> St. Jude Medical has received European CE Mark approval for its Accent MRI pacemaker and Tendril MRI lead. The system, designed and tested for safe use in an MRI environment and approved as MR-Conditional, allows patients to undergo full-body, high-resolution MRI scans. St. Jude release
> Ichor Medical Systems of San Diego has been awarded a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research grant from the Department of Defense to evaluate its electroporation-based TriGrid Intradermal Delivery System for the delivery of multi-agent DNA vaccines in skin. Ichor release
> CryoLife, an implantable biological medical device and cardiovascular tissue processing company, today announced the expiration of the 20-day "go-shop" period that is part of its definitive agreement with Cardiogenesis Corporation. CryoLife release
> A Kalamazoo, MI-based venture fund has raised $15 million to invest in lifescience companies that have a significant presence in southwest area of that state, according to the fund's managing director. SWMF LifeScience Venture Fund intends to raise another $35 million, said Pat Morand, adding that six years ago, the fund raised its first $50 million. Report
> Wixom, MI-based Rockwell Medical has added Alvin Crumbliss to its scientific advisory board. Rockwell release
> After less than two years at the helm of iRobot's stealthy healthcare business, Tod Loofbourrow is apparently out as co-founder and president of the division, which will be rolled into the robot maker's larger consumer operation. News
> Medtronic has announced the launch of its new Midas Rex e-Institute website (www.e-institute.com), an enhanced web portal for healthcare professionals to explore interactive education on surgical anatomy, surgical procedures and technical instruction. The Midas Rex e-Institute is part of The Midas Rex Institute, which has trained more than 26,000 healthcare professionals in cranial, spinal and orthopaedic bone dissection workshops since 1976. Medtronic release
> Medical imaging specialist CarieScan has signed an exclusive distribution agreement in India for its handheld tooth decay detection device. The subsidiary of 3D Diagnostic Imaging has agreed an exclusive distribution deal with Analytical and Medical Technologies for the CarieScan PRO. Story
And Finally... The medical device industry met with White House officials in the run-up to the healthcare battle in Congress, but it couldn't get the 2.3 percent excise tax removed from the eventual bill. Now the industry is lobbying the Internal Revenue Service to write rules exempting hundreds of devices from the excise tax--even though the health law says the exemption should be limited to items widely purchased by the public from retailers. Story