March 15, 2011 – A new tricuspid ring for the treatment of tricuspid valve disease is approved for use in the United States, Europe and several other countries. The Contour 3D Annuloplasty Ring, from Medtronic is designed to restore normal valve function by remodeling the natural valve’s shape and size.

March 15, 2011 – Argon Medical Devices has entered into a definitive license agreement with Rex Medical, for exclusive global rights to market and distribute the Option Retrievable Inferior Vena Cava (IVC) Filter. The filter is an implantable device used in the prevention of pulmonary embolism (PE).

Much of nuclear imaging depends on a steady supply of an isotope called molybdenum-99 (Mo-99). A byproduct of nuclear fission, Mo-99 is used to produce another radioactive substance, technetium-99m, which is employed in more than 16 million nuclear imaging procedures every year in the United States alone.

March 14, 2011 – Expanding its transcatheter valve accessories with the addition of an aortic embolic protection device, Edwards Lifesciences Corp. completed the acquisition of Embrella Cardiovascular Inc. The company developed the Embrella Embolic Deflector System, which can be used during transcatheter heart valve procedures.

The purchase price was about $43 million cash.

March 14, 2011 – Doctors at Beaumont Hospital in Troy, Mich., have performed the state’s first minimally invasive robotic procedure to correct atrial fibrillation. The new robotic maze procedure is an alternative to open-heart surgery. It's performed through tiny, keyhole incisions with fewer complications and a shorter hospital stay.

March 14, 2011 – Sorin Group has reached a major milestone with the 100,000th MitroFlow Aortic Pericardial Heart Valve implantation worldwide.

March 14, 2011 – A software system that manages patient itineraries has expanded into the cardiology and transport departments. Allocade’s On-Cue Expert Software System and enhancements for the On-Cue Dynamic Patient Itinerary information were demonstrated at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) 2011 conference.

March 14, 2011 – A vascular graft for hemodialysis access has received the CE mark. The Gore Propaten vascular graft, from W.L. Gore and Associates, utilizes a covalent bonding technology to adhere heparin to the graft surface.


Medical device companies spend around $1 million at the front end of every device development project to get to a product concept that they want to take to market. Some vendors spend it better than others, according to Sagentia, a company that works with device vendors to develop new technologies, products and services.

March 11, 2011 – DR Systems will exhibit its Unity Cardiovascular Information System (CVIS) at next month’s American College of Cardiology (ACC) meeting.

The system provides a cost effective, comprehensive cardiology solution for institutions that need a new cardiology system whether replacing aging, limited systems or moving from tape to a digital solution.

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