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. Funding: InSightec raises $12.5M from Chinese backers

Israeli device maker InSightec added $12.5 million to its coffers thanks to the support of Chinese backers, the firm’s parent company announced.

Elbit Imaging announced that its InSightec subsidiary sold more than 6.4 million Series D preferred shares to Shanghai GEOC Hengtong Investment Limited Partnership and Fortune China Limited, which now own about 5% of the company on a fully diluted basis. Elbit retains 37.6% (33.3% on a fully diluted basis), the company added. Read more

2. Another J&J exec pressed in lawsuit over Pinnacle hip implant

A plaintiff’s lawyer yesterday pushed the executive in charge of Johnson & Johnson’s global clinical research to admit that the medical device company failed to perform critical safety tests on the DePuy Pinnacle hip implant.

Worldwide clinical research vice president Pamela Plouhar was the 2nd J&J executive to face a grilling from Mark Lanier, the lawyer for plaintiff Kathy Herlihy-Paoli in the 1st lawsuit to go to trial over the Pinnacle implant. Read more

1. Apple’s HealthKit takes center stage in 2 studies

Apple is driving home its growing partnership with the healthcare industry by lending its new HealthKit iPhone application to researchers at Stanford and Duke Universities.

Stanford researchers plan to use the app to track glucose levels in pediatric patients with diabetes and the Duke study will focus on blood pressure, weight and other metrics for monitoring patients with cancer or heart disease Reuters reported. Read more