St. Jude Medical, now part of Abbott, has won a patent dispute over a method for using a double catheter in heart failure patients. Niazi Licensing’s patent, issued in 2003 for the double catheter system, describes it as better suited for “use in the coronary sinus, especially in patients suffering from congestive heart failure,” according […]
Cardiovascular
Medtronic recalls oxygenator used for cardiopulmonary bypass among kids
The FDA has designated a recall of a Medtronic oxygenator used on kids as Class I, its most serious level. The Affinity Pixie oxygenator and cardiotomy/venous reservoir with Balance biosurface is designed for treating newborns, infants and small pediatric patients requiring cardiopulmonary bypass. The system adds oxygen to the blood and removes carbon dioxide, while the […]
Federal judge won’t let Boston Scientific avoid Watchman lawsuit
A federal judge in western North Carolina has declined to dismiss a wrongful death lawsuit against Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) over its Watchman stroke prevention device. Boston Scientific had sought to have the suit — brought by the Jean Penland estate — dismissed based on the Supreme Court’s decade-old Riegel v. Medtronic decision. The Riegel ruling […]
Abbott halts heart pump trial
Abbott (NYSE:ABT) has halted a clinical trial comparing its HeartMate percutaneous heart pump (PHP) ventricular assist device with the Abiomed (NSDQ:ABMD) Impella heart pumps. The Abbott Park, Ill.-based company suspended enrollment in the Shield II investigational device exemption study after a report of decreased impeller speed at the end of a procedure. The HeartMate PHP system […]
Cardinal Health to sell Cordis for $1B
Cardinal Health (NYSE: CAH) announced today that it will sell its Cordis business to private equity outfit Hellman & Friedman (H&F) for $1 billion. News of the deal — expected to close in the second half of 2021 — comes nearly six years after Cardinal Health bought Cordis and its minimally-invasive cardiovascular technology from J&J […]
Qardio lands 510(k) for ambulatory ECG device
Qardio this week announced that it received FDA 510(k) clearance for its QardioCore ambulatory ECG device. QardioCore is an extension of Qardio’s remote patient monitoring platform for primary care and hypertension monitoring to acute care and cardiology. The device requires no special skin preparation, gels, adhesives or patches. It can be easily self-fit, removed and […]
Could your smart speaker monitor your heart rate?
Hey Alexa, how’s my heart rate? Researchers at the University of Washington say they’ve devised a way to enable smart speakers to work as contact-free heart-rate monitors. Their proof-of-concept uses algorithms that transform the smart speaker into a short-range active sonar system and measure heart rate and inter-beat intervals (R-R intervals) for both regular and […]
AliveCor names new CFO
AliveCor this week said it has appointed Clyde Hosein as chief financial officer. Hosein has more than 30 years of leadership experience in corporate financial management. He previously served as CFO at RingCentral and Marvell Technology. He most recently was CFO at Automation Anywhere. “We are building a global enterprise platform to make heart care […]
10 Minnesota medtech startups you need to know
Medical device startups can use all the help they can get, including from government-sponsored investment funds. In Minnesota, one of the nation’s top three medtech hubs, the state Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) has distributed $1.6 million per year since 2019 in innovation grants to tech startups — many of them in the […]
Medtronic launches IDE trial for AFib tech
Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) announced today that it conducted the first procedures of its Pulsed AF AFib treatment pivotal trial. The investigational device exemption (IDE) trial is evaluating the PulseSelect pulsed field ablation (PFA) system that uses pulsed electric fields to treat atrial fibrillation. The FDA granted the company approval to move forward with the IDE trial […]
Hillrom execs change their minds on BardyDx acquisition
Hillrom (NYSE:HRC) says closing conditions have not been met when it comes to the company’s previously planned $375 million acquisition of Bardy Diagnostics and its Carnation Ambulatory Monitor, or CAM patch. In response, BardyDx has sued Hillrom in the Delaware Court of Chancery, asking the court to order the merger to proceed because Hillrom’s argument […]
