> Ethicon Endo-Surgery sent a letter to the FDA office of the commissioner in another attempt to advance its appeal of the agency's denial of approval for its gastroenterology procedure sedation system. Article
> Biotel and CardioNet have inked a $11 million merger agreement. Biotel release
> Michigan's economy seems poised for growth again after a decade of job loss, Stryker's CEO said Friday. Story
> WalkMed Infusion issued a voluntary recall for its Triton pole mount infusion pumps. Englewood, CO-based company said the recall covers 2,018 Triton pumps manufactured and sold before June 2010 with serial numbers 001 through 500 and serial numbers TR1401 through TR 2559. Article
> The news that scientists stimulated the brain by applying electricity and increased the numerical ability of a handful of subjects does not come as a surprise. News
> Bausch + Lomb, the global eye health company, has appointed three industry veterans to key management roles in its Surgical business. Brad Paddock has been hired as vice president, Sales; Anthony Sine is appointed vice president, Business Development; and Elisabeth Sandoval is named vice president, Global Marketing. Bausch + Lomb release
> Cindy Crump can track her mother's every move in real time even though they live miles apart. Crump knows when her mother sleeps late, if her blood pressure spikes, whether she's running a fever and what time she leaves the house. Such close monitoring doesn't require copious phone calls or long conversations pressing for every detail of her mother's day. Instead, a plastic wristwatch developed by Crump's Reston-based company, AFrame Digital, transmits all of the information. Story
> The sailors with Charlie Surgical Company's Dental Detachment here went above and beyond their mission by opening up their doors to less traditional patients, Military Working Dogs. In addition to treating more than 3,000 patients throughout their 6-month deployment in support of I Marine Expeditionary Force (Forward), Cmdr. Louis De La Garza, the dental officer in charge for Dental Detachment, C Surg Company, Combat Logistics Regiment 15 (Forward), 1st Marine Logistics Group (Forward) took on the opportunity to provide oral procedures after-hours to the dogs who otherwise would have needed to be medically evacuated to Bagram Airfield or Landstuhl, Germany. Article
> Minnesota companies are turning to immigrants like Swenson from East Africa and Southeast Asia to build medical devices for entry-level wages. The immigrant workforce is increasingly seen as key both to the burgeoning medical device industry, which has found a reliable supply of laborers who are remarkably loyal to their employers, as well as to the workers for whom English is not their native language, who find that these jobs don't require fluency. Report
> San Diego-based Nexus Dx, a startup founded in 2009 to consolidate technologies focused on point of care blood diagnostic testing, has merged with New Jersey-based International Technidyne Corp. (ITC). Article
> A patient may be twice as likely to undergo an x-ray, ultrasound or other diagnostic imaging test after seeing a self-employed urologist as opposed to an employed urologist on salary, suggests a new study. News
> Global health diagnostics firm Daktari Diagnostics Inc. has landed $1.8 million in equity financing, according to a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Among the investors are Mass Medical Angels, a seed-stage investing group focused on life science and healthcare investments. Story
> Edwards Lifesciences Corporation (NYSE: EW), the global leader in the science of heart valves and hemodynamic monitoring, has announced a CE Mark for its new VolumeView sensor-catheter set that measures a patient's volumetric hemodynamic parameters and provides more clarity for clinicians treating critically ill patients. Edwards release
> Touch-enabled devices will increasingly become commonplace amid a growing market for applications optimized specifically for touch interfaces that cater to both consumers and enterprise users, across different demographics and industries. According to Gartner reports published in March and April this year, worldwide sales of touchscreen mobile devices will exceed 362.7 million units in 2010. In addition, these devices would account for 58 percent of all global mobile device sales by 2013. Gartner numbers also revealed that by 2015, more than half of the PCs purchased for users aged below 15 would be touchscreen-enabled, compared to only 10 percent for enterprise users. Article
> Cook Medical's controlled-release esophageal stent fully covered in silicone has received 510(k) clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), making available yet another advanced solution from Cook Medical, the only full-line supplier of endoscopic devices. Cook Medical release
> A Grass Valley company will receive nearly half a million dollars in federal grant money to develop and build sophisticated equipment providing state-of-the-art detection and care for prostate cancer. Eigen, a research and development facility in the Loma Rica industrial area, received two grants of more than $244,000 each to develop two pieces of equipment. The equipment advances treatments that monitor or stop cancer without removing the prostate. News
And Finally... Ajax pets can breathe easier now that local fire trucks are equipped with pet oxygen masks. News