NMT Medical (Boston) said its StarFlex device did not achieve its primary endpoint in the company's CLOSURE I trial for patent foramen ovale (PFO)/stroke and transient ischemic attack (TIA) trial in the U.S. The preliminary results did, however, indicate that closure with StarFlex provided a "small, but not statistically significant" benefit over current best medical therapy, NMT said. (Medical Device Daily)

Endosense (Geneva) said it has enrolled the first patients in its ProForce Registry, marking the launch of the company's international, single arm, multi-center, post-market trial of its TactiCath force-sensing ablation catheter. The study is expected to enroll up to 2,000 patients. (Medical Device Daily)

Doctors tasked with examining patients for suspicious skin tissues may soon have a very high-tech tool to use – so high-tech, in fact, that the technology behind the device was originally developed for satellite spying. (Medical Device Daily)

Undergoing radiation therapy is often the best chance a patient has at getting rid of a tumor, but the treatment sometimes comes with an unfortunate – even fatal – price if the patient receives too much. (Medical Device Daily)

While the medical technology industry certainly is not immune to the recent economic downturn that has plagued many job fields, a new study released today by the Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed; Washington) shows that the medtech industry is a strong and vibrant contributor to the U.S. economy, responsible in 2008 for nearly 423,000 jobs, $24.6 billion in annual payroll, and almost $136 billion worth of products sold. (Medical Device Daily)

Even the very best therapeutic device won't work if the patient refuses to use it. Physicians who treat obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) have faced this dilemma for years; continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy – the current gold standard – works, but a lot of patients refuse to use it, or won't use it as long as they need to. (Medical Device Daily)