Brian Johnson, Publisher This one is for the caffeine-addled world-changers out there, who consume leadership memes on Linkedin for breakfast, searching for inspiration with the same passion as a bigfoot truther. For the past 6 years, I’ve interviewed the most successful men and women in the medical device industry at DeviceTalks, a conference I founded […]
Medtronic
Medtronic’s Ishrak sees Chinese health reform as boon to med device business
Healthcare reform in China could be a major boon to Medtronic (NYSE:MDT), according to CEO Omar Ishrak. Ishrak spoke to the China Daily about how such reforms could allow Medtronic to expand care in the region and lower costs. “In the medical device market in China, we have the leading market share. For our latest […]
Medtronic to integrate Garmin Vivofit activity data in MCMS
Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) said today it inked a deal with Garmin to integrate data from its wearable devices into Medtronic Care Management Services remote patient monitoring platform. Fridley, Minn.-based Medtronic touted that it was the 1st company to adopt and help launch the Garmin Health software development kit by syncing Garmin Vivofit series activity tracker data […]
Smithfield to explore pig-human transplants
The world’s largest pork producer, Smithfield Foods, has reportedly launched a bioscience unit to expand its role in supplying pig parts for medical uses. The unit’s ultimate goal is to sell pig organs for transplantation into humans. Although pig-human organ transplants are years away, recent scientific advances are helping scientists overcome obstacles that halted prior […]
ISHLT 2017: Medtronic touts thoracotomy study for Heartware HVAD
Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) this week presented results from the HVAD Lateral thoractomy study of its HVAD heart pump system in patients with end-stage heart failure, touting high survival rates and freedom from stroke. The study aimed to explore the use of the HVAD system delivered through a less-invasive thoracotomy procedure in patients with end-stage heart failure […]
Judge: Medtronic-Neurovision emails are valid settlement deal
A federal judge in Texas this week ruled that emails exchanged between Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) and Neurovision hashing out a settlement in their patent infringement dispute constitute a valid agreement, setting the stage for a hearing on whether the subsequent, unsigned contract is binding. Neurovision sued Medtronic in the the U.S. District Court for Eastern Texas in February 2016, […]
Medtronic confirms StrataMR valve and shunt recall
Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) yesterday confirmed the recall of its StrataMR adjustable valves and shunts, reported last month by MassDevice.com, saying 1 death has been reported but not confirmed to be associated with the issue. The problem relates to flow resistance that could lead to under-drainage of cerebrospinal fluid, arising when the valve mechanism is adjusted to a position which causes higher-than-intended […]
Cardinal Health closes in on $6B deal for Medtronic’s medical supplies biz
Cardinal Health (NYSE:CAH) is closing in on a deal to pay $6 billion to acquire the medical supplies business Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) picked up when it paid $50 billion for Covidien in January 2015. Citing “people familiar with the matter,” Reuters reported that exclusive talks between the companies could result in an announcement later this month. Medtronic and Cardinal Health declined […]
Medtronic, Washington U land $3m NIH grant for brain-function mapping dev
A collaborative 3D brain-mapping project between the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) has received a $3.6 million grant from the National Cancer Institute of the National Institutes of Health. Together, researchers from both groups aim to create a software program that builds personalized 3D maps of the location of brain functions […]
ISHLT 2017: Medtronic HVAD trial misses primary endpoint, reports lowered stroke rates
Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) said today that results from the Endurance supplemental trial of its HVAD heart pump system did not meet its primary endpoint, but did report lowered stroke rates compared to standard treatment. The trial aimed to evaluate the use of the HVAD system, which it picked up along with HeartWare last year, as a destination […]
Mazor Robotics slides on Q1 prelims
Share prices for Mazor Robotics (NSDQ:MZOR) slid today despite preliminary 1st-quarter sales numbers that beat expectations on Wall Street. The Caesarea, Israel-based robot-assisted surgery device maker said it expects to post sales of $11.5 million for the 3 months ended March 31, ahead of The Street’s $11.2 million forecast and up 79.7% compared with Q1 2016. Investors […]