Olympus (TYO:7733) is advising healthcare providers to inspect certain ultrasound endoscopes before using them due to the potential for patient infection. The global recall covers 8,522 devices distributed in the U.S., according to FDA records. In an urgent field safety notice, the company listed 23 models of endoscopes that might contain residual blood and foreign matter […]
Boston Scientific issues trio of warnings affecting thousands of ICDs
Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) is warning healthcare providers that patients implanted with certain of its older Emblem S-ICD cardioverter defibrillators may need early revision surgery due to premature battery depletion. The company expanded on an August 2019 advisory about 350 of its Emblem S-ICD models A209 and A219 to include approximately 38,350 active devices. The devices contain […]
PPE makers want revamp of pandemic planning and supply distribution
Personal protective equipment manufacturers are asking the federal government to beef up its planning for and management of future pandemics to avoid the shortages that have endangered healthcare workers during COVID-19. Representatives of the International Safety Equipment Association (ISEA), which includes the major manufacturers of N95 masks, told reporters today that they plan to ask the federal […]
How did medtech companies score on environmental stewardship list?
Medical Design & Outsourcing recently rated the world’s largest medical device companies — the Big 100 — for their sales numbers and R&D spend. Now we can share how some of them scored on an environmental nonprofit’s annual list of companies ranked for their actions on climate change. Not-for-profit organization CDP (Stockholm, Sweden) runs a global disclosure system for […]
Court confirms $112M Medtronic loss in royalties spat
An appeals court in Indiana on Friday upheld a $112 million jury award in favor of a local spine surgeon turned medical device inventor in his seven-year royalties dispute with Medtronic (NYSE:MDT). A three-judge panel on Friday let stand a $112,452,269 verdict in favor of Dr. Rick Sasso, who sued Medtronic in 2013, alleging that the […]
CDC urges universal mask use when not at home
With the pandemic death toll reaching new heights every day, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a blanket recommendation for the nation on Friday: Every American should wear a face mask when not at home. And when they are at home with someone who is infected or has had recent potential COVID-19 […]
Cook Medical launches global catheter introducer recall
Cook Medical has launched a voluntary recall of nearly 59,000 devices intended to introduce therapeutic or diagnostic devices into the vasculature, excluding coronary and neuro vasculature. The Flexor Check-Flo introducer and Flexor Tuohy-Borst side-arm introducer (Shuttle Select) are sterile, single-use devices that incorporate a hydrophilic-coated shaft in varying stiffnesses with distal radiopaque markers. The recall covers […]
3M to lay off another 2,900 in $300M restructuring
3M (NYSE:MMM) announced today that it will lay off an additional 2,900 workers in an ongoing restructuring that will cost the company up to $300 million. The Maplewood, Minn.-based manufacturing conglomerate said the cuts would span across its businesses and geographies, resulting in a total pre-tax charge of $250 million to $300 million — including $120 […]
5 medtech companies win coveted Tekne awards
Five medtech companies recently won some of the top technology awards in the state of Minnesota, known as one of three major medical device hubs in the U.S. The companies competed for the Minnesota Technology Association annual Tekne Awards, which included categories ranging from artificial intelligence and machine learning to “technology for good.” Get the full story on […]
The best places to work for medtech sales reps
Teleflex (NYSE:TFX), ConMed (NSDQ:CNMD) and orthopedic fixation company Acumed top the list of best places to work in medtech sales in the coming year, according to a MedReps.com survey of medical sales representatives. The 10th annual MedReps survey polled more than 2,000 medical sales professionals in October 2020 to get a better understanding of what employees look for in employers and how […]
Vectorious’ in-heart microcomputer wins FDA breakthrough nod
Vectorious Medical Technologies today announced that the FDA has granted breakthrough device designation for the company’s left atrial pressure (LAP) monitoring device. The V-LAP system is the first digital, wireless, battery-free device that can communicate from deep within the body using high-resolution waveform morphology, according to the Tel Aviv-based startup. Because the pressure of the […]