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FDA panel favors approval with conditions of Medtronic's Revo MRI SureScan pacing system

Medtronic, Inc.today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Circulatory System Devices Panel of the Medical Devices Advisory Committee has voted unanimously in favor of approval with conditions of the Revo MRI™ SureScan™ pacing system designed as MR Conditional, or safe for use in Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) systems under specified conditions.

20 Mar 2010

Medtronic's Advisa DR MRI SureScan pacemaker commercially available in selected European geographies

Medtronic, Inc. announced today the commercial availability of the Advisa DR MRI™ SureScan™ pacemaker in selected European geographies. The Advisa DR MRI SureScan pacemaker is the company’s second-generation pacemaker in a portfolio of devices from Medtronic designed, tested, and approved for use as labeled with MRI machines in selected European geographies.

18 Mar 2010

FDA approves Envoy Medical's prosthetic hearing restoration device

On March 17, 2010 the FDA gave approval to Envoy Medical Corporation to market a "First of its Kind" prosthetic hearing restoration device. The approval follows a December 18, 2009 unanimous 15 to 0 vote by an independent advisory panel in favor of approving the Esteem® for moderate to severe sensorineural hearing loss. The FDA chose an expedited review process, noting that they believe the Esteem® "represents a breakthrough technology."

18 Mar 2010

Toshiba displays new, advanced ultrasound systems at ACC annual meeting

Health care facilities use ultrasound as a first-line diagnostic exam to quickly and efficiently perform a range of patient exams, including cardiac imaging. Developed to meet these demanding clinical needs, Toshiba America Medical Systems, Inc. will showcase the advanced cardiac capabilities of its AplioTM MX and Aplio ArtidaTM ultrasound systems at this year’s American College of Cardiology (ACC) annual meeting in Atlanta, March 14-16, 2010 (Booth #1944). This is the first appearance of the Aplio MX at ACC.

16 Mar 2010

St. Jude Medical to exhibit cardiac clinical solution products portfolio at ACC 2010

St. Jude Medical, Inc. today announced it will display products and technologies from the company’s wide array of clinical solutions in the cardiology, cardiac surgery, atrial fibrillation and cardiac rhythm management markets at ACC 2010.

12 Mar 2010

NCOA survey: Communication about safety of medical imaging for patients is often inadequate

Today, the National Council on Aging released the results of a national survey of older adults, caregivers and health care providers evaluating knowledge and awareness of medical imaging safety. The survey, which focused largely on electronic implantable device patients and their caregivers, reveals that communication about the safety of medical imaging for patients with these devices is often inadequate.

17 Feb 2010

Boston Scientific reports fourth quarter and full year 2009 results

Boston Scientific Corporation today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2009, as well as guidance for net sales and earnings per share (EPS) for the first quarter and full year 2010.

10 Feb 2010

St. Jude Medical's USB cellular adaptor receives European CE Mark approval for Merlin@home transmitter

St. Jude Medical, Inc. today announced European CE Mark approval of its USB cellular adaptor for the Merlin@home™ transmitter, a system that allows important patient data from an implantable cardiac device to be wirelessly downloaded and securely transmitted via telephone for review by a physician.

10 Feb 2010

New revolutionary treatment for patients suffering from movement disorders

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.

9 Feb 2010

FDA approves neurostimulation treatment for heart failure

The FDA recently approved the first study of neurostimulation as a treatment for heart failure, a chronic disease that affects nearly six million Americans and is the leading cause of hospitalization in America.

2 Feb 2010

New Jersey surgeons perform multi-process procedure for spinal cord injuries

The Plastic Surgery Center today announced that in a highly rare procedure for spinal cord injuries, a New Jersey medical team led by Dr. Matthew Kaufman enabled a 51-year-old man to breathe on his own - without a ventilator - for the first time since becoming paralyzed.

29 Jan 2010

St. Jude Medical reports net sales of $1.203 billion in fourth-quarter of 2009

St. Jude Medical, Inc. today reported sales and net earnings for the fourth quarter and year ended Jan. 2, 2010.

27 Jan 2010

Scott & White conducts DBS research for Parkinson's patients

At Scott & White Memorial Hospital, a multi-disciplinary team of neurosurgeons, neurologists, neurophysiologist, neuropsychologists and a movement disorders specialist are offering hope to some Parkinson's patients with a treatment called Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS). DBS involves placing a thin wire that carries electrical currents deep within the brain on Parkinson's patients who are no longer benefitting from medications, and have significant uncontrollable body movements called dyskinesia. Scott & White is also performing research into the effects of DBS on the non-motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease including "drenching sweats," bladder dysfunction, depression, hallucination, anxiety, and dementia as well as intestinal disorders, loss of sense of smell, and sleep disturbances.

27 Jan 2010

Japanese MHLW approves St. Jude Medical's Genesis spinal cord stimulation system

St. Jude Medical, Inc. today announced regulatory approval from the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) for the Genesis™ spinal cord stimulation system for the management of chronic pain.

18 Jan 2010

New technique can restore facial movements in paralytic patients

Surgeons from UC Davis Medical Center have demonstrated that artificial muscles can restore the ability of patients with facial paralysis to blink, a development that could benefit the thousands of people each year who no longer are able to close their eyelids due to combat-related injuries, stroke, nerve injury or facial surgery.

18 Jan 2010

Variations in SNPs involved in modulating electrical impulse that govern working of heart discovered

Scientists at deCODE genetics today report the discovery of seven novel and common single-letter variations in the sequence of the human genome (SNPs) that are involved in modulating the electrical impulses that govern the working of the heart.

11 Jan 2010

Neurosurgeons perform world's first operation on 'habenula' to treat depression

A team of neurosurgeons at Heidelberg University Hospital and psychiatrists at the Central Institute of Mental Health, Mannheim have for the first time successfully treated a patient suffering from severe depression by stimulating the habenula, a tiny nerve structure in the brain.

8 Jan 2010

Physicians perform first implantation of leadless cardiac monitoring device for detecting arrhythmias

BIOTRONIK SE & Co. KG, the pioneer of wireless remote monitoring technologies and leading manufacturer of implantable cardiac devices, today announced the first implantations of BIOTRONIK’s new leadless cardiac monitoring device performed by a team of physicians led by Professor Dr. Gerhard Hindricks, Director, Electrophysiology Department at the Leipzig Heart Center in Leipzig, Germany.

6 Jan 2010

Montreal Heart Institute performs landmark procedure

The electrophysiology team at the Montreal Heart Institute (MHI) recently performed the first implantation of a new type of cardiac pacemaker (Accent RF(TM)) in Canada.

14 Dec 2009

Study finds widespread variations in CRT use for patients with severe heart failure

Most patients with heart failure likely to benefit from a pacemaker including the capacity for cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) do not receive such an implantable device, reports a national study in the December 2009 issue of the American Heart Journal.