Medtronic plc received U.S. FDA approval for its Omniasecure defibrillation lead for placement in the right ventricle to treat arrhythmias. Medtronic said the lead is the smallest made at 4.7 French or 1.6 mm, making it suitable for individuals as young as age 12 and others with smaller anatomies, particularly women.

Boston Scientific Corp.’s Farapulse pulsed field ablation system racked up more than $1 billion in revenue in its first year; its Watchman left atrial appendage occluder holds more than 90% of the market. How does the company choose and position its products for such astonishing success?

Med-tech veterans advised companies looking to launch new products in fields with dominant players to mind their 'Ps and Qs,' but not the ones your mother drilled in childhood. Rather than good manners, they urged competitors attending Device Talks Minnesota to ensure they had the right people, product, proof, pace and quality control.

Fineheart SA will soon begin a first-in-human study of Flowmaker, its fully implantable left ventricular assist device, in France, after receiving authorization from the French National Agency for the Safety of Medicines and Health Products to initiate the trial.

What does it take to create space in a market dominated by a single player? Three challengers to Johnson & Johnson's Shockwave shared their strategies for gaining traction in intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) at the Device Talks meeting June 11 in Minneapolis.

Aiatella Oy secured €2 million (US$2.28 million) in funding for its AI-powered cardiovascular imaging technology. The funds will be used to conduct clinical trials and develop the company’s ultrasound-based preventative screening tool, which detects and quantifies carotid artery narrowing in minutes.

The U.S. FDA’s decision to grant breakthrough device designation for Bivacor Inc.’s titanium total artificial heart (TAH) sent real hearts aflutter at the Huntington, Calif.-based company’s headquarters. While the designation supports use of the TAH as a bridge to transplant for adults with biventricular or univentricular heart failure for whom current options are insufficient or unsuitable, Bivacor hopes its device will eventually serve as a long-term heart replacement.

Abbott Laboratories recently received FDA clearance for Tendyne, its transcatheter mitral valve replacement system. The news comes on the heels of Edwards Lifesciences Corp. securing a CE mark for its Sapien M3 system and is a boon for mitral valve therapies amid ongoing frustrations about the slow adoption of TMVR technologies.

Boston Scientific Corp. reported the latest setback in its transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) aspirations with the news that it is officially discontinuing worldwide sales of its Acurate neo2 and Acurate Prime systems

Shockwave Medical Inc. is confident that its intravascular lithotripsy (IVL) system can continue to dominate the market for calcium modification even as other technologies emerge, chief medical officer Nick West told BioWorld.