January 21, 2011 – The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) this week unveiled a plan containing 25 actions it intends to implement during 2011 to improve its 510(k) review of medical technology, the most common path to market for medical devices.

January 20, 2011 – European CE mark approval was granted to expand the indication of Abbott’s Xience Prime everolimus-eluting coronary stent for the treatment of critical limb ischemia (CLI) or severe claudication (pain) of the lower leg. CLI is the most advanced form of peripheral artery disease (PAD) that can ultimately lead to limb amputation.

January 20, 2011 – Results from a large, worldwide, clinical trial show evidence that a first-of-its-kind pacemaker system is safe and effective to use during magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). During the trial, no MRI-related complications were reported in patients with the pacemaker system before, during, or after an MRI examination.

January 19, 2011 – The patient support group Mended Hearts, in partnership with Daiichi Sankyo Inc. and Eli Lilly and Company, this week launched the Stent Hub – an online patient and caregiver resource for acute coronary syndrome (ACS) patients who were treated with percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

January 19, 2011 – Siemens Healthcare is partnering with Endosense for the integration of the contact-force data provided by Endosense’s TactiCath force-sensing ablation catheter with Siemens’ electrophysiology (EP) solutions.