Transcatheter Technologies (Regensburg, Germany), a private company, that has developed a third-generation transapical transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) system called Trinity, said that it has expanded that technology platform to include a transfemoral version as well.

An FDA approval for Edwards Lifesciences' (Irvine, California) Sapien 3 Transcatheter Heart Valve could come in early 2016, the company said in an investor's call on Monday. Original expectations for FDA approval were estimated for mid-2016.

In its annual top health industry issues of 2015 report, PricewaterHouseCoopers (PwC; New York) PwC's Health Research Institute (HRI) said it anticipates that the $2.8 trillion U.S. healthcare sector will start feeling like a true market. HRI's report explores several trends that are expected to shape the sector in 2015, including the expansion of do-it-yourself healthcare, how industry will adapt to the newly insured, and consumers' competing desires for convenience and privacy. Top health industry issues of 2015 include insights from a survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers and interviews with health industry leaders.

When Jay Zuerndorfer, a student researcher at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta) received the opportunity to develop an application for Google Glass it was like a dream come true. Zuerndorfer and a research team from Georgia Tech were able to create speech-to-text software for Google Glass that helps hard-of-hearing users with everyday conversations. A hard-of-hearing person wears Glass while a second person speaks directly into a smart phone.

In October 2013, Royal Philips (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) in partnership with Accenture (Dublin, Ireland) revealed a proof-of-concept demonstration that uses a Google Glass head-mounted display for researching ways to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of performing surgical procedures. In doing so, Philips became a pioneer of sorts.