June 17, 2010 – AGA Medical Holdings Inc. this week announced first patient enrollment in the feasibility phase of the prospective, multicenter, randomized Amplatzer Cardiac Plug clinical trial. William Nicholson, M.D., an interventional cardiologist and structural heart specialist at York Hospital in Pennsylvania, enrolled the first patient in this multicenter, randomized trial.

June 17, 2010 – The EnSite Contact Technology platform has received European CE Mark approval, St. Jude Medical Inc. announced today at the 17th World Congress in Cardiac Electrophysiology and Cardiac Techniques (CardioStim).

June 17, 2010 – The Protecta portfolio of defibrillators will soon be available in Europe. Medtronic Inc. today announced the European launch of the Protecta portfolio of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) and cardiac resynchronization therapy-defibrillators (CRT-Ds).

June 16, 2010 – A new therapeutic hypothermia system promises faster cooling and warming rates as well as precise temperature control. Royal Philips Electronics recently announced the launch of the Philips InnerCool RTx Endovascular System for cooling and warming, which provides advanced whole body temperature modulation therapy in a closed-loop system from the inside out.

June 16, 2010 – An updated ultrasound system announced this week will feature automated measurements, enhanced image quality and improved volumetric imaging. Siemens Healthcare announced the 1.5 release of its Acuson SC2000 volume imaging ultrasound system this week at the 21st Annual Scientific Session of the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE).

June 16, 2010 – A ventricular assist system has received conditional approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to begin a new clinical trial. HeartWare International Inc.

June 16, 2010 – A new surgical device for excluding the left atrial appendage has received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). AtriCure Inc. announced this week that it received clearance from the FDA for its AtriClip Gillinov-Cosgrove Left Atrial Appendage Exclusion system.

June 15, 2010 – A new study evaluating the safety of an echocardiography contrast agent found that the agent did not have a significant effect on patients’ pulmonary pressures.

June 15, 2010 – Patients with smaller abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) (less than 5.5 cm) have no significant differences in clinical outcomes after endovascular repair (EVAR) than those with larger AAAs according to data from a five-year prospective clinical trial setting. The researchers maintain their recommendation that small aneurysms should not be treated surgically.

June 15, 2010 – Health care professionals can now get information on the diagnosis, pathology, and treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) on their smart phones. Actelion Pharmaceuticals US Inc. recently released the PAH Mobile Reference Guide, a complimentary application, which is available on the iPhone, iPad, and Blackberry.

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