Supreme Court Hearings on Healthcare Reform

• The U.S. Supreme Court concluded three days of hearing arguments on the constitutionality of President Obama's heathcare reform law. We already know this has huge ramifications for healthcare, but what about the medical device industry specifically? Richard Park examines the issue and polls MD+DI readers.

Famed Inventor Thomas Fogarty, MD Wins MDEA Lifetime Achievement Award

• Thomas Fogarty, MD, will be receiving a Lifetime Achievement Award in Philadelphia on May 23 at MD&M East. A prolific inventor, Dr. Fogary holds 135 patents on surgical instruments including the Fogarty embolectomy catheter.

The Human Intestine – on a Microchip

• Researchers at Harvard University have created a gut on a chip designed to mimic the structural, absorptive, transport and pathophysiological properties of the human intestine. Researchers hope that the chip can be used to model internal diseases.

Microfluidic Chip to Diagnose the Flu

• In an article published in the journal PLoS ONE, researchers from Boston University, Harvard, and the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center report that they have created a microchip, about the size of a microscope slide, capable of diagnosing influenza as accurately as current tests, but more cheaply.
  

Could the Medical Device Tax Generate more than $2 Billion a Year?

• A study conducted by Mass Device claims that the Medical Device Tax could generate significantly more revenue than the $2 billion per year that was initially projected.

Consumer Reports takes on Medical Devices

• Consumer Reports has a bone to pick with the FDA. Namely, the publication believes that approvals for medical devices are not stringent or thorough enough.