Another in a long line of Californian medtech start-ups, Blockade Medical™ has announced the gaining of CE Mark status for its Barricade Coil System™, designed to remove or endovascularly occlude blood flow in vascular abnormalities of the neurovascular and peripheral vessels.
Neurology
FDA Warns Of Potential For Catheter Entrapment With ev3’s Onyx Liquid Embolic System
9 patient deaths are reportedly linked with catheter entrapment when delivering Covidien subsidiary ev3’sOnyx injectable embolic material into the brain. FDA has seen fit to warn users of the potential for this to occur.
MicroVention Announces First Patient Enrollment In Clinical Trial To Compare Coiling Technologies For Treating Brain Aneurysms
MicroVention, Inc., has announced that enrollment has begun in the Hydrogel Endovascular Aneurysm Treatment (HEAT) clinical trial, a prospective randomised study of the use of coiling technologies to treat intracranial aneurysms.
CE Mark Approval For World’s First Rechargeable Vagus Nerve Stimulator To Treat Refractory Epilepsy
Treatment of Refractory Epilepsy by Vagus Nerve Stimulation is to be made available in Europe as Neurotech’s unique rechargeable device gains CE mark approval.
Imricor’s Deal Sees It Develop MRI Compatible Leads For Cyberonics Neuro Systems
Smart move for Cyberonics as it spots an opportunity to tap into Imricor’s MRI-compatible lead capability for its own neuromodulation products.
Study Shows Stryker’s Trevo® Clot Retriever Significantly Outperforms Its Merci® Device
Last week saw the holding of the European Stroke Conference in Lisbon, Portugal, at which event Stryker announced the results of the TREVO 2 clinical trial comparing its Trevo® clot removal device with its current Merci® product.
Natus Picks Up CareFusion’s Nicolet® Neurodiagnostic Business For $58 Million
CareFusion continues its “simplify and focus” strategy with divestment of its Nicolet business to Natus Medical for a reported $58M.
Gold Nanoparticles Could Seek And Destroy Cancer Cells
Top universities really do churn out some brilliant work. In this case Stanford researchers have published on the use of coated gold nanoparticles which selectively find cancer cells and aid in their isolation for treatment, potentially improving accuracy with the benefit of minimising collateral damage and ensuring no cancer remains.
Study Says Non-invasive Magnetic Stimulation Is Effective In Treatment Of Major Depression
Israeli company Brainsway put its money where its mouth is when it undertook a major clinical study into the effect of its therapy on unresponsive depression sufferers. The results suggest it paid off as significant improvements were noted in the treatment group.
St Jude’s Brio™ Deep Brain Stimulation System Withdrawn For Fix
St Jude has recalled and suspended sales of its Brio Deep Brain Stimulation system until it resolves the issue of body fluid ingress, which it believes is causing a lack of therapeutic effect.
Is FDA About To Clip Stryker’s Wingspan?
Stryker’s Wingspan Stent is up for FDA panel review on March 23rd. FDA’s Executive Summary, released today doesn’t auger well as results of clinical study don’t seem to support safety and efficacy claims.
CareFusion’s New Electrodiagnostic System Gains FDA Clearance
Carefusion’s Viking on Nicolet® EDX Electrodiagnostic system has gained FDA clearance and will be shown at forthcoming America Academy of Neurology meeting in New Orleans.
Canada Approves Medtronic’s DBS For Epilepsy And Boston’s Cardiac Ablation System
Two new device approvals announced for Canada this week. Neither Medtronic’s DBS therapies for epilepsy nor Boston Scientific’s RF ablation catheter are US FDA approved, but Health Canada are clearly convinced by the weight of the submissions.
First Patient Enrolled In European Deep Brain Stimulation Registry For Refractory Epilepsy
Deep Brain Stimulation for Refractory Epilepsy: First patient enrolled in Netherlands some 25 years after DBS was first indicated for essential tremor.
Scientists Decode Brain Waves So We Can “Hear” Imagined Speech
Scientists at Berkeley have decoded the imagined speech of a patient in what could be a breakthrough in understanding and utilisation of brainwaves in speech impaired patients.
Covidien’s CE Marked Revascularisation Device Now Approved for US Trial
Covidien’s Solitaire FR device has been accepted into US stroke trial on an investigational basis. Company financials look strong and sounds bullish about the forthcoming tax levy.