DENVER — The Heart Rhythm Society (Washington) annual meeting resurrected the discussion regarding which patients should receive dual-chamber rather than single-chamber pacing, a question that has provoked a debate between doctors and payers for some time. Many cardiologists seem convinced that a great benefit is to be had with dual-chamber pacing – alternately known as cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) – for patients with left ventricular ejection fractions of greater than 35%, and Theofanie Mela, MD, of Massachusetts General Hospital (Boston) agreed, pushing the envelope to patients with left ventricular ejection fractions (LVEF) of 50%.

  The pages of Medical Device Daily are chock-full of outstanding content, but here are three stories from the month of April that caught my eye. Taking the eye out of ouch Seventh Sense Biosystems announced a registration trial for its TAP (touch-activated phlebotomy) device, which is one of those things that in times gone by was strictly the stuff of science fiction television shows. As my colleague Amanda Pedersen wrote in the April 3 edition, the TAP makes use of microneedles to obtain blood from the capillaries, and can dispense a...