Cardiovascular Device Update articles from January 2003

Cardiovascular Device Update archives from January 2003

Heart disease diagnosis, minimally invasive therapies seen gaining.
January 1, 2003... CHICAGO, Illinois -- The management of heart disease remains a high priority for the U.S. healthcare system, not only because heart disease is the No. 1 cause of death nationwide, but also because of the high cost of treating patients with...

Study: similar costs for pumps, transplants. (American Heart Association 2002).(heart pumps and transplants)
January 1, 2003... CHICAGO, Illinois -- Implanting lifesaving heart pumps in people with severe congestive heart failure (CHF) costs about the same as heart, liver and other transplants, according to a study reported during the American Heart Association's (AHA;...

Medis software used in heart function work. (Report from Europe).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Quantitative software programs developed for use with cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging, such as the QVA-CMS package from Medis (Leiden, Netherlands), have been proposed by Dr. Michel Romanens of the Radiology Diagnostic Centers...

Electrocardiographs in Europe. (Report from Europe).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... With more than 90 companies exhibiting ECG equipment at November's MEDICA exhibition in Dusseldorf, Germany, it was not easy to pick out special features, but here is a brief overview of some of the more interesting items. Esaote (Genova,...

A CardioCard patient record in every wallet. (Report from Europe).(medical records in a card)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... The first trials of the CardioCard electronic patient record (EPR) encouraged by the European Society of Cardiology (Nice, France) have taken place at the cardiology department of University Hospital (Basel, Switzerland). The CardioCard is...

Home-monitoring system to launch. (Report from Europe).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Biotronik (Berlin, Germany) is running multicenter trials for both pacemakers and implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) with home-monitoring functions. Patients taking part in the international project have been fitted either with the...

New real-time 3-D images from Philips. (Report from Europe).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Philips Medical Systems (Best, the Netherlands) previewed for the first time at the recent congress of the European Society of Cardiology in Vienna, Austria, the LIVE 3D Echo ultrasonic technology, which provides 3-D volume-rendered images of...

Lidco develops hemodynamic monitor. (Report from Europe).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... The PulseCO hemodynamic monitor from Lidco (London) can provide real-time information on continuous cardiac output, systemic vascular resistance, stroke volume and oxygen delivery from existing arterial and peripheral or central venous lines....

Boston Scientific (Natick, Massachusetts) said it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the shares of InFlow Dynamics (Munich, Germany), a stent technology development company. (Acquisitions).(Boston Scientific Corp.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... * Boston Scientific (Natick, Massachusetts) said it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire the shares of InFlow Dynamics (Munich, Germany), a stent technology development company. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed. InFlow has...

Guidant (Indianapolis, Indiana) has expanded its venture into information technology and information management with the purchase of Cardiac Intelligence (CIC; Seattle, Washington) for about $19 million. (Acquisition).(Guidant Corp.)(Cardiac Intelligence Corp.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... * Guidant (Indianapolis, Indiana) has expanded its venture into information technology and information management with the purchase of Cardiac Intelligence (CIC; Seattle, Washington) for about $19 million. Guidant said the acquisition will...

Another denial issued to Cook in stent case. (Business Developments).(Cook Biotech Inc.)
January 1, 2003... An Illinois district court last month denied a motion by Cook (Bloomington, Indiana) related to an injunction concerning that company's agreement with Guidant (Indianapolis, Indiana) in their continuing battle with Boston Scientific (Natick,...

Heart monitoring device calls for help. (Business Developments).
January 1, 2003... A miniature device that reads a heart rate monitor and automatically forwards a warning call to a predetermined cell phone number--such as that of a physician, caregiver or emergency services--if the user is in distress, could soon aid people...

Alliance spinning imagent to Photogen. (Business Developments).
January 1, 2003... In a spin-off move that, as the sportswriters might say, could benefit both teams, Alliance Pharmaceutical (San Diego, California) agreed to sell off its medical imaging assets--primarily related to its Imagent product--to Photogen (New Hope,...

Tissue engineering alliance. (Business Developments).(Edwards Lifesciences Corp. and Cook Biotech Inc. form licensing agreement)
January 1, 2003... The increasingly tenuous boundaries between biotechnology and conventional medical devices may have become even less defined with a new agreement that may produce the world's first tissue-engineered heart valves. Edwards Lifesciences (Irvine,...

