Boston Scientific Archives - Page 6 of 6

How big medtech fared during a year of COVID-19

[Photo from Unsplash]

Despite numerous challenges, the medtech industry showed itself to be fairly recession-proof in 2020, according to a Medical Design & Outsourcing analysis of financials.

Annual reports recently released by 20 of the world’s largest medical device companies showed only a slight dip in revenue during 2020 — a year in which medtech held the front lines against the COVID-19 pandemic. Employment was also up slightly amongst the top earners, while R&D spending held its own.

The 20 companies included in the MDO analysis include 3M Healthcare, Abbott (medical device segment), Alcon, Align Technology, Baxter, Boston Scientific, Danaher (life sciences and diagnostics segment), Dentsply Sirona, Edwards Lifesciences, GE Healthcare, Henry Schein, Intuitive Surgical, Johnson & Johnson (medical device segment), Medline Industries, Owens & Minor, Royal Philips, Smith+Nephew, …

DTW Podcast: Insulet CEO Petrovic sees abundance of CGM opportunities

Insulet CEO Shacey Petrovic shares vision for OmniPod insulin delivery.

Medtech start ups developing continuous glucose monitors have caught the eye of at least one potential – and powerful – partner – Insulet Corp.

In an interview with the DeviceTalks Weekly Podcast, CEO Shacey Petrovic said the maker of the OmniPod insulin-delivery device sees partnering with other companies as the likely path to creating a single device capable of reading glucose levels and delivering insulin. Insulet last year announced partnerships with DexCom and Abbott.

“There are some really interesting technologies on the horizon,” Petrovic said. “There might be 40 early-stage CGMs in development so we’ll see how the market plays out. But we couldn’t be more delighted with our partnerships with Abbott and Dexcom.”

The partnerships give Insulet access to technology that’s able to measure glucose levels in…

The worst catheter-based device recalls of 2020

Top: Teleflex Langston Dual Lumen catheter; Bottom: BSX Imager II, Endologix Ovation iX, Teleflex AC3 Optimus Intra-Aortic balloon pump

The U.S. saw nine serious medical device recalls related to catheters in 2020 — up from four the previous year, according to the FDA.

FDA in 2020 reported a total 33 medical device recalls at its most serious Class I level, down from 49 in 2019.

The list of the most serious catheter-based device recalls in 2020 includes products from major companies including Medtronic and Teleflex, and catheters ranging from congenital heart treatment devices to contrast material delivery devices.

Here are the nine most serious catheter-based device recalls of 2020.

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These 5 medtech companies made it into the top 200 of Forbes’ best places to work list

Johnson & Johnson, Steris, Philips, Fujifilm Holdings and Boston Scientific were recently named among Forbes’ best large employers in America, based on feedback from their employees.

Forbes partnered with a market research firm to survey 50,000 Americans working for businesses with at least 1,000 employees. Survey participants were asked to rate their willingness to recommend their employer to friends and family and to nominate a business that wasn’t their own.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) ranked 84 out of the full list of 500. The New Brunswick, N.J.-based company has a 4.2 out of 5-star rating on the job board website Glassdoor. Johnson & Johnson, founded in 1886, employs over 132,000 people. Its medical device segment generated $25.96 billion in revenue in 2019.

Mentor, Ohio-based Steris (NYSE:STE) ranked 105 on Forbes’s list of the best large employers in America. The company has a 3.6 out of 5-star rating on Glassdoor. …

5 innovations to make duodenoscopes more single-use — and save lives

[Images from Boston Scientific, Ambu and Olmypus]

Duodenoscopes are important medical devices that are used for endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) procedures. However, the devices have had serious problems in the past.

Luckily, several medical device companies have stepped in to solve the problems.

Duodenoscopes are flexible, lighted tubes threaded through the mouth, throat and stomach into the top of the small intestine. They’re an important tool for spotting problems such as lesions and tumors in the pancreatic duct and bile duct, but the devices are also complex, with many small working parts.

