Research published in the American Journal of Managed Care indicated using telemedicine to deliver stroke care, or telestroke, appears to be cost-effective for society. Telestroke robots allow stroke patients in facilities with no neurology specialists to receive real-time consultation from neurologists in other areas via computer.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)’s Cardiovascular and Renal Drugs Advisory Committee recommended approval of vorapaxar, Merck’s investigational antiplatelet medicine for the reduction of atherothrombotic events, when added to standard of care in patients with a history of heart attack and no history of stroke or transient ischemic attack.

The first commercial implant of Elixir Medical’s CE Mark-approved DESolve Novolimus Eluting Coronary Scaffold was performed in Germany. Elixir’s fully bioresorbable DESolve scaffold for coronary artery disease restores blood flow to the heart like metallic stents and then dissolves, resulting in a functional artery free of a permanent implant.

BeneChill Inc. received the 2014 Frost & Sullivan Award for Technology Innovation Leadership for its RhinoChill intranasal cooling system. BeneChill's RhinoChill is a nasopharyngeal device that can induce and sustain therapeutic hypothermia during active resuscitation after cardiac arrest. The system is noninvasive, time critical and can be used by nonmedical personnel to prevent brain damage associated with cardiac arrest.

Through the existing Innovator in Residence (IIR) program, HIMSS and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) are collaborating to move forward on the creation of a nationwide patient data matching strategy.