March 9, 2012 — Researchers have developed a method to label transplanted cells so they can be tracked by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In the future, as cell therapies become a more integral part of regenerative medicine and tumor treatment, there could be increased need to measure how many transplanted immune or stem cells reach their target.

March 8, 2012 — Researchers at Sentara Cardiovascular Research Institute are among the top enrollers out of 69 leading heart centers in the United States involved in a clinical trial designed to use a new investigational device to evaluate the safety and efficacy of a physician-directed patient self-management system.

March 7, 2012 — Critical Diagnostics announced results from a multi-center study in ambulatory heart failure patients which confirmed that a contemporary panel of biomarkers, including ST2, was strongly predictive of risk and significantly improved the likelihood of identifying patients at risk for adverse events compared to the Seattle Heart Failure Model (SHFM).

March 6, 2012 — In a development that brings advanced combination therapy treatment of peripheral artery disease (PAD) to Japanese patients for the first time, Cook Medical has received PMDA approval to sell the Zilver PTX Drug-Eluting Peripheral Stent in Japan. The device, indicated for treating PAD in the superficial femoral artery (SFA), is the first stent available in Japan approved for use in the SFA. Its approval also makes Zilver PTX the only drug-eluting peripheral stent available in that country.

March 6, 2012 — Medtronic Inc. announced the launch of the CapSure Sense MRI SureScan pacing leads, which are approved for use during magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and the receipt of the CE mark.

March 5, 2012 — SynCardia Systems Inc., manufacturer of the world’s first and only U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), Health Canada and Conformité Européenne (CE) approved Total Artificial Heart, announced that 18-year-old Jordan Merecka was successfully bridged to a heart transplant at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, Texas, after 160 days of support with the SynCardia temporary Total Artificial Heart.