Daily monitoring of pulmonary artery pressures with an implantable wireless sensor in patients with heart failure led to a 39% reduction in heart-failure-related hospitalizations, according to results from the CHAMPION randomized control trial. Trial results, which evaluated CardioMEMS' (Atlanta) heart failure patient measurement system, were published in the Feb. 9 edition of the Lancet. (Medical Device Daily)

In a matter of two days the med-tech industry has seen some of its biggest deals of the year. Kindred Healthcare (Louisville Kentucky) reported that it will acquire RehabCare Group (St. Louis) for $900 million just a day after Danaher (Washington) reported that it would acquire Beckman Coulter (Brea, California) for $6.8 billion (Medical Device Daily, Feb. 8, 2011). (Medical Device Daily)

In one of the largest med-tech M&As in recent history, Danaher (Washington) has reported that it will acquire Beckman Coulter (Brea, California), a developer of products that simplify, automate and innovate complex biomedical testing, for nearly $6.8 billion. The merger agreement would see Danaher acquiring Beckman Coulter's outstanding common stock for $83.50 per share in cash, representing an approximate 45% premium over the closing price of Beckman Coulter's common stock on Dec. 9, 2010 before rumors of an acquisition entered the marketplace. (Medical Device Daily)

Hemodynamic instability is often a common problem for critically-ill patients, but the decision to administer fluid in an attempt to improve cardiac output is challenging. When necessary, fluid administration is critical to optimizing patient status and enabling end organ preservation, but unnecessary fluid administration is associated with increased morbidity and mortality. (Medical Device Daily)

The debate on healthcare reform is re-emerging and it's causing physicians, hospitals and patients to once again ponder how care will be administered in the future, but one institution is taking a more hands on approach in determining an answer to this question. (Medical Device Daily)