The peripheral intervention market is heating up with Boston Scientific Corp. (Marlborough, Mass.), one of the heavy hitters in the space, launching a new thrombectomy catheter to treat deep vein thrombosis (DVT) in large-diameter peripheral veins in the arms or legs.

Health care policy makers, providers, payers and the pharmaceutical industry have been battling the opioid abuse epidemic for years but the problem seems to be getting worse instead of better. Recent statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention linked prescription opioid (pain killers) abuse to nearly 23,000 deaths in 2013, four times the number of opioid-related deaths in 1999. There has also been a 300 percent increase in prescription opioid sales over that time, according to the CDC.

Another player is getting in fiscal shape to compete in the increasingly popular weight-loss device market. Baronova Inc. (Goleta, Calif.) raised $36.5 million in a series D round and said it will use the proceeds to fund a U.S. pivotal study of its Transpyloric Shuttle (TPS) device. The TPS, which can be endoscopically delivered and retrieved, is designed to slow gastric emptying as a mechanism of action for weight loss.

The list of smartphone capabilities seems to expand daily and now, for patients with an implantable pacemaker from Medtronic Plc (Dublin), there is even a mobile app designed to monitor the device remotely. The FDA approved Medtronic's app-based monitoring system, the Mycarelink smart monitor, allowing pacemaker patients to use their phone or tablet to transmit data from their device to their doctor using either a cellular or Wi-Fi connection. The app is comprised of a portable device reader (available by prescription) and the mobile app, which is available for Android and Apple platforms.