The FDA has designated Impedimed Ltd.’s Sozo digital health platform a breakthrough device for renal failure, paving the way for the first FDA approved device to measure fluid volume in the dialysis setting.
Vuno Inc. received approval from South Korea’s Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (MFDS) for Vuno Med Deepcars, its artificial intelligence (AI) medical device for cardiac arrest prediction. Approval in hand, Seoul-based Vuno will push for wider adoption of its biosignal-based AI technology. Vuno Med Deepcars predicts the probability of cardiac arrest occurring within a 24-hour period by analyzing a patient’s pulse, respiratory rate, diastolic and systolic blood pressure as well as body temperature. The data is collected from the electronic medical record of hospitalized patients.
Although COVID-19 is still dictating how things are done in the U.S. and throughout the world, the FDA looked beyond the pandemic in an update to its guidance on conducting clinical trials of medical products during the public health emergency.
The FDA has released two draft guidances under the safety and performance-based pathway for class II devices, proving some much-needed momentum for the agency’s fiscal year 2021 guidance agenda. The two drafts address performance metrics for facet screw systems and the use of resins in dentures, thus adding substantially to the number of class device types that can be reviewed outside the usual substantial equivalence mechanism ordinarily relied upon in the 510(k) program. The FDA began implementing the safety and performance-based pathway for devices in late 2019, an approach that serves as a substitute for the abbreviated 510(k) mechanism.
Regulatory snapshots, including global submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Impedimed, Phase Scientific, Vapotherm, Visby Medical.
Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) researchers notched another success with FDA approval of a drug-free rehabilitation system that uses the technology to help patients who have lost mobility in their hands and arms as a result of ischemic stroke regain function. Microtransponder Inc.’s Vivistim pairs rehabilitation exercises with VNS to enhance their impact. The clinical study evaluated by the FDA for the system's approval showed that Vivistim doubled the improvement in upper extremity motor function compared to supervised rehabilitative exercises alone at six weeks and 90 days.
The FDA has issued an emergency use authorization (EUA) for Becton, Dickinson & Co.’s (BD) Veritor At-Home COVID-19 test – a rapid COVID-19 digital antigen test. The test, which is designed for home use, uses a mobile app from Los Angeles-based Scanwell Health Inc. that provides instructions on how to collect and transfer the nasal swab sample to the test stick. The smartphone camera is then used to capture, analyze and interpret results within 15 minutes. BD said it will initially be rolled out to businesses, schools and governments looking to provide a self-testing option.
Helius Medical Technologies Inc. has received an FDA breakthrough device designation for its Portable Neuromodulation Stimulator (Pons) device for temporary treatment of dynamic gait and balance deficits due to stroke.
Regulatory snapshots, including global submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Becton Dickinson, Microtransponder.