Ear, Nose & Throat

Smiths Medical has recalled scores of Bivona tracheostomy tubes due to a manufacturing defect that can result in disastrous consequences. The company reports multiple injuries, and one death, linked to the devices.

At the recent Precision Med-Tri Con conference, laboratory experts traded views on the expansion of at-home testing for disease diagnosis and personalized health insights. While strong consumer demand spells opportunity, there are significant concerns about the accuracy and reliability of home-testing platforms, misuse, accessibility, and lack of health literacy.

Kids ages 5 and up now can benefit from Cochlear’s Osia implant and sound processor, indicated for hearing loss, mixed hearing loss and single-sided sensorineural deafness.

Topline results from two studies in obstructive sleep apnea among obese adults showed efficacy crossing the 50% threshold that physicians have called clinically meaningful.

In this second roundup from CES, Medtech Insight shines the light on Proto Hologram’s many use cases in health care, Intuition Robotics’ ElliQ robot to help the elderly feel less lonely, MIT AgeLab’s Aging Suit, Siemens/Unlimited Tomorrow’s partnership on a bionic prosthetic arm, and Earable Neuroscience’s Frenz Brainband to promote better sleep.

Integra will pay $275m in cash plus $5m more in potential milestone incentive payments to add Acclarent’s ear, nose, and throat surgery devices to its existing neurosurgery portfolio.

A very early success with a gene therapy for a rare form of deafness puts Regeneron ahead of Lilly and Sensorion.  

Two executives of Israeli-based medtech companies say the Hamas-Israeli war is having an impact on their companies, with employees being called up as reservists and others needing accommodations. It also has galvanized companies to join forces to support health and humanitarian needs during the crisis.

Medline Industries has issued a recall of some of its saline solution products for being non-sterile. The US FDA has designated the recall class I.

Medtech Insight recently sat down with TytoCare’s chief commercial officer Tamir Gotfried to discuss plans for driving virtual care in the home, and engage physicians and consumers, at a time when pandemic-era state-level telehealth flexibilities continue to evolve.