• ATS Medical (Minneapolis) reported the first commercial use of the new ATS CryoMaze 10-S Surgical Cryoablation Probe for the treatment of cardiac arrhythmias. The company says that the ATS CryoMaze 10-S Probe complements the current product offering by adding a linear cryoablation probe that is more rigid than the current ATS CryoMaze Probes. The new cryoablation probe leverages the second generation, argon-based ATS CryoMaze system that quickly achieves the coldest probe temperatures available for cardiac arrhythmia surgery. The argon-based cryoablation system routinely reaches probe temperatures of -160 degrees C compared to first generation nitrous-oxide systems that only reach temperatures of -65 degrees C. The colder probe temperatures provide faster, deeper lesions yielding greater confidence that transmural, linear lesions are being achieved, especially in clinical situations in which varying tissue thickness is the rule.

• LDR (Austin, Texas) said that it has received FDA clearance to market the ROI-C cervical cage. The ROI-C cage, when used with the company's integrated VerteBRIDGE plating technology, offers a zero profile, stand-alone construct for fusion in the cervical spine. ROI-C addresses the growing interest within the market for stand-alone cervical fusion technology that reduces the need for thick cervical plates that may contribute to dysphagia, or difficulty swallowing. The anatomical shape of the ROI-C cage and its integrated plating system are designed to provide initial and long-term stability. The self-guided, curved plating is delivered in the plane of the disc through a direct anterior approach, so the surgery can be achieved with less exposure than may be required to implant a traditional cervical plate or even contemporary stand-alone systems with screws that must be inserted at oblique angles. The system features thoughtfully designed instrumentation including an inserter that protects anatomical structures when placing the cage and VerteBRIDGE plating.

• MedPlus (Madison, New Jersey) said that NYCLIX is now sharing key patient data electronically among ten unaffiliated healthcare organizations across New York City using the company's Centergy suite of integrated health information exchange (HIE) solutions. NYCLIX partner hospitals and physicians now have the opportunity to enhance the quality, safety and efficiency of patient care by accessing in real time clinical information using a patient-based record that is accessible through interoperable hospital network and Electronic Health Record (EHR) technologies. Centergy's clinician-friendly portal technology serves as a unified frontend for more than 80 interfaced health information technology (HIT) systems. Clinicians have access to a variety of patient information regardless of treatment location, including registration data, lab results, past diagnoses, clinical notes, medications, allergies, and procedure codes. In addition, clinicians can connect to radiology, cardiology, pathology, endoscopy and EKG reports.