Most patients facing surgery to correct a painful spinal condition are usually a bit apprehensive. Not so for 70-year-old Marveen Boone of Chase, Louisiana, who will become the first patient in the United States to surgically receive a new investigational device. The VertiFlex Superion Interspinous Spacer is a small spacing device for lumbar spinal stenosis [...]

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The Neutrogena Partnership for Skin Health, a public service initiative that partners with organizations and individuals to educate, promote advancements and explore solutions for skin health, has tapped actress Malin Akerman to educate consumers in a viral video about self-examination for skin cancer detection. As the #1 dermatologist recommended skincare brand and the leader in [...]

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The Scots have been known for centuries to be able to make the impossible happen. From Robert the Bruce to William Wallace, facing the challenge and winning is the only option. So when you get two good friends having a late night dram of The Glenlivet single malt scotch in a pub and they have [...]

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Determined to help lift the spirits of seriously ill children and their families, Nintendo of America Inc. and Starlight Starbright Children’s Foundation have committed to placing hundreds of popular Fun Centers, now featuring Wii game systems, in hospitals across the United States and Canada by the end of this year. Nintendo of America is manufacturing [...]

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Scientists at the Burnham Institute for Medical Research have, for the first time, genetically programmed embryonic stem (ES) cells to become nerve cells when transplanted into the brain, according to a study published today in The Journal of Neuroscience. The research, an important step toward developing new treatments for stroke, Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and other neurological [...]

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared for marketing a new safety engineered short-term peripheral Intra-Venous (IV) Catheter. The product, VantageCath, is designed to significantly reduce exposure to bloodborne pathogens during the placement of the catheter and also provide the clinician with desirable feature sets.
Existing safety engineered peripheral IVs have mechanisms to protect the [...]

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Covidien, a leading global provider of healthcare products, today announced that its Surgical Devices business unit has introduced the VascuSeal Vascular Sealant System throughout Europe and in select Middle East markets.

VascuSeal offers surgeons a unique advanced hydrogel that provides an immediate, blood-tight seal that is effective intraoperatively and throughout the critical healing period. VascuSeal, [...]

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A critically important new book on medical errors, Fatal Care: Survive in the U.s. Health System , has just been released. FATAL CARE was written by Dr. Sanjaya Kumar, an eminent expert in patient safety and quality, to raise awareness among consumers of the large number of medical errors in the US healthcare system, and [...]

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Beckman Coulter, Inc. (NYSE:BEC) announced today that it has licensed certain rights to testing for the hepatitis C virus (HCV) from Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics. Under the agreement, Beckman Coulter can develop, manufacture and sell a quantitative viral load HCV blood test for use on the company’s molecular diagnostic instrument, which is in development. As a [...]

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Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT) today announced that the FDA has cleared the OneTouch UltraLink Meter as the new wireless meter exclusively certified by Medtronic to wirelessly communicate with Medtronic diabetes management products in the United States. This new meter uses Medtronic-certified wireless technology to transmit glucose readings directly to MiniMed Paradigm insulin pumps and the [...]

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