Applaud Medical announced today that it received FDA breakthrough device designation for its Acoustic Enhancer technology. San Francisco-based Applaud Medical designed its Acoustic Enhancer technology for use in conjunction with ureteroscopy with laser lithotripsy (URS-LL) for the fragmentation of calcium-based urinary stones (at least 6mm and not more than 20mm in diameter) that are obstructing […]
Urology
Medtronic’s Hugo wins Health Canada license to expand robotic-assisted surgery
Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) announced today that it received a Health Canada license for use of the Hugo robotic-assisted surgery system. The company’s Brampton, Ontario-based Medtronic Canada subsidiary received the Health Canada license for use of Hugo in urologic and gynecologic laparoscopic surgical procedures. According to a news release, those procedures make up about half of all […]
FDA clears Insightec Exablate Prostate device
Insightec announced today that it received FDA 510(k) clearance for its Exablate Prostate system for treating prostate tissue. Haifa, Israel-based Insightec designed its Exablate Prostate system to use high-intensity focused ultrasound to ablate targeted tissue in the prostate. Health providers perform the procedure under magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) guidance for high-resolution visualization of the patient’s […]
Olympus announces $50M medtech venture capital fund
Olympus (TYO:7733) announced that it established Olympus Innovation Ventures to invest in medtech startups. Tokyo-based Olympus, which has its U.S. headquarters in Center Valley, Pennsylvania, said in a news release last week that the venture fund will invest in pioneering startups. Olympus wants the money to go toward startups seeking to improve clinical outcomes, reduce […]
Cure Pharmaceutical wins patent approval for fast-dissolving drug delivery platform
Cure Pharmaceutical (OTC:CURR) announced today that it received confirmation of a patent for its Curefilm Blue platform.\ The U.S. Patent Office (USPTO) provided notification to Cure that U.S. Patent No. 11,179,331 (the ’331 patent) is set to issue on November 23, 2021. The ‘331 patent (“Oral Soluble Film Containing Sildenafil Citrate”) covers Curefilm blue. Get the […]
European approval ‘a big deal’ as Medtronic moves forward with Hugo surgical robot
There’s excitement at Medtronic after the Hugo robotic surgery platform hit a major regulatory milestone. In 2012, Covidien formed an incubator called “Project Einstein,” focusing on combining robotic technology, data and analytics. What could they create? About nine years later, the product that emerged from Project Einstein made a significant step forward when the Hugo […]
Forecasting the future of urology with Boston Scientific’s Meghan Scanlon
Meghan Scanlon, Boston Scientific’s president of urology and pelvic health, discusses the field and the challenges and opportunities ahead. The urology specialty faces a critical moment, with 10 urologists ready to retire for every new urologist entering the field, said Meghan Scanlon, SVP and president of urology and pelvic health at Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) That […]
Medtronic’s Hugo robotic-assisted surgical system wins regulatory nod in Europe
Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) announced that it received CE mark approval in Europe for its Hugo robotic-assisted surgery system. Fridley, Minnesota-based Medtronic’s CE mark covers urologic and gynecologic procedures, which make up approximately half of all robotic procedures performed today, according to a news release. Last month, the company said it had been expecting to receive such […]
Medtronic’s IP dispute against Axonics could resume in court after PTAB decisions
Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) and Axonics (NSDQ:AXNX) could see their patent dispute over neurostimulation technology resume in court. Yesterday, the Patent Trial and Appeal Board (PTAB) of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office affirmed an additional three patents in a long-term dispute between the companies over intellectual property for Medtronic’s Interstim sacral neuromodulation (SNM) system, completing the review process […]
Boston Scientific completes $1.1B Lumenis acquisition
Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) announced today that it completed the nearly $1.1 billion acquisition of the global surgical business of Lumenis. Marlborough, Massachusetts–based Boston Scientific announced in March that it entered into a definitive agreement with an affiliate of Baring Private Equity Asia (BPEA) to acquire Lumenis’ surgical business, which develops and commercializes energy-based medical solutions. […]
Medtronic CEO Geoff Martha touts progress on renal denervation and Hugo robotics
Medtronic (NYSE: MDT) is boosting its research and development spending in fiscal year 2022 by more than 10%, which CEO Geoff Martha described as the largest dollar increase ever for the Fridley, Minn.-based medtech giant. “The investments we’re making in our pipeline will play a key role in accelerating our top-line growth, and we’re at […]