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.
Get this in your inbox everyday by subscribing to our newsletters.
5. How a smartphone app can detect concussions on the sidelines
A new app from the University of Washington could screen for concussions and other traumatic brain injuries from a smartphone.
Researchers at the University of Washington are currently working to develop a smartphone app that can detect brain injuries when they happen. The app’s goal is to detect the injuries on the sidelines of sports games, on the battlefield or in the home of an elderly person who is prone to falling. Read more
4. Medtronic’s Santa Rosa facilities survive California wildfires
While much of Santa Rosa, Calif. has been ravaged by wildfires sweeping across the region, Medtronic‘s 2 facilities in the area are still standing, but inaccessible, according to a StarTribune report.
While the facilities remain, the Fridley, Minn.-based company is still trying to reach out to employees in the area and assess the impact it has on them, as well. Read more
3. Hargan tapped for HHS head
The Trump administration yesterday tapped Eric Hargan to be the new acting secretary of the U.S. Health & Human Services Dept. after the September ouster of Dr. Tom Price.
Hargan, formerly an attorney with Greenberg Traurig’s Chicago office, was last week approved as deputy secretary of the agency, which oversees the Medicare and Medicaid government health insurance programs. Read more
2. CryoLife inks $225m deal for German graft maker Jotec
CryoLife Inc. said yesterday that it agreed to a cash-and-stock deal worth $225 million to acquire German stent graft and surgical graft maker Jotec.
The deal calls for Cryolife to pay $168.8 million in cash and the remaining $56.25 million in CRY shares, financed by a $225 million term loan and a $30 million credit revolver and cash on hand. Read more
1. NuVasive sues former COO Miles for jumping ship to Alphatec
NuVasive Inc. yesterday leveled a lawsuit against former CEO Patrick Miles, who jumped ship for Alphatec earlier this month, alleging that he enacted a year-long scheme to secretly back Alphatec while discouraging NuVasive from acquiring the smaller company.
The lawsuit, filed in the Delaware Chancery Court, claimed that after NuVasive was approached in January 2016 about a possible acquisition of Alphatec, Miles advised NuVasive that the deal was “a waste of time” due to Alphatec’s “aged, undifferentiated portfolio.” But by March 2017, the suit alleged, Miles had secretly bought up a stake in Alphatec and negotiated a deal to become that company’s chairman. Read more
