April 9, 2012 — Thoratec and the U.S. Food and Drug Adminstration (FDA) announced a recent Class 1 recall of the HeartMate II left ventricular assist device (LVAD) because detachment of the bend relief from its intended position around the proximal outflow graft may allow the graft to kink or deform, resulting in reduction of blood flow. The kink also may cause pump/graft thrombosis or perforation of the outflow graft. Additionally, the metal end of the bend relief may be sharp and cause erosion and cutting of the outflow graft.

April 6, 2012 — Crux Biomedical announced that a recently completed pivotal trial of its Crux Vena Cava Filter (VCF) System with bi-directional retrieval was presented at the 2012 Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) Annual Scientific Meeting, March 24-29, in San Francisco. Vena cava filters are designed to trap blood clots that can lead to potentially fatal pulmonary embolisms (PE) among patients at risk. In the study, deployment and retrieval each were achieved with a 98 percent success rate.

April 6, 2012 — Positron Corp. announced the approval of its Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) manufacturing and distribution license amendment for the company's radiopharmaceutical manufacturing facility in Crown Point, Ind.