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. Report: Amazon may be eying healthcare, too

Another tech giant may be about to jump into the healthcare space.

Modern Healthcare reported that “leaders” from online retailer Amazon took a meeting last month with the FDA’s global regulatory operations & policy deputy commissioner, Howard Sklamberg, as well as other agency officials. The paper noted the meeting in one of the FDA’s recent calendar updates. Read more

2. Medtronic’s personalized pacemaker wins FDA approval

Medtronic won FDA approval for its Viva CRT-P cardiac resynchronization therapy-pacemaker, which features proprietary software to adjust its pacing parameters to a patient’s heart rhythms minute-by-minute.

The win comes just weeks after the FDA approved the Viva CRT-P cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators. The devices are part of the larger Viva and Brava suites of cardiac rhythm management devices which feature the AdaptivCRT programming, which Medtronic called “the only algorithm demonstrated to improve heart failure patients’ response to the therapy and reduce the risk of atrial fibrillation.” Read more

1. Are device makers falling behind in the digital revolution?

The healthcare space is getting a major influx of digital innovation, but much of it’s coming from outside the traditional parameters of the industry.

Companies like Apple, Google, Samsung and Salesforce are poised to eat medtech’s cake if the industry can’t keep up with digital platforms that have already taken hold in other markets. Read more