Lawsuit against Medtronic questions the company’s handling of spinal device

Medtronic faces a federal false claims and misbranding lawsuit that accuses the company of designing products for one purpose but tricking the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) into approving them for another to avoid expensive and time-consuming safety testing.

The suit, by a former Medtronic sales representative, alleges that...

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Carmakers responsible for airbag recalls with or without Takata, safety chief says

There are still about 70 million cars in the United States equipped with Takata airbags that could prove fatal in even a minor accident, like the one that killed Huma Hanif, 17, fatally injured by shrapnel from the airbag when her Honda Civic rear-ended another car at low speed in Houston.

Airbags in older cars like Hanif's,...

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Big $ Spent Marketing Not-So-Healthy Baby, Toddler Foods: Study

Ads for baby and toddler foods often go against the nutritional advice of health experts, a new study shows. Researchers found that in 2015 companies spent $77 million in the United States on marketing infant formula, baby food, and food and beverages for toddlers. The good news, the researchers said, is that the majority of those...
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Two additional patient deaths linked to Medtronic infusion pump

Medical device maker Medtronic PLC said two people have died following dosing errors with its problem-plagued SynchroMed II infusion pump, an implanted device made in Minnesota that slowly injects pain medications into a patient's spinal canal.

More than 238,000 of the devices have been implanted in patients with advanced metastatic cancer, chronic pain and severe...

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Robotic Surgical Tools Tough to Keep Clean

 Even with repeated cleanings, it's virtually impossible to remove all contamination from robotic surgical instruments, a new study suggests.

"One of the top priorities for hospitals is to treat patients safely and with minimal risk of infection," said study author Yuhei Saito, an assistant professor at the University of Tokyo Hospital in Japan.

"Our results show...

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St. Jude halts pacemaker implants due to data, battery issues

n">Medical device maker St. Jude Medical Inc said on Friday it has notified doctors to stop implants of one of its cardiac pacemakers, citing reports of problems with electronic data reporting caused by a battery malfunction that could put patients at risk.

The affected device is the Nanostim leadless cardiac pacemaker (LCP). St. Jude, which...

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BMW is recalling more than 136,000 late-model vehicles in the U.S. for an issue that can lead to engine stalling.

The Problem: On a variety of 2007-2012 model-year BMW vehicles, the in-take fuel pumps may have insufficiently crimped wire contacts. Loose wires may cause the connector to melt, leading to a fuel leak. The fuel pump could also stop working, and if that happens, the engine could stall. BMW isn’t aware...

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