• Boston Scientific (Natick, Massachusetts) said that additional results from the MADIT-CRT trial have been accepted as a Hot Line Session at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress in Barcelona on Sept. 1. The results have also been accepted as a late-breaking clinical trial at the Heart Failure Society of America (HFSA) Scientific Meeting in Boston on Sept. 14. MADIT-CRT's preliminary results were reported last month and showed Boston Scientific cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators (CRT-Ds) to be associated with a significant 29% reduction in death or heart failure interventions when compared to traditional ICDs. The trial is providing insight into the potential of CRT-D therapy to intervene earlier in the natural progression of heart failure. CRT-Ds improve the heart's pumping ability by delivering small electrical impulses that help synchronize contractions of the walls of the left ventricle, the heart's major pumping chamber.

• Bovie Medical (Melville, New York) said it has submitted a 510(k) submission to the FDA seeking pre-market clearance for the Polarian Seal-N-Cut vessel sealing line of hybrid monopolar and bipolar forceps. The new Seal-N-Cut line of instruments provides for monopolar and bipolar energy combined with intelligent feedback from Bovie's Hybrid VS electrosurgical generator. The company says the Seal-N-Cut devices accommodate a wide array of possible applications in either monopolar or bipolar surgeries thereby serving endoscopic needs in multiple endoscopic fields including Endo GYN, general surgery, pediatric surgery, thoracic endoscopy and urology.

• Micrus Endovascular (San Jose, California) said that study results demonstrated that the DeltaPaq microcoil's design appears to improve the uniformity of coil distribution within a cerebral aneurysm and the degree of microcoil packing in the aneurysm dome and neck, which may reduce the risk of aneurysm recurrence. The objective of the study was to assess whether the type of coil used had an impact on packing density and coil distribution within an aneurysm. Micrus' three-dimensional microcoils automatically deploy within the aneurysm, forming a scaffold that conforms to a wide diversity of aneurysm shapes and sizes.

• Tangent (Burlingame, California) has introduced the VITA LT, an all-in-one PC for the medical market that is designed for mobile cart solutions. The VITA LT is designed as a notebook replacement for medical carts. The company says the system's form factor and new design is ideal for both documentation or medication carts. Its power efficiency extends cart run times to as much as 20 hours per charge and its low rolling weight allows easier portability. The display has a tilt range from -5 degrees to +25 degrees to provide viewing comfort and ergonomic flexibility. It is powered by most operating systems.

• TheraDoc (Salt Lake City) unveiled six new clinical and adverse drug event alert packages designed to help hospitals improve patient care and safety. The alert bundles, addressing a range of clinical areas and drug monitoring parameters, work with the TheraDoc Expert System Platform, which provides ongoing electronic surveillance of patient data from multiple hospital information sources and alerts caregivers to clinically significant changes in patients' conditions. Some of the alerts include: patient monitoring, therapeutic drug monitoring, adverse drug event surveillance, and toxicology.