CHICAGO — The annual meeting of the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO; San Francisco), the largest ophthalmic meeting of the year, took place here last week, with an estimated 30,000 persons from around the world in attendance. (Medical Device Daily)

BOSTON – The 30th annual Global Growth Conference, which was sponsored by Canaccord Genuity (Vancouver, British Columbia) and held here last week, enjoyed record attendance. This is impressive, given the malaise in the economy in general and the poor performance of small cap growth equities in recent months. (Medical Device Daily)

SAN JOSE, California — The 18th annual Medical Device Conference sponsored by the influential law firm of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati (WSG&R; Palo Alto, California) was held here late last week at its usual venue, the downtown Fairmont Hotel. (Medical Device Daily)

Lead extraction is not typically a topic of great interest at the Heart Rhythm Society (HRS; Washington) meeting, but this year's HRS featured the most papers, posters and sessions that has ever occurred on that topic. (Medical Device Daily)

DENVER — The 31st annual scientific sessions of the Heart Rhythm Society (HRS; Washington) took place here last week. Once again, attendance was at record levels, with strong interest from outside the U.S. as the rapidly emerging field of electrophysiology (EP) continues to ascend in importance in the healthcare world. (Medical Device Daily)

The word beleaguered can be defined in several ways but "under severe pressure" is one that is commonly accepted. Unfortunately, for intraocular lens manufacturer Staar Surgical (Monrovia, California), this term would be appropriate since its founding in the early 1980s. (Medical Device Daily)

BOSTON — The annual symposium of the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS; Reston, Virginia), has been held here the past few days. Overall attendance appears to be at record levels, as the combination of the relatively close proximity to Europe and an improving healthcare economy has significantly buoyed interest. (Medical Device Daily)

SAN ANTONIO – The long awaited results of the widely-heralded landmark Carotid Revascularization Endarterectomy versus Stenting Trial (CREST) were released here Friday and after all was said and done, there was no clear-cut benefit for either approach. (Medical Device Daily)