Cardiac Science (Irvine, California) said the Wyoming Department of Health has purchased 122 Powerheart automated external defibrillators (AEDs) for deployment in rural areas throughout the state. (Companies ... in brief).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Cardiac Science (Irvine, California) said the Wyoming Department of Health has purchased 122 Powerheart automated external defibrillators (AEDs) for deployment in rural areas throughout the state. The AEDs will be placed in public facilities,...

Myogen (Denver, Colorado) received a $750,000 Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, a division of the National Institutes of Health (Bethesda, Maryland). (Companies ... in brief).(Myogen Inc.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... Myogen (Denver, Colorado) received a $750,000 Small Business Innovation Research grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, a division of the National Institutes of Health (Bethesda, Maryland). The two-year grant will be used for...

AngioDynamics (Queensbury, New York), a wholly owned subsidiary of E-Z-EM (Westbury, New York), has entered into a worldwide agreement with Transonic Systems (Ithaca, New York) for distribution of the Transonic Endovascular Flowmeter System. (Agreements).(AngioDynamics Inc.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... * AngioDynamics (Queensbury, New York), a wholly owned subsidiary of E-Z-EM (Westbury, New York), has entered into a worldwide agreement with Transonic Systems (Ithaca, New York) for distribution of the Transonic Endovascular Flowmeter System....

Predictive medicine company International Medical Innovations (IMI; Toronto, Ontario) said it has expanded its marketing partnership with McNeil Consumer Healthcare (Guelph, Ontario) to include the laboratory market for insurance testing throughout the U.S., Canada and Mexico. (Agreements).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... * Predictive medicine company International Medical Innovations (IMI; Toronto, Ontario) said it has expanded its marketing partnership with McNeil Consumer Healthcare (Guelph, Ontario) to include the laboratory market for insurance testing...

International Technidyne (ITC; Edison, New Jersey), a subsidiary of Thoratec (Pleasanton, California), has signed an agreement with Sulzer Carbomedics (Austin, Texas), a developer of mechanical heart valves, to co-market ITC's ProTime blood coagulation testing system to cardiothoracic surgeons in the U.S. (Agreements).(International Technidyne Corp.)(Sulzer Carbomedics Inc.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... * International Technidyne (ITC; Edison, New Jersey), a subsidiary of Thoratec (Pleasanton, California), has signed an agreement with Sulzer Carbomedics (Austin, Texas), a developer of mechanical heart valves, to co-market ITC's ProTime blood...

Possis Medical (Minneapolis, Minnesota) said it has received a two year contract extension for thrombectomy supplies and equipment from HealthTrust Purchasing Group (HPG; Brentwood, Tennessee), which manages about $5 billion in annual purchasing volume on behalf of its member facilities. (Agreements).(Possis Medical Inc.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... * Possis Medical (Minneapolis, Minnesota) said it has received a two year contract extension for thrombectomy supplies and equipment from HealthTrust Purchasing Group (HPG; Brentwood, Tennessee), which manages about $5 billion in annual...

Welch Allyn Monitoring (Beaverton, Oregon) and Mortara Instrument (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) have signed a licensing agreement that provides Welch Allyn Monitoring with access to Mortara Instrument's Veritas cardiology technology for its Flexible Monitoring care products. (Agreements).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... * Welch Allyn Monitoring (Beaverton, Oregon) and Mortara Instrument (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) have signed a licensing agreement that provides Welch Allyn Monitoring with access to Mortara Instrument's Veritas cardiology technology for its Flexible...

Pacing hearts doesn't benefit all patients. (Market Updates).
January 1, 2003... Pacing the heart, a common and accepted medical practice, may damage patients' hearts, at least in some circumstances, according to a preliminary study that was terminated early because too many patients died. The results of the study, called...

Cardio sector hits approvals trifecta. (Product Pipeline).(three cardiovascular devices approved)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... A trilogy of cardiovascular products from three separate companies received good news on the regulatory front the week before Christmas. Medtronic (Minneapolis, Minnesota) received FDA approval of the Medtronic Marquis VR ICD (implantable...

