Say hello to MassDevice +3, a bite-sized view of the top three medtech stories of the day. This feature of MassDevice.com’s coverage highlights our 3 biggest and most influential stories from the day’s news to make sure you’re up to date on the headlines that continue to shape the medical device industry.
3. Virtual Incision’s inside-the-body surgical robot logs 1st-in-human use
Virtual Incision this week announced the 1st-in-human use of its miniaturized robotically assisted surgical device, which was used in a colon resection procedures in Paraguay.
The RASD is designed to operate entirely within the abdominal cavity via a single surgical incision. A spinout from the University of Nebraska, Virtual Incision raised $11.2 million last summer to fund a feasibility trial of the device. The company said the patients in Asunción, Paraguay, who are “recovering well,” were treated as part of the trial. Read more
2. Sunshine Heart halts trial, ousts CEO Rosa
Sunshine Heart said today that it replace CEO David Rosa with John Erb and halted a pair of clinical trials of its C-Pulse heart failure device.
The C-Pulse system is designed to use intra-aortic balloon counter-pulsation to reduce the load on the left ventricle. Today the company said it’s stopping enrollment in its Counter-HF trial and Options-HF post-market surveillance study to focus on the C-Pulse study and a faster path to the U.S. market. Read more
1. FDA approves Medtronic’s Specify SureScan MRI-safe neurostim leads
Medtronic said today that the FDA approved its MRI-safe Specify SureScan spinal cord stimulation leads for treating chronic pain.
The Fridley, Minn.-based medtech titan said the approval means it is the sole company to offer a full U.S. suite of SCS devices that are safe for full-body MRI scans. The Specify SureScan leads are due to hit the market later this month, Medtronic said. Read more
