Smith & Nephew plc received U.S. FDA 510(k) clearance for Aetos Stemless, its stemless anatomic total shoulder implant. The greenlight for the device is a boon for the company’s orthopedics portfolio, which faces increasing pressure from U.S. competitors.

Becton, Dickinson and Co. reached an agreement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to resolve an investigation related to allegations that the company misled investors regarding the Alaris infusion system, which BD added to its portfolio with the $12.2 billion acquisition of Carefusion in 2015. BD will pay a $175 million civil penalty and agreed to a cease and desist order for the device.

Heartbeam Inc. received U.S. FDA 510(K) clearance for its portable, non-invasive electrocardiogram system that enables on-the-go recording of heart signals. The cable-free, credit card-sized device uses five electrodes to capture signals from three directions and can be used whenever a patient feels symptoms, overcoming the challenge of identifying intermittent arrhythmias, which are often not experienced during scheduled appointments, without requiring patients to wear a device continuously.

The U.S. FDA’s emphasis on alternatives to ethylene oxide is gaining momentum with the help of internationally recognized standards — such as ISO 11737 — in a move that will enable a less cumbersome approach to non-EtO device sterilization.

The FDA’s new program for communicating the hazards of devices is in play and resulted in the posting of a notice of a problem seen with the Ivenix line of large volume infusion pumps by Fresenius Kabi USA, which will require some repair work by the manufacturer.

The force is with Field Medical Inc. as it celebrates the U.S. FDA’s decisions to grant breakthrough device designation (BDD) to its Fieldforce ablation system and to accept it into the agency’s Total Product Life Cycle Advisory Program pilot. Field Medical designed the Fieldforce pulsed field ablation catheter specifically to treat ventricular tachycardia. The BDD applies to its use in monomorphic scar-related VT.

After raising AU$7 million (US$4.5 million) in is initial public offering on the Australian Securities Exchange last week, Renerve Ltd. is already exploring mainland China for its portfolio of nerve repair and regeneration products.

Beacon Biosignals Inc. can rest easy now that it has received U.S. FDA authorization of its predetermined change control plan for the Dreem 3s, a wearable sleep monitor that conducts electroencephalograms as users sleep. The authorization allows Beacon to incorporate updates to the Dreem 3S sleep-staging algorithm acquired through machine learning without submitting a new 510(k) application.

At long last, the U.S. FDA finalized guidance on using predetermined change control plans in submissions for medical devices that include artificial intelligence. The guidance, “Marketing Submission Recommendations for a Predetermined Change Control Plan for Artificial Intelligence-Enabled Device Software Functions,” aims to support the iterative improvement central to many algorithms while minimizing potential issues with safety and efficacy.

In breaking news, Wave Neuroscience LLC received breakthrough device designation from the U.S. FDA for its magnetic electroencephalogram resonance therapy for adjunctive treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), making its technology the first medical device approved to treat the debilitating condition, the company said.