Abbott Laboratories (Abbott Park, Illinois) reported the recent launch of the Perclose A-T (Auto-Tie), the latest generation in suture-mediated vessel closure systems from Abbott Vascular Devices, the company's cardiovascular device franchise. (Product Pipeline).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... * Abbott Laboratories (Abbott Park, Illinois) reported the recent launch of the Perclose A-T (Auto-Tie), the latest generation in suture-mediated vessel closure systems from Abbott Vascular Devices, the company's cardiovascular device...

Bristol-Myers Squibb Medical Imaging. (Product Pipeline).(heart imaging test helps diagnose heart attack)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... * Bristol-Myers Squibb Medical Imaging (North Billerica, Massachusetts) said a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association reported that the addition of its Cardiolite (Kit for the Preparation of Tc99m Sestamibi for...

CryoCor (San Diego, California) said that four patients with atrial flutter have been treated successfully with the CryoCor Cardiac Cryoablation System. (Product Pipeline).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... * CryoCor (San Diego, California) said that four patients with atrial flutter have been treated successfully with the CryoCor Cardiac Cryoablation System. The procedures were conducted at the Iowa Heart Center (Des Moines, Iowa) by Ben Johnson,...

Cyberonics. (Product Pipeline).(Cyberonics Inc. receives patent rights)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... * Cyberonics (Houston) has been assigned royalty free rights to U.S. patent No. 6,473,644 B1, covering a "Method to Enhance Cardiac Capillary Growth in Heart Failure Patients." The patent includes 41 claims and provides patent protection for...

Dade Behring. (Product Pipeline).(C-reactive proteins and heart disease diagnosis)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... * Dade Behring (Deerfield, Illinois) said that testing blood for the presence of C-reactive protein, in conjunction with cholesterol testing, could be an important means of identifying persons at risk of developing heart disease, according to a...

EP MedSystems. (Product Pipeline).(catheter system treats atrial fibrillation)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... * EP MedSystems (West Berlin, New Jersey) received FDA marketing clearance for its Alert System, a catheter system used for treating atrial fibrillation. The Alert System delivers programmable low-energy, bi-phasic electrical impulses directly...

HemoSense. (Product Pipeline).(portable blood analyzers)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... * HemoSense (Milpitas, California) said its INRatio PT Monitoring System (INRatio) for patients on oral anticoagulant therapy was granted the CE mark for use by patients in the home. INRatio is a new generation of portable, hand-held analyzers...

Neoprobe. (Product Pipeline).(Neoprobe Corp.)(blood flow measurement products)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... * Neoprobe (Dublin, Ohio), a developer of oncology and cardiovascular surgical and diagnostic products, reported the commercial launch of the first product in its Cardiosonix portfolio of blood flow measurement products called the Quantix...

OmniSonics Medical Technologies. (Product Pipeline).(OmniSonics Medical Technologies Inc.)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... * OmniSonics Medical Technologies (Wilmington, Massachusetts), a developer of products to treat vascular occlusive disease based on its OmniWave technology platform, said it received the CE mark in the European Union for its Resolution 360...

St. Jude Medical. (Product Pipeline).(implantable cardioverter defibrillator clinical trials)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... * St. Jude Medical (St. Paul, Minnesota) said it received approval from the FDA to reduce the required sample size in its Resychronization Hemodynamic Treatment for Heart Failure Management (RHYTHM) implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD)...

Volcano Therapeutics. (Product Pipeline).(patent on intravascular thermography use)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... * Volcano Therapeutics (Laguna Hills, California), an early-stage medical device company, said the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued a new patent covering methods of identifying vulnerable plaque through the use of intravascular...

WorldHeart. (Product Pipeline).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... * WorldHeart (Ottawa, Ontario) said it has quested Health Canada approval to use an ePTFE inflow conduit as an alternative option for its Novacor LVAS (left ventricular assist system). The conduit has been approved for European use and is now...

Zoll Medical. (Product Pipeline).(Brief Article)
January 1, 2003... * Zoll Medical (Burlington, Massachusetts), a manufacturer of noninvasive cardiac resuscitation devices providing both pacing and defibrillation, reported receiving approval from Health Canada for its AED Plus. Zoll said the automated external...