http://www.devicelink.com/mddi/blog A weblog about and for the medical device industry. Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:44:11 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en As sexually-transmitted diseases (STDs) are on the rise in the younger population, Chembio Diagnostics is emphasizing the importance of rapid, point-of-care testing. Using its Dual Path Platform technology, the company is developing next generation rapid STD tests. Testing will begin on the products early next year. The rapid tests include ... http://www.devicelink.com/mddi/blog/?p=2352 The issue of one size doesn’t fit all, how this relates to the treatment of patients, and where comparative effectiveness fits in was debated yesterday by panelists during a media event held by Cook Medical in New York City. “There are many who believe in the promise that comparative effectiveness ... http://www.devicelink.com/mddi/blog/?p=2343 The Senate healthcare bill introduced by Sen. Harry Reid reduced the medical device fee from $38 billion to $20 billion, according to Minnesota Public Radio. You can see how the fees are broken down by downloading The Joint Committee on Taxations's estimated revenue effects of the bill here. Minnesota Public Radio ... http://www.devicelink.com/mddi/blog/?p=2325 In a popular episode of ABC's "Grey's Anatomy," Dr. Izzie Stevens cuts her fiancé's LVAD wire to move him up the heart donor list. It turns out that the LVADs (left ventricular assist devices), which are used to help the heart pump blood until a patient receives a transplant, have ... http://www.devicelink.com/mddi/blog/?p=2321 Several medical device firms won Clios (advertising awards) in the inaugural year for healthcare ads. GE earned two silver Clios with television spots for medical equipment. In one, a doctors uses a travel-sized electrocardiogram in a rural India. In the other, a man falls (literally) for a women when she reads ... http://www.devicelink.com/mddi/blog/?p=2316 After taking into account feedback from payers this year and health reform issues such as comparative effectiveness and economic pressures, ECRI Institute (Plymouth Meeting, PA) has created a list of the top seven technologies that industry should keep its eye on in 2010. 1. Genetic testing. Aggressive marketing has ... http://www.devicelink.com/mddi/blog/?p=2287 FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg recently called CDRH "clearly troubled" and said that a formal review of the 510(k) process is underway. At the Reuters Health Summit in New York City, she said that people in the medical industry have voiced concern over the confusion related to 510(k) procedures and that ... http://www.devicelink.com/mddi/blog/?p=2278 Today Covidien is launching a spine sealant in the United States. What's significant about this sealant, which seals the dural membrane during spine surgeries, is that it's the first product of its kind approved by FDA. Out of the almost 1.5 million spine procedures performed annually in the United States, ... http://www.devicelink.com/mddi/blog/?p=2267 Edwards Lifesciences says that its Edwards Lifesciences Fund will grant $4.6 million in 2009 (more than $14 million since the fund's inception in 2004). Some of this funding will go toward the University of California, Irvine, to support the development of the Edwards Lifesciences Center for Advanced Cardiovascular Technology. "Recognizing ... http://www.devicelink.com/mddi/blog/?p=2271 Michael Mussallem, AdvaMed chairman and CEO of Edwards Lifesciences, has accepted that the medical device industry must contribute to the U.S. healthcare reform. According to Reuters, Mussallem said at a health summit: "We're not huge fans of it, but I think at this point we very much believe that this ... http://www.devicelink.com/mddi/blog/?p=2268