Cynosure, Inc., developer of the award-winning Smartlipo™ LaserBodySculpting(SM) procedure for minimally invasive removal of fat, and its largest shareholder, El.En. S.p.A, today announced a settlement of their patent infringement lawsuit against CoolTouch, Inc. Cynosure and El.En. alleged that CoolTouch's 1320 nm CoolLipo™ laser system infringed on El.En.'s U.S. Patent No. 6,206,873 (the 873 patent) licensed to Cynosure, which covers laser technology to remove subcutaneous fat. [More]

FlowCardia, Inc., a worldwide leader in the development of endovascular devices for the treatment of chronic total occlusions (CTOs), today announced Dr. John Paul Runyon from The Christ Hospital in Cincinnati, Ohio successfully enrolled the first patient into the CENTRAL (Crosser ENters The Right Arterial Lumen) study. [More]

SANUWAVE Health, Inc.,, an emerging medical technology company focused on regenerative medicine, announced that a European scientific study reporting the successful treatment of severe burns using the dermaPACE® device has been published by BURNS, the Journal of the International Society for Burn Injuries. [More]

The Plastic Surgery Center today announced that an innovative nerve graft transplant performed by Dr. Andrew Elkwood has proven to be successful in treating and preventing posterior pressure ulcers – one of the leading causes of mortality among paraplegics. 49-year old Tory Cavalieri, who underwent the procedure last January, has regained sensation in his posterior and is free of acute pressure sores, which had left him bedridden for years. [More]

Laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding surgery can effectively treat obesity in adolescents and seems to offer a better alternative than gastric bypass surgery, but further study is needed to determine whether it's better than nonsurgical options, a UT Southwestern Medical Center surgeon writes in an editorial in the Feb. 10 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. [More]

Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS), a new treatment being offered at Geisinger Medical Center (GMC) and Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center (GWV), can dramatically reduce symptoms of movement disorders. [More]

Synovis Life Technologies, Inc., has received Food and Drug Administration 510(k) marketing clearance for its Flow Coupler®, an innovative extension of the company’s well-established Microvascular Anastomotic Coupler used in several surgical procedures to connect small blood vessels more quickly and with equal or greater reliability than hand suturing. The Flow Coupler incorporates Doppler technology to immediately measure blood flow after connecting the small blood vessels. [More]

Stereotaxis today announced the installation of its first Stereotaxis Magnetic Navigation System in Taiwan at Cheng-Hsin General Hospital (CHMC) located in Taipei. CHMC hosted a Grand Opening event on January 26 that received wide coverage throughout the area and, to date, ten procedures have been successfully performed using Stereotaxis at the hospital. [More]

The chronic side-effects of radiotherapy for early breast cancer, as reported by women themselves, are not any worse when treatment is given in a lower overall dose in fewer but larger treatments according to a trial part funded by Cancer Research UK and published today in the Lancet Oncology. [More]

Increased Medicare payments to physicians for outpatient surgeries for bladder cancer have led to a dramatic rise in the number of these procedures being performed and an overall increase in cost to the healthcare system. That is the conclusion of a new study published early online in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. The findings indicate that some Medicare policies aimed at decreasing costs may instead be contributing to an increase in healthcare expenditures. [More]

Oestrogen-only hormone replacement therapy (HRT) may increase the risk of developing asthma after the menopause, suggests a large scale study published ahead of print in the journal Thorax. [More]

Results of a clinical study presented Thursday, Feb. 4 at the annual Triological Society meetings in Orlando, Fla., suggest a sterile barrier sheath system has distinct advantages over germicidal immersion processes used to prevent contamination of fiberoptic nasopharyngolaryngoscopes (flexible ENT scopes). Flexible ENT scopes are used by otolaryngologists to examine the nose and throat area for various disorders such as dysphagia, reflux disease, snoring, and chronic sinusitis. [More]

While many commemorate Valentine's Day with cards, candy and flowers, Pennsylvanians are encouraged to give the ultimate gift of love by signing up to become organ and tissue donors. With the support of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Valentine's Day has been designated as National Organ Donor Day to raise awareness of the lives that can be touched -- potentially more than 50 at a time --through one person becoming an organ and tissue donor. [More]

MDS Nordion, a global leader in providing products and services for medical imaging and radiotherapeutics, today announced that two of the largest health insurers in the United States have recently approved coverage of radioembolization to treat unresectable liver cancer, which includes the use of MDS Nordion's TheraSphere(R) treatment. The two insurance companies and their affiliates together serve more than one-quarter of Americans and do business in all 50 states. [More]

Novus Scientific Pte. Ltd today announced that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given the company 510(k) clearance to market the TIGR™ Matrix Surgical Mesh, for use in reinforcement of soft tissues where weakness exists. TIGR™ Matrix Surgical Mesh is a 100 percent resorbable, synthetic matrix, knitted from two different resorbable fibers that degrade at different rates following implantation. [More]