Researchers from Harvard and MIT have formed a company to mass-produce a more effective three-ply mask for everyday use. Anyone who wears glasses knows that the ubiquitous blue pleated mask leaks vapor upward, despite the wire designed to conform to the shape of the nose. Less obvious is the leakage from the mask’s sides and […]
Medtech gets behind breakthrough device law for seniors
Congressional Democrats and Republicans today introduced a bill to provide Medicare coverage for devices granted FDA breakthrough designation. Sponsored by U.S. Reps. Suzan DelBene (D-Wash.), Jackie Walorski (R-Ind.), Tony Cárdenas (D-Calif.), Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.), Terri Sewell (D-Ala.) and Fred Upton (R-Mich.), the Ensuring Patient Access to Critical Breakthrough Products Act would codify an effort that […]
AdvaMed wants feds to give medical supply chain priority
Medtech trade group AdvaMed wants the Biden administration to put the transport of medical supplies at the top of its list to address supply chain problems at ports worldwide. On his first day in office, Biden issued an executive order that promised, in part, to secure the pandemic supply chain and create a U.S. manufacturing base […]
Supreme Court rejects Medtronic bid to overturn spine surgeon’s royalties win
Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) lost its bid Monday to have the U.S. Supreme Court toss a decision awarding $112 million in royalties to an Indiana spine surgeon-turned-inventor. The court declined to hear a petition by Medtronic to overturn an appeals court decision that allowed the jury’s award to Dr. Rick Sasso to stand. Sasso won the royalties decision in […]
3 Minnesota medtech execs make EY entrepreneur finalist list
A trio of Minnesota medtech business leaders has landed on the finalist list for EY Entrepreneur of the Year 2021 Heartland. Executives from AbiliTech Medical, Minnesota Rubber & Plastics and TSI rank among the 36 finalists from Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. The finalists were selected by a panel of independent judges, according to EY. […]
U.S. Supreme Court kicks Arthrex case back to patent board
The U.S. Supreme Court ruled today that Patent Trial and Appeal Board judges are unconstitutionally appointed, but that greater supervision by the PTAB director would solve the problem. The opinion in the case followed a 2019 appeals court ruling in the closely watched patent spat between Arthrex and Smith+Nephew (NYSE:SNN). In the original lawsuit, Smith+Nephew and ArthroCare (which Smith+Nephew acquired in 2014) petitioned […]
Ortho surgical software firm Enhatch raises $9M
AI-enabled surgical software company Enhatch announced today that it raised $9 million in a recent funding round. Led by software growth equity firms Trousdale Capital and Apis Holdings, the latest round brings Enhatch’s total fundraising to $15 million. It has also enabled the Hoboken, N.J.–based company to double its staff to 40. One-third of employees […]
Latest iCad 3D mammography AI gains CE mark
iCad (NSDQ:ICAD) today announced that the third version of its ProFound AI for digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) has won CE mark approval. Compared with previous software versions, the latest generation of ProFound AI offers up to a 10% improvement in specificity performance while maintaining a high sensitivity level, and approximately 40% faster processing on the new […]
Contract manufacturers fuel medtech expansion in Costa Rica
Medical device manufacturing is flourishing in the Central American country, spurred by a host of incentives. This year is seeing a wave of expansions by medtech contract manufacturers in Costa Rica. Medtech OEMs have made the Central American company a manufacturing hub since the 1990s. Major companies operating there include Abbott, Bayer, Boston Scientific, Cardinal […]
Supreme Court upholds Affordable Care Act again
The U.S. Supreme Court has turned back a third Republican challenge to the Affordable Care Act (ACA), this time by a 7-2 vote. The latest challenge to the law popularly known as Obamacare came from Texas and other states, backed by the administration of former President Donald Trump. The justices ruled that the challengers lacked legal standing […]
7 startups grabbing the medtech spotlight in Minnesota
Minnesota has long been one of the nation’s top three medtech hubs and a good place for startups to get their footing. For 17 years, the MN Cup contest has offered cash prizes and the opportunity for medtech (and other) startups to tap into expert help to accelerate their businesses. MN Cup is a community-led, public-private partnership that […]
