Stryker Corp. continued its aggressive M&A program this year with the planned acquisition of Vertos Medical Inc. Vertos offers a minimally invasive lumbar decompression (Mild) solution for chronic lower back pain caused by lumbar spinal stenosis. The announcement brings Stryker to six deals so far this year: Société d'Etudes, de Recherches et de Fabrication (SERF) SAS, Mfphd LLC, Artelon Inc., Molli Surgical Inc., Care.ai Inc. and now Vertos. Financial terms were not disclosed for any of the transactions. Read More

The U.S. FDA recently granted Medtronic plc approval for its deep brain stimulation (DBS) system to be used to treat Parkinson’s disease or essential tremor while a patient is asleep, under general anesthesia. The approval gives patients another option for DBS therapy which can transform their quality of life, Amaza Reitmeier, vice president and general manager for Medtronic brain modulation, told BioWorld in an interview. Read More

A new brain-computer interface (BCI) developed at UC Davis Health is able to translate brain signals into speech with up to 97% accuracy – the most accurate system of its kind. Read More

The U.S. FDA’s draft guidance for predetermined change control protocols for all device types fills in a gap left by previous draft guidance, but there is one potential stopping point for class III devices. Read More

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission’s broad rule banning noncompete employment clauses was struck down by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas. In a final judgment from Judge Ada Brown, the court set aside the noncompete rule, saying it won’t be enforced or take effect as planned on Sept. 4. Read More

New hires and promotions in the med-tech industry, including: Ingenza, Cleerly, Dotmatics. Read More

Med-tech firms raising money in public or private financings, including: Beme Health. Read More

Clinical updates, including trial initiations, enrollment status and data readouts and publications: Angle, University of Eastern Finland. Read More

Med-tech happenings, including deals and partnerships, grants, preclinical data and other news in brief: Asensus, Aerwave Medical, Alkem Medtech, Edge Medical, Exactech, HTEC, Kane Biotech, Karl Storz, Lindus Health, Lucius Partners, Maui Imaging, Microbot, Neuroxt, Podimetrics, Stratus Medical, Trudell, Vyaire, Woebot Labs. Read More

Regulatory snapshots, including global submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Atricure, Clarity, Rehabtronics, Sibel Health. Read More