Philips announced it has acquired Xhale Assurance Inc., a U.S.-based scale-up company developing and commercializing next-generation sensor technologies. Xhale Assurance’s disposable pulse oximetry sensor is placed on the wing (ala) of the nose, and can reliably measure and transmit a patient’s heart rate and blood oxygenation under low-perfusion conditions that are challenging for conventional fingertip pulse oximetry sensors. Philips said this technology will broaden and differentiate its existing portfolio of oxygen saturation monitoring solutions and allow the company to expand into a currently underserved clinical segment. Financial details of the transaction were not disclosed.

A weight loss drug does not increase cardiovascular events, according to late breaking results from the CAMELLIA-TIMI 61 trial. Results were presented in a Hot Line Session at the 2018 European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress, Aug. 25-28 in Munich, Germany, and published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

At the 2018 European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress, cardiovascular technology startup Maisense debuted the Freescan telecardiology system that uses a portable device to measure blood pressure and record electrocardiogram (ECG) readings simultaneously.

Philips announced that the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) has incorporated instantaneous wave-free ratio (iFR) into its updated revascularization guidelines. The new guidelines have provided the highest recommendation (class I A) for iFR alongside fractional flow reserve (FFR) for the objective assessment of the hemodynamic relevance of coronary lesions.

Medtronic plc announced new findings from the CRYO4PERSISTENT AF clinical trial demonstrating improved quality of life, reduced symptoms from abnormal heart rhythms, and low incidence of reinterventions and repeat ablation procedures. The study evaluated patients with symptomatic persistent atrial fibrillation (AF) treated with the Medtronic Arctic Front Advance Cryoballoon, and the results were presented at the 2018 European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress, Aug. 25-28 in Munich.

iSchemaView announced that more than 575 stroke centers in 22 countries have selected the RAPID advanced imaging platform for cerebrovascular imaging, with 520 currently installed. RAPID technology assists physicians in the analysis of brain images using automated tools for CT ASPECTS, computed tomography (CT) angiography, CT perfusion, magnetic resonance (MR) diffusion and perfusion for more than 85,000 stroke cases per year. RAPID is also currently deployed in six multi-center clinical trials globally.