A Medical Device Daily

David Hable has been named president/CEO and a member of the board of directors of Synergetics USA (O'Fallon, Missouri), a maker of microsurgical instruments and other devices. The appointment is effective immediately.

Hable has more than 28 years of experience in the device industry. Before joining Synergetics, he served as president/CEO of Afferent, a venture capital-backed medical device company focused on neurostimulation therapies. Previously, he was chairman of ONI Medical Systems, a developer of MRI equipment for extremity applications in non-hospital settings.

Hable also spent more than 20 years with Codman & Shurtleff, a Johnson & Johnson company, which makes a wide range of diagnostic and therapeutic products for the treatment of central nervous system disorders. From 1998 to 2003, he served as Codman's worldwide president.

"The Synergetics board conducted a search for the strongest candidate to lead the next stage of our growth," said Chairman Robert Dick. "The appointment of David as CEO is an exciting and positive step forward for the company. [His] substantial experience and knowledge of the medical device industry will be invaluable to the continued growth of the company's core businesses."

Synergetics' primary focus is on the microsurgical disciplines of ophthalmology and neurosurgery, with product lines including precision engineered, microsurgery instrumentation and delivery systems for laser energy, ultrasonic tissue fragmentation and aspiration, electrosurgery coagulation and cutting, high-intensity illumination, precision surgical field irrigation, and other devices used in microsurgery.