“Duodenoscopes – regardless of whether they are reusable or single-use – are one of the most technically complex flexible endoscopes to design and manufacture, as they travel deep into the body with a camera mounted on the side instead of the front,” David Pierce, EVP and president of M…

5 innovations to make duodenoscopes more single-use — and save lives

[Images from Boston Scientific, Ambu and Olmypus]Duodenoscopes are important medical devices that are used for endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP) procedures. However, the devices have had serious problems in the past.

Luckily, several medical device companies have stepped in to solve the problems. (Here are five of the innovations.)

Duodenoscopes are flexible, lighted tubes threaded through the mouth, throat and stomach into the top of the small intestine. They’re an important tool for spotting problems such as lesions and tumors in the pancreatic duct and bile duct, but the devices are also complex, with many small working parts.

“Duodenoscopes – regardless of whether they are reusable or single-use – are one of the most technically complex flexible endoscopes to design and manufacture, as they travel deep into the body with a camera mounted on the side instead of the front,” David Pierce, EVP and president of MedSu…

GSK-backed venture fund APVC sees opportunities in ultrasound

Juan-Pablo Mas of APVC details the firm’s investment in EXO.

Action Potential Venture Capital, a corporate investment arm of GSK, sees therapeutic opportunities in ultrasound, according to a partner at the group.

In this week’s DeviceTalks Weekly Podcast, Action Venture partner Juan-Pablo Mas explains why APCV led the recent round in Exo, a maker of the first piezoelectric micromachined ultrasonic transducer (PMUT) portable ultrasound imaging technology.

Mas also updates listeners on the venture fund’s interest in exploring other types of technologies. And he introduces LatinxVc, a non-profit group he co-founded to create opportunities for newcomers to venture capital.

Trust Securities Managing Director Kaila Krum says Medtronic (NYSE:MDT) executives are retooling the company to keep pace with smaller, more focused competitors.

Breaking down the company’s Q1 analyst ca…

Boston Sci reportedly looking to sell snake antivenom business

[Photo by Conscious Design on Unsplash]

Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) is exploring selling its snake antivenom products business, according to Bloomberg, which cited anonymous sources.

A Boston Sci spokesperson told MassDevice via email that the company has a practice of not commenting on speculation.

Boston Scientific acquired the antivenom business during its $4 billion acquisition of BTG, which closed last year. Its products include CroFab, touted as the only FDA-approved product exclusively derived from U.S. snakes. CroFab to date has treated more than 50,000 people suffering from bits from snakes including rattlesnakes, copperheads and cottonmouths/water moccasins.

The BTG acquisition also included devices for vascular and oncology applications, as well as drugs for treating overdoses.

What is a medical ventilator and how does it work?

Image from Ventec Life Systems

The ventilator has come to the fore as a vital piece of equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Put simply, ventilators exist to help patients who can’t breathe, breathe. The novel coronavirus’ attack on the respiratory system brought ventilators into the spotlight, forcing the U.S. to turn to its strategic national stockpile as manufacturers scrambled to scale-up production in short order.

While some of the major manufacturers pump out machines and fulfill recently awarded government contracts, researchers at universities and laboratories have entered the ring with alternative ventilators falling under FDA emergency use authorization (EUA) guidelines. However, while useful in a time of need, the alternative machines that cover mechanical ventilation struggle to scratch the surface of capabilities attributable to the in-demand ICU ventilators.

Univers…

Boston Scientific launches DirectSense technology

Boston Sci’s DirectSense technology provides data on the impedance around the catheter tip to measure the ability of the tissue to respond to radiofrequency energy before physicians deliver therapy. [Image courtesy of Boston Scientific]Boston Scientific (NYSE:BSX) announced today that it launched its DirectSense for monitoring the effect of radiofrequency (RF) energy during cardiac ablation procedures.

Marlborough, Mass.-based Boston Scientific’s DirectSense is available on the Rhythmia HDx mapping system that won FDA approval in April. Rhythmia HDx monitors changes in local impedance — electrical resistance — around the tip of the IntellaNav MiFi open-irrigated ablation catheter.

Get the full story on our sister site MassDevice.