St. Jude Medical Inc. announced CE Mark approval and European launch of its Allure Quadra Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy Pacemaker (CRT-P). This CRT-P system offers more pacing options to deliver higher success rates, as evidenced by robust clinical data. Allure Quadra CRT-P brings the quadripolar lead technology to the pacemaker market. Quadripolar leads allow for increased implant efficiencies, which clinical data indicates can result in fewer surgical revisions. The Allure family of devices also offers heart failure (HF) diagnostics, including CorVue Impedance Monitoring, for improved patient management.

Royal has completed patient enrollment in the CHILL-MI clinical study designed to further evaluate the safety and effectiveness of the company’s InnerCool RTx endovascular cooling system in patients with ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI).

The first patient in the United States has been implanted with the Boston Scientific Corporation ImageReady MR Conditional pacing system in the SAMURAI clinical trial. The study is designed to confirm the safety and effectiveness of the system in the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) environment. While MRI images can help clinicians make informed decisions about treatment and care, most pacemakers are not compatible with MRI technology, and therefore patients may not have access to the sophisticated scanning capabilities of the diagnostic system.

Cook Medical has launched a new fully-retractable .035 inch embolization coil, intended for peripheral arterial and venous embolization. Embolization is a nonsurgical, minimally invasive procedure performed by a physician to block or reduce blood flow in arteries and veins. Cook showcased the Retracta Detachable Embolization Coil at the annual Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) meeting.

The Alliance for Integrity in Medicare (AIM), a broad coalition of medical specialty, laboratory, radiation oncology, and medical imaging groups committed to ending the practice of inappropriate physician self-referral, announced that it is pleased that the updated Simpson-Bowles proposal recommends constricting the in-office ancillary services (IOAS) exception. AIM has long supported the position expressed by the Moment of Truth Project on physician self-referral.

Fovia Medical Inc., and Softneta UAB are collaborating to deliver High Definition Volume Rendering to the telemedicine market.

TriReme Medical Inc. and its affiliates (TriReme) announced that its Japanese partner, Century Medical Inc. (CMI), has received Shonin approval for the Glider PTCA balloon catheter indicated for treating the stenotic portion of coronary arteries or bypass grafts to improve myocardial perfusion. Combining a skived tip and a braided shaft, Glider is the world's only torqueable PTCA catheter and is designed to assist physicians in treating the most challenging cases such as bifurcations and highly stenosed lesions.

The decision to perform an invasive procedure to open clogged arteries in the heart instead of first trying medication and lifestyle changes may not reduce a patient's risk of death or of a major cardiac event. Unnecessary procedures to treat chronic, stable heart disease contribute to rising healthcare costs. A targeted approach to avoiding this kind of overutilization by instead relying on evidence-based decision-making is presented in Population Health Management.