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. Jury: Medtronic owes bone cement acquisition $15M
Medtronic owes $15.4 million to bone cement maker Pabban Development for breaking the terms their 2008 acquisition deal, a federal jury in California ruled last week.
Irvine, Calif.-based Pabban, which developed a bone cement system for spinal surgeries called Natrix, claimed the technology had key improvements over other bone cements at the time, according to court documents. That aroused Medtronic’s interest after the Federal Trade Commission ruled that its July 2007 acquisition of Kyphon could only go through if Kyphon sold off its bone cement delivery system, according to the documents (Johnson DePuy subsidiary acquired the Kyphon system for roughly $100 million in 2008, according to the documents). Read more
2. HRS2014: Smartphones as medical devices
There’s a tsunami of consumer-generated health data on the horizon and care providers would do well to get on board, AliveCor founder and chief medical officer Dr. Dave Albert told an audience today at Heart Rhythm 2014, the Heart Rhythm Society’s 35th Annual Scientific Sessions.
Smartphones are everywhere and patients are increasingly interested in staying out of the clinic, using consumer-based monitors that can provide a rich picture of health and lifestyle. Read more
1. Battery wars at HRS2014: And the winner is?
A string of presentations and poster sessions during this week’s Heart Rhythm conference pitted device makers against each other in the battle for battery superiority.
Researchers looked at manufacturer estimates and actual rates of failure, probing devices from Medtronic, Boston Scientific, St. Jude Medical and Biotronik, finding that the name on the label is the most telling indicator of an implant’s longevity. Read more
