June 24, 2010 โ€“ The first cohort of patients was fully enrolled this week in a clinical study of a new drug meant to prevent restenosis in patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD). Specifically, PVS-10200, developed by Pervasis Therapeutics, is supposed to keep PAD patients who undergo an angioplasty and stent procedure in the superficial femoral artery from developing restenosis.

June 24, 2010 โ€“ The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced this week that it has given a $2.2 million grant to fund new treatment technology for atrial fibrillation (AF). The grant will allow Strategic Polymer Sciences Inc. (SPS) to design and commercialize its new steerable cardiac mapping and ablation catheter technology.

Radial access is very popular outside the United States because it offers improved safety, comfort and cost savings over femoral access, which is the current U.S. standard of care. Femoral access site recovery usually involves heavy, uncomfortable compression of the leg. Patients are also required to lay on their back, in bed and not move for hours to ensure proper hemostasis.

St. Joseph's Hospital of Atlanta created a radial access recover room that replaces beds and the sterile institutional hospital look with a more patient-friendly design.

June 22, 2010 โ€“ Data from the FAST-PVI study, supported by Medtronic Inc., shows lab time using anatomically designed ablation catheters are more than one-third faster than traditional point-by-point focal ablation procedures in achieving pulmonary vein isolation (PVI).

June 22, 2010 โ€“ The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently granted 510(k) clearance for the Jetstream G3 Small Fixed (SF) peripheral atherectomy catheter. It is smaller than previous versions of the Jetstream, and offers a fixed cutter and longer catheter to treat blockages below the knee (BTK).

June 22, 2010 โ€“ St. Jude Medical Inc. last week announced the first enrollment in its LAPTOP-HF (Left Atrial Pressure Monitoring to Optimize Heart Failure Therapy) study. The goal of the LAPTOP-HF study is to demonstrate that the new investigational left atrial pressure (LAP) management system safely and effectively improves outcomes in patients with heart failure (HF).


The practicality and expense of maintaining patients on total artificial hearts (TAH) may be significantly impacted with the introduction of a new, investigational portable driver unit. The 13-pound unit driver is intended to replace the previous 418-pound driver, which will allow eligible patients to be discharged to wait for a transplant heart at home, rather than in a hospital.

June 21, 2010 โ€“ Seven out of 10 men admitted to hospital for a heart attack, or acute ST segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), had erectile dysfunction (ED) in the six months prior to their admission, according to new data presented last week at the World Congress of Cardiology Scientific Sessions in Beijing, China.

June 21, 2010 โ€“ This week, 22 new balloon sizes have been added to the PolarCath Peripheral Dilatation System, including balloon lengths of 120 and 150 mm. The Boston Scientific Corp. PolarCath System is used to restore blood flow in patients with critical limb ischemia (severe blockages in the arteries below the knee) and blockages in the femoral and popliteal (behind the knee) arteries.

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