To help ease the hand fatigue experienced by many surgeons during electrosurgery procedures, MEGADYNE recently announced the availability of its new line of reusable suction coagulators with a larger, ergonomic handle.

The company says the devices are good for ear, nose and throat procedures. MEGADYNE's suction coagulators are available in French sizes, 8, 10 and 12 to better enable the surgeon to correctly match the coagulator to the size of the patient's anatomy and surgical procedure being performed.

Michigan Instruments Inc. recently launched its new life support device, Life-Stat that provides effective, consistent hands-free cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

This mechanical CPR device provides rescuer hands-free AHA Guideline-compliant CPR in either the 30:2 compression to ventilation ratio or continuous chest compressions with asynchronous ventilation modes of operation.

The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA) has left its mark on hospitals and outpatient imaging center operators. There is no denying that the imaging industry has changed forever. Some may think that the 10 percent of operators on the brink of bankruptcy or in default on payments to finance vendors is a mere market correction for years of overgrowth. But do the math.


April 8, 2008 - The government on Monday said it would raise payments next year to insurers that provide healthcare coverage to seniors by 3.6 percent, a slight increase from last year's boost.

The increase applies to companies in the Medicare Advantage program, the privately run wing of the government health care plan for seniors. Officials from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said the increase is slightly lower than the estimated 3.7 percent expected growth increase for Medicare in 2009.

Last year the agency increased payments on average by 3.5 percent.

April 8, 2008 - People who are taking three or more drugs and still have high blood pressure have a condition known as resistant hypertension that may require special treatment, the American Heart Association said on Monday.

The guidelines are intended to help doctors and patients identify and control resistant hypertension, which affects as many as 30 percent of people with high blood pressure.

April 8, 2008 - A study using Itamar Medical's Endo-PAT2000, an FDA-cleared device used to assess endothelial function, found that when indoor air particles are reduced in a controlled study environment, endothelial function, an indicator of cardiovascular health, significantly improves.

April 8, 2008 - The first-in-man study funded by MIV Therapeutics Inc. (MIV) showed that MIV's VESTAsync stents performed as well or better than commercially available drug stent combinations, while using 60 percent less drug, according to data presented at the American College of Cardiology conference in Chicago, IL.

April 8, 2008 - Doctors at Boston Medical Center (BMC) led by Chief of Cardiac Surgery Robert Poston, M.D., have been performing minimally invasive, robotically-assisted bypass surgery, in a procedure that allows physicians to gain access to the heart with several small incisions, unlike conventional bypass surgery, which requires the chest to be opened with a 6- to 10-inch incision at the breastbone (sternum.)

April 8, 2008 - OrbusNeich received CE Mark approval for the Sapphire 1.25-mm PTCA dilatation catheter, a small-diameter balloon catheter designed specifically for the pre-dilatation of tight, calcified chronic total occlusion (CTO) lesions that require the best crossability, providing physicians with enhanced pushability and superior kink resistance.

April 8, 2008 - Atrial fibrillation demonstrated that a port access, paracardioscopic Ex-Maze procedure produced favorable outcomes and allowed patients to discontinue antiarrhythmic drugs, according to interim results from a study presented by Andy C. Kiser, M.D., at the American College of Cardiology meeting in Chicago, IL.

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