April 23, 2012 - Boston Scientific Corp. announces that it has completed enrollment in the REPRISE I clinical trial, which is designed to evaluate the acute safety of the Lotus Aortic Valve System, the first transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) device of its kind for patients with severe aortic valve stenosis that is both fully repositionable and retrievable prior to release. This prospective, single-arm feasibility study enrolled 11 patients at three sites in Australia. Results from the REPRISE I trial are scheduled to be presented at the EuroPCR Congress in May.

April 23, 2012 - Records exposing the level of medical device recalls made in the United States, and therefore the multitude of serious health risks patients have been subjected to over the past few years, have sparked calls for stricter regulations, according to a new report by healthcare intelligence company GBI Research.

April 19, 2012 - The FDA received a report from a hospital that 16 patients had developed hospital-acquired infections with the bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa following an examination with transesophageal echo (TEE) ultrasound probes using Other-Sonic Generic Ultrasound Transmission Gel. Upon investigation, theultrasound gel was found to be contaminated with the bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Klebsiella oxytoca. Manufactured by Pharmaceutical Innovations Inc., the non-sterile gel is used in ultrasound procedures to improve the transmission of the ultrasound signal from the transducer to the body.