Applied Medical Resources (Rancho Santa Margarita, California) has acquired Gembro Pty Ltd., a privately held Australian company specializing in distribution of medical and surgical healthcare products. Gembro Pty Ltd., conducting business as Monarch Medical, has been the exclusive distributor of Applied Medical's products in Australia since 2000. Applied Medical Australia will focus on expanding marketing and direct sales throughout Australia in the areas of cardiovascular, vascular, laparoscopy, general surgery and urology. The business and registered name of the newly acquired company will be Applied Medical Australia Pty Ltd. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Applied Medical makes medical/surgical devices.

CardioDynamics (San Diego, California), the developer of Impedance Cardiography (ICG) technology, said it has acquired privately held Vermed, the electrode division of Vermont Medical (Bellows Falls, Vermont), an independent manufacturer of electrocardiograph (ECG) electrodes in the U.S. CardioDynamics paid Vermont Medical a total purchase price of $16.5 million, including $12 million of cash and $4.5 million in CardioDynamics common stock (about 746,000 shares). The company funded the cash portion of the transaction out of its existing cash balance combined with borrowing under a $7 million term loan with Comerica Bank. It said it expects the Vermed acquisition to be accretive to its earnings during the balance of fiscal 2004. Vermed is a supplier of disposable electrodes and related supplies used in ECG and other diagnostic procedures. It will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of CardioDynamics.

Heartlab (Westerly, Rhode Island), a developer of cardiac image and information management software, said it will purchase CardioNow (Encinitas, California), a provider of telecardiology and image archiving solutions to hospitals, cardiovascular core labs and clinical trial sponsors. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed. Founded in 1999, CardioNow has developed a DICOM image archiving and sharing solution specific to cardiology and using the Internet to enable clinicians to access, share and collaborate over patients' angiograms, echocardiograms and intravascular ultrasound studies from anywhere in the world via PC-based technology. Founded in 1994, Heartlab is a supplier of digital image and information networks that integrate systems using industry-standard computer hardware. Heartlab's Encompass network gives cardiologists rapid access to imaging exam and report information, and provides protection for critical patient data.

Pediatrix Medical Group (Fort Lauderdale, Florida) has completed the acquisition of Rocky Mountain Pediatric Cardiology (Denver, Colorado), a physician group practice. The group includes three pediatric cardiologists who practice at two HealthOne hospitals in the Denver area where Pediatrix physicians also practice, including Presbyterian St. Luke's Hospital.

Rex Medical (Conshohocken, Pennsylvania) has completed an agreement for the sale of the Cleaner Rotational Thrombectomy System to Datascope's (Montvale, New Jersey) Interventional Products Division. The Cleaner product will be marketed under the ProLumen name. Financial terms of the agreement were not disclosed. Traditionally, mechanical thrombectomy devices have been used for rapid removal of thrombus (blood clot) from occluded synthetic dialysis access grafts. Cleaner technology is designed to provide a percutaneous 5 Fr catheter-based system to augment current treatment options available to the physician base. Rex Medical is a privately held medical device company specializing in the development of minimally invasive medical devices targeted towards the cardiovascular, venous access, endosurgery and oncology markets.

Wilson Greatbatch Technologies (WGT; Clarence, New York), a developer and manufacturer of batteries, capacitors, feedthroughs, enclosures and other components used in implantable medical devices, said it has completed the acquisition of NanoGram Devices (NDC; Fremont, California). NDC is a materials research and development company focused on developing nanoscale materials for use in various battery and medical device applications. WGT said it acquired all of the outstanding stock of NDC, which was debt-free at the time of closing, for $45 million in cash and said it expects that the acquisition will result in increased operating expenses of about $6 million to $7 million during 2004, most of which will be directed toward R&D as well as product engineering. Curtis Holmes, chief technology officer of WGT, who will assume overall responsibility for development efforts at NDC, cited the benefits of the new technology specifically in the development of batteries for such devices as implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs).

Zoll Medical (Chelmsford, Massachusetts), a manufacturer of non-invasive cardiac resuscitation devices, has acquired Infusion Dynamics (Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania). Infusion Dynamics, incorporated in 1995, manufactures a fluid resuscitation product called the Power Infuser, a device that provides highly controlled, rapid delivery of intravenous (IV) fluids to trauma victims. The device sells for under $2,000 and utilizes a disposable cartridge. Fluid resuscitation is the primary treatment for hypovolemia caused by traumatic injury, the third-leading cause of death in the U.S. The Power Infuser is approved by the FDA. Zoll will pay about $6.6 million in cash and additional earn-out and royalty payments over the next several years based on the performance of the business.