Say hello to MassDevice +5, a bite-sized view of the top five medtech stories of the day. This feature of MassDevice.com’s coverage highlights our 5 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.
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5. Propeller Health: From hardware startup to analytics leader
Seven years after the digital respiratory startup Propeller Health launched, co-founder and chief technology officer Greg Tracy told a crowd at this year’s Medical Sensors Design Conference that what started as an attempt to build sensors for respiratory devices has slowly evolved into a “hardware-enabled software company.”
“We thought that we were going to go build devices and drop this magical things in patients’ lives and they were going to get better,” he said. “And we were wrong about that. It turns out that onboarding people and injecting technology into their life isn’t like throwing pixie dust. It’s actually very hard.” Read more
4. HRS 2017: Two-year registry data on Boston Scientific’s S-ICD
Data from a long-term post-approval registry study of the S-ICD subcutaneous pacemaker made by Boston Scientific showed high successful implantation rates and “acceptable” short-term complication rates, researchers said today at the annual Heart Rhythm Society conference in Chicago.
The study looked at data from 1,637 S-ICD patients who met the criteria for implantable cardioverter defibrillator implantation, passed at least 1 electrocardiogram screening vector and had a life expectancy of more than 1 year. The mean follow-up time was 2 years and the study plans to follow patients out to 5 years. Read more
3. TransEnterix inks $17m term loan deal, misses consensus with Q1 earnings
TransEnterix said yesterday that it took out a $17 million term loan with an affiliate of Innovatus Capital Partners that it plans to use to get its Senhance robot-assisted surgery platform past the FDA.
The Research Triangle Park, N.C.-based company also posted 1st-quarter earnings that missed the consensus forecast by a penny. Read more
2. HRS 2017: Medtronic’s Micra leadless pacer performs well in post-approval registry
The Micra leadless pacemaker made by Medtronic showed a high implant success rate and low rates of major complications in a post-approval registry study released today at the annual Hearth Rhythm Society conference in Chicago.
The study followed 795 patients implanted with the Micra device, which won FDA approval in April 2016. The safety endpoint was system- or procedure-related major complications at 30 days, compared with the major complication rate from Medtronic’s 726-patient investigational trial. Read more
1. Shockwave Medical picks up ex-HeartWare CEO Godshall
Shockwave Medical said today it tapped former HeartWare CEO Doug Godshall as its new prez & CEO.
Godshall served as CEO of HeartWare for 10 years until the business was acquired by Medtronic for $1.1 billion last August, Fremont, Calif.-based Shockwave Medical said. Prior to his time at HeartWare, Godshall held various executive and leadership positions at Boston Scientific. Read more