Edwards Lifesciences Corp. has gained a CE mark for its Pascal transcatheter valve repair system to treat tricuspid regurgitation (TR). It was previously approved for mitral regurgitation treatment. Due to the pandemic, Edwards has paused new enrollments in its ongoing mitral and tricuspid pivotal clinical trials.

C2n Diagnostics LLC has received a $20 million investment in its Alzheimer’s blood test, APTUS-Aβ, from the philanthropy group GHR Foundation. The test measures various types of amyloid beta in the blood and then factors in additional data, such as age, to develop a probability score for amyloid-related pathology in the brain.

Ventilators are not designed to sit in storage for long periods of time unused. But that’s precisely what’s often required of this medical device, which then may require substantial repair and updates before it is functional. That’s a tale that’s been told repeatedly in this pandemic.

The U.S. does not have a universal health care system, which means that it fails to provide a consistent level of minimum care across its population. That means that basic and preventative care often falls through the cracks, even as the U.S. continues to excel at medical innovation and offer the most highly regarded health care in the world to those who can afford it.

If nothing else, the unfolding coronavirus has advanced the implementation of a wide variety of digital health tools. Panelists at the World Medical Innovation Forum on May 11 explored several current use cases.

Digital therapeutics have had a tough time gaining traction in the last few years. They’ve been hampered by sometimes reluctant payers, providers and regulators who lack familiarity with the approach, which typically employs an app or other technology to treat a patient by supporting behavioral adjustments.

Stem cells haven’t exactly panned out as hoped when it comes to approved therapeutics. There are only a couple that have received a nod from the FDA in very specific indications. But the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic could push stem cells back into the limelight and more firmly establish them as therapeutically relevant.

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is one of the most dangerous comorbidities for COVID-19 patients – as well as a major cause of death that predates the current pandemic. Pulmonx Corp. has the first minimally invasive valve to treat severe emphysema, which is a form of COPD that accounts for about one-quarter of the patients.

The capacity of U.S. medical providers and testing capacity for the unfolding COVID-19 pandemic continues to be sorely tested. But there is now a new route for people to pursue serological testing to detect who has already been exposed to the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

The restrictions on elective surgeries as hospitals struggle to manage the unfolding global pandemic are hitting medical device companies particularly hard. Abiomed Inc., which specializes in a tiny, minimally invasive heart pump to support heart failure patients, saw its first fiscal fourth-quarter revenue flatten as procedures were postponed. Still, U.S. revenue remained stronger than Wall Street had expected, even as ex-U.S. revenue had deeper declines.