• 3M (St. Paul, Minnesota) reported the introduction of the 3M Littmann Electronic Stethoscope Model 3200, an auscultation device featuring Bluetooth technology that wirelessly transfers heart, lung and other body sounds to software for further analysis. The company partnered with Zargis Medical to develop two companion software packages exclusively for the Littmann Electronic Stethoscope Model 3200. The Zargis Cardioscan software pairs with the Littmann Electronic Stethoscope Model 3200 to guide the clinician through four main cardiac sites, then after approximately one minute, indicates whether or not the patient possesses a suspected diastolic or systolic murmur—and whether or not the murmur is suspected to be a Class I indication for echocardiography referral. Zargis StethAssist software, included with the Littmann Electronic Stethoscope Model 3200, allows clinicians to visualize heart, lung and other body sounds, play recordings at slow speeds to hear more clearly, and save recordings for comparison to future auscultations.

• Angiotech Pharmaceuticals (Vancouver, British Columbia) reported the commercial launch of the Option Inferior Vena Cava (IVC) Filter in the U.S. The Option IVC Filter is used for the prevention of recurrent pulmonary embolism (PE). The device is implanted, typically by interventional radiologists in a minimally invasive procedure, into the body's inferior vena cava to prevent PE. The Option IVC Filter is specifically designed for use as both a permanent or temporary implant (in temporary, or retrievable, indications, a physician may later perform a second surgical procedure to remove the Option IVC Filter if necessary or where mandated clinically). The nitinol, Option IVC Filter, with a low profile delivery system, is designed with struts which direct clot volume into the center of the vessel for maximum dissolution and preservation of blood flow, allowing for capture of clinically significant clot and protection against PE. The self-centering filter facilitates optimal positioning and stability within the inferior vena cava.

• Endologix (Irvine, California) reported the online publication of results from the pivotal prospective, multicenter clinical trial of the company's Powerlink XL system for treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysm in large diameter proximal aortic necks. The device is approved as a treatment algorithm as a safe and effective endovascular option in patients with infrarenal aortic necks up to 32 millimeters in diameter. The trial showed aneurysm exclusion in 100% of patients at the pivotal one-year follow-up timepoint, with no conversions to open surgical repair, no ruptures and no device migrations. In addition, core lab evaluations of one-year follow up results show 96% of patients had reduced or stable aneurysm sac diameters and there were no aneurysm related mortalities, no stent fractures or limb occlusions, and no Type III or Type IV endoleaks.

• Focus Diagnostics (Cypress, California), the infectious disease diagnostics business of Quest Diagnostics, said that its Influenza A H1N1 (2009) Real Time RT-PCR test is now available as a test kit for use by "high complexity" clinical laboratories in the U.S. The test qualitatively detects the RNA of the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus from a patient's nasal, nasopharyngeal or throat specimen. In combination with clinical and epidemiological assessments, the test aids physicians in diagnosing patients infected with the pandemic virus rather than other influenza A strains. The test uses reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction, or RT-PCR, to amplify viral RNA to make it detectable in a specimen. It targets two separate regions of the hemagglutinin (H1) gene of the 2009 H1N1 influenza virus to differentiate the presence of the pandemic virus from seasonal human influenza A virus. If RNA of Influenza A virus and the 2009 Influenza H1 gene are detected, the specimen is reported as positive for 2009 H1N1 influenza infection.