• Atrium Medical (Hudson, New Hampshire) said it has obtained FDA approval for two new Omega 3 surgical mesh products — C-QUR Edge V-Patch and C-QUR Lite V-Patch. These products are indicated for use in the surgical repair and reinforcement of soft tissue, including hernia repair. This technology combines Atrium's ProLite Ultra polypropylene surgical mesh with a pharmaceutical-grade Omega 3 fatty acid bio-absorbable gel coating. The company said C-QUR Edge V-Patch and C-QUR Lite V-Patch are designed to simplify umbilical, epigastric, trocar site and other small abdominal wall hernia repairs. It said the C-QUR Edge V-Patch offers long-term protection from visceral tissue attachment when placed intra-abdominally, while the C-QUR Lite version offers "superior handling and healing characteristics for a pre-peritoneal repair."

• HepaLife Technologies (Boston) said that new tests of its bioartificial liver device demonstrate the company's bioreactor system and PICM-19 cells show ability to mimic important human liver function with highest levels of liver-specific metabolic activity over 14 day period. Intended for the treatment of liver failure, the HepaLife bioartificial liver device consists of three basic components: 1) a plasma filter, separating the patient's blood into blood plasma and blood cells; 2) the bioreactor, a unit filled with the PICM-19 liver stem cell line which biologically mimics the liver's function; and 3) the HepaDrive, a perfusion system for pumping the patient's plasma through the bioreactor while controlling gas supply and temperature for best possible performance of the cells. HepaLife Technologies makes cell-based medical technologies.

• OmniSonics Medical Technologies (Wilmington, Massachusetts) said it has enrolled its first patient in the SONIC II registry. SONIC II is a prospective, multi-center U.S. registry study of the company's OmniWave Endovascular System in patients undergoing percutaneous mechanical thrombectomy for acute limb ischemia (ALI). The OmniWave is a minimally invasive catheter-based technology that delivers low-power, transverse ultrasonic energy to remove thrombus. Thrombus occurs in a number of conditions, including deep vein thrombosis and ALI. OmniSonics makes products for treatment of vascular disease.