• Cook Medical (New York) today reported the launch of its 36mm diameter Cook Zenith Renu AAA ancillary graft. The graft is designed for secondary endovascular intervention in patients who received prior endovascular repair of infrarenal abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). With a wider diameter, the graft enables physicians to treat patients with larger proximal necks who previously may not have been candidates for secondary endovascular repair. The graft is specifically intended to treat AAA patients whose implanted stent-grafts may have shifted. This migration can result in leakage of blood into the aneurysmal sac, ultimately placing the patient at increased risk of aneurysm rupture. The wider diameter graft is available in both the main body extension and converter. The graft has been engineered to treat migrations in either Dacron or ePTFE membrane-based aortic endografts. Cook Medical makes interventional devices.

• HydroCision (Billerica, Massachusetts) reported the U.S. launch of its new SpineJet XL oval tip fluidjet instruments. Specifically designed to enter tight disc spaces, the new oval tip provides surgeons with a new tool that offers a solution to the disc preparation challenges inherent in spinal fusion procedures. The SpineJet allows surgeons to more effectively prepare disc spaces for graft implantation during open or minimally invasive lumbar interbody fusion procedures. This fluidjet powered tool combines the power of fluidjet technology with a curette design permitting surgeons to simultaneously cut, ablate, and remove hard or soft tissue – such as disc nucleus and endplate cartilage. HydroCision makes fluidjet-based surgical tools.

• Textronics (Wilmington, Delaware) reported the introduction of a new transmitter for use with the stretchy fabric electrode sensors that are knit into the company’s NuMetrex brand of heart rate monitor fitness apparel. The new transmitter snaps into a tiny pocket in NuMetrex sports bras and shirts, where it receives the heart rate signal from textile sensors located across the chest band area. The data is then transmitted to a watch or exercise machine that displays a read-out of the heart rate. Textronics makes wearable sensors for fitness and health monitoring.