"This may seem like science fiction, but it's not," said FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, referring to a recent Commission ruling that will allow medical devices designed to help paralyzed patients regain mobility to use a block of radio spectrum for transmitting wireless signals to incapacitated limbs.

A device designed to help breast surgeons achieve cancer-free margins during lumpectomy surgery appears to be doing well in Germany where it is approved under CE mark. A study expected to be published in an upcoming issue of The Breast journal describes the use of Dune Medical Devices' (Framingham, Massachusetts) MarginProbe system as an adjunct to the standard of care in lumpectomy surgeries of women with early stage ductal carcinoma in situ of the breast.

Canada is known for a lot of things - namely, the country's love for hockey and its fiercely cold winters - but until recently, being a hub for medical technology was not on the list.

Walking into The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in the heart of downtown Toronto is an experience unlike any other. The first thing you might notice is the smell. SickKids doesn't smell like a hospital - you know, that distinctive antiseptic smell so common in most hospitals. Next you might notice the natural lighting, brightly colored cartoon characters painted on the walls and windows in the atrium, and even vender booths near the food court that create a kid-friendly atmosphere more like a shopping mall or small amusement park than a hospital.

Canadians are known for their tendency to be quiet and reserved to the point where it's sometimes easy to forget our northern neighbors are still up there. But while we egocentric Americans (sorry, but we do tend to be a bit egocentric here in the states) have been losing our foothold as the global leader in medical innovation - largely due to regulatory uncertainties that have scared off investors - Canada has been quietly positioning itself to step up to the innovation plate.

For years, the focus of the medical imaging industry was on image quality. Quality is still important today, of course, but as the head of one of the largest imaging device makers recently told Medical Device Daily, the field is changing rapidly.

So far I’ve chronicled my visit to Canada by focusing on what I’ve learned so far about the country’s focused efforts on growing its medical device industry – which is, of course, the primary purpose of the Advanced Medical Devices Media Tour, organized by the Ontario Ministry of Economic Development and Innovation (MEDI). But in addition...

Earlier this year GE Healthcare established its first global Pathology Imaging Centre of Excellence (PICE) in Toronto, Ontario. GE and its digital pathology joint venture, Omnyx, will invest $7.75 million along with a $2.25 million grant from the Health Technology Commercialization Program created by Ontario’s Health Technology Exchange and funded by the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation. Planned collaborative R&D partnerships are expected to bring an additional $7.2 million, for a total investment of $17.2 million over the next three years. Considering GE is a massive global corporation with locations all over the world and its JV Omnyx is...

Hockey isn’t the only thing our northern neighbors do well. Canada – Ontario in particular – knows innovation. While the U.S. has struggled in recent years to find ways to maintain its leadership position in medical innovation – Ontario has its own strategy that seems to be working out quite well for the Canadian province. More than $13.9 billion in industrial and university-based R&D is performed in Ontario every year. So, what’s their secret? Ontario offers all the key ingredients for attracting life sciences companies: the right people, the right cost, and a...