
But coatings can wear off or otherwise lose their effectiveness. Semprus BioSciences Inc. is developing a solution to this fundamental limitation of implanted medical devices with its Sustain technology, which CEO David Lucchino describes as a “physical extension” of the device’s material.
Restoring vision to the blind is the sort of feat reserved for ancient religious texts and modern science fiction novels. But a company in Germany did just that with an eye implant.
Retina Implant AG is in the process of developing a sub-Retina Implant, designed to be inserted into the eye to treat back-of-the-eye disorders. A first clinical trial showed that the device can enable people suffering from a certain type of macular degeneration to see. The patients had retinitus pigmentosa, an inherited and incurable degenerative condition that causes tunnel vision and often, eventually, complete blindness. Retina Implant estimates that the condition affects about 200,000 people in the U.S. and Europe.
The term “liberated information” may sound like it was taken from a science fiction novel, but to General Electric’s (NYSE:GE) Earl Jones, it’s a means to improve access and quality to healthcare while at the same time making it cheaper. Jones is the vice president and general manager of the eHealth division of GE Healthcare, overseeing the development of information technology platforms that customers ranging from small doctors’ offices to state governments are implementing into their everyday operations.
A major goal for genomics scientists is the integration of the gene into healthcare information technology.
"The vision, as we see it, is that the genome is really a component of the patient’s electronic medical record," said GenomeQuest acting CEO Richard Resnick during a panel discussion about the future of genetic science yesterday at Harvard Medical School’s World Health Forum in Boston.
Dr. Joshua Sharfstein, deputy commissioner of the Food & Drug Administration, told packed house at Harvard Medical School last night that the agency has a ways to go in providing accountability for its decisions.
"A lot of the accountability right now, frankly, comes from me or [FDA head Dr. Margaret] Hamburg," Sharfstein said. "If someone says something that doesn’t make sense, we’ll push them on it and there will be a whole of hand-wringing, but I wouldn’t tell you that we’re where we want to be."
Photo by Christian Holland
Former Secretary of the Treasury Paul O’Neill posed a technical question to keynote speaker Dr. David Blumenthal, the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology.
Absorption Systems LP is well-positioned in several sense of the word. The Exton, Pa. and San Diego-based contract research organization managed to expand during the Great Recession, buying medical device toxicology firm Perry Scientific last summer.
Dr. Donald Berwick’s appointment as head of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services came as “a breath of fresh air” at the agency, according to CMS chief medical officer Dr. Barry Straube.
During a presentation on patient safety at the National Quality Colloquium today in Cambridge, Mass., Straube took a moment to note the arrival of his agency’s new head.
"Don Berwick is our administrator, finally," Straube said. "It’s a breath of fresh air to all of us."
