The medical device company Distalmotion SA has hit a regulatory milestone in the commercialization of its surgical robot, Dexter, earning a CE mark in Europe. The Dexter surgical robot is built with the aim of allowing surgeons to take a hybrid approach to minimally invasive surgery, using the robot for tasks such as suturing and complex dissections while switching to a laparoscopic approach for stapling and basic dissections.

The U.S. FDA has granted emergency use authorization (EUA) to Quanterix Corp.’s SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody test, which tests blood samples for evidence of recent or prior COVID-19 infection. The test could also be used to measure antibody response to a COVID-19 vaccine. The Simoa Semi-Quantitative SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibody test is indicated for the qualitative and semi-quantitative detection of IgG antibodies to SARS-CoV-2 in human serum and dipotassium EDTA plasma from a venous blood draw.

Heru Inc., a medical technology company using artificial intelligence (AI) to advance vision diagnostics and augmentation, has completed class I device registration with the U.S. FDA for its cloud-based diagnostic application for visual field exams. Heru’s software works with commercially available augmented reality or virtual reality (AR/VR) headsets to provide a subjective visual field exam, with results immediately available to clinicians through a web portal.

Edwards Lifesciences Corp. launched a pivotal trial of its mitral valve repair system in the U.S., with the first patient undergoing treatment for severe degenerative mitral valve regurgitation at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore. Open-heart surgery is the current standard approach to mitral valve repair, but the Harpoon Beating Heart mitral valve repair system allows surgeons to use a minimally invasive approach, according to Edwards Lifesciences.

Eyenovia Inc., a clinical-stage ophthalmic biopharmaceutical firm, has launched a phase III trial of its on-demand treatment for presbyopia, an age-related worsening in near vision. The treatment, called Microline, is a proprietary formulation of pilocarpine delivered via a microdosing dispenser.

The U.S. FDA has granted IDE approval to the cardiac device startup Foldax Inc., to initiate clinical testing of its Tria mitral surgical heart valve. Patient enrollment is expected to begin in early 2021.

Sonalasense Inc., a company working in the field of sonodynamic therapy, is collaborating with the Ivy Brain Tumor Center at Barrow Neurological Institute to conduct a first-in-human clinical trial of its noninvasive sonodynamic therapy for the treatment of recurrent glioblastoma multiforme (rGBM). The sonodynamic platform technology uses a dual approach with aminolevulinic acid (ALA) and MRI-guided focused ultrasound to target glioblastoma cells for destruction.

Hologic Inc. has gained approval from the U.S. FDA to add a diagnostic claim to its HIV type 1 viral load monitoring assay. This makes the Aptima HIV-1 Quant Dx assay the first dual-claim assay in the U.S., allowing both viral load monitoring and diagnosis. For laboratories that use the assay, the dual claim allows for consolidated testing on one automated platform, adding to efficiency.

Eargo Inc., a medical device company specializing in hearing aids, reported $18.2 million in third quarter revenue, driven by sales of the company’s Neo Hifi hearing aid system and a decrease in the sales return accrual rate. Revenue was up 135% over the third quarter of 2019.

Qiagen NV has started U.S. commercialization of a portable SARS-CoV-2 antigen testing device that can analyze up to 30 patient samples an hour. The Qiareach test features a portable hub device – smaller than a laptop – that can hold up to eight nasopharyngeal swab samples at a time. The test provides a digital readout of the results in two to 15 minutes – with strong positive results taking closer to two minutes and negative results coming back in 15 minutes.