> AdvaMed has released a report championing the industry's value for money as debt-ceiling negotiators seek to cut healthcare spending wherever they can. "In view of the conventional wisdom about the role of medical technology in driving up costs," the report says, "it is surprising that the cost of medical devices during this period has risen little as a share of total national health expenditures and, since 1992, has remained essentially constant as a percent of national health expenditures." News
> Samsung Electronics is in talks to buy makers of MRI scanners and X-ray machines to challenge GE and Siemens in medical equipment. Samsung is in "contact" with some companies, Senior VP Jo Jae Moon, who leads a team of medical-equipment developers, said in a July 15 interview--without elaborating on the potential targets. Item
> The medical device industry is saying the FDA is risking becoming overly dependent on user fees for its review budget, according to execs at a recent negotiation meeting over the fees med-tech companies pay to the agency. Report
> Williams Hawkins, the former CEO of Medtronic, pulled down $5.5 million in salary and benefits during fiscal 2011, according to a regulatory filing. Story
> Two Cambridge UK MedTech businesses have made a 9-company shakedown in the inaugural Innovation Launch Pad scheme that will be decided at the Cabinet Office on Tuesday. Item
> A Maryland medical licensing board has revoked the license of a doctor accused of implanting stents in patients who did not need them. Article
And Finally... Willow Garage, a group that develops robots and related open source software for personal applications, has announced a partnership with the Healthcare Robotics Lab at Georgia Tech, called Robots for Humanity, to learn how the PR2 robot developed at the "garage" can help a person with serious post stroke disabilities. Story