• The FDA has granted Empi (Saint Paul, Minnesota) clearance to market the Select TENS (Transcutaneous Electrical Nerve Stimulation) device. The device is designed specifically for the relief of chronic, arthritic, and post-surgical pain. The portable device can be used at home or on-the-go, and integrates site-specific, preset treatment programs that make it convenient and easy-to-use. This feature ensures that the patient receives the appropriate electrotherapy treatment, specific to their condition and treatment site. The device also includes a waveform that delivers maximum pain relief through the use of both endorphin release and gate control pathways. Empi designs TENS and neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) devices, iontophoretic drug delivery systems, and splinting products used for pain management, rehabilitation and edema reduction in clinic, home healthcare, sports and occupational medicine settings.

• Novadaq Technologies (Toronto) has received 510K clearance from the FDA for its imaging system for use during plastic reconstruction and micro surgery. Novadaq plans to market the system under the name HELIOS, which is the first fluorescent imaging system available for use during plastic reconstructive surgery. During any plastic reconstructive surgery the maintenance or creation of adequate blood supply to tissue is integral to the procedure, as inadequate blood flow in reconstructed tissue, such as a newly created breast, can lead to serious complications such as necrosis, partial or total flap loss. Novadaq Technologies makes medical imaging devices for use in the operating room.

• Roche Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) and Caliper Life Sciences (Hopkinton, Massachusetts) reported a joint product offering that combines Caliper’s Twister II Microplate Handler and Roche’s LightCycler 480 Real-Time PCR system. The integrated product provides a solution for laboratories to complete high-throughput screening with increased automation capability and walk-away time. The two companies have also agreed to co-market and promote the joint solution into the life science research market. The Twister II is a plug-and-play bench-top plate handler with a walk-away capacity to stack and load up to 200 standard microplates. When integrated with the LightCycler 480 system, it doubles the throughput screening capacity for detection of nucleic acids and genotyping. Roche Diagnostics offers a product portfolio and supplies testing products and services to researchers, physicians, patients, hospitals and laboratories. Caliper Life Sciences is a provider of drug discovery and life sciences research solutions for the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.