The American Medical Association (AMA) voted June 20 at its annual meeting to continue its policy supporting individual responsibility for health insurance with assistance for those who cannot afford it.

Last weeks announcement by Cordis to discontinue manufacturing its Cypher, Cypher Select and Nevo sirolimus-eluting stent lines shook the drug-eluting stent (DES) market. While the Johnson & Johnson subsidiary said that the decision will allow the company to focus on other areas of the market, many players are left wondering what this will mean for the future of the stent market.

Boston Scientific has launched its Mustang PTA Balloon Catheter, a 0.035 inch percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) catheter designed for peripheral angioplasty procedures.

Developers at the University of Michigan have created an implant that uses the bodys skin like a conductor to wirelessly transmit brain signals to a computer, which the researchers believe the technology is one step forward for reactivating paralyzed limbs.

ECRI Institute will be presenting and exhibiting at the AAMI 2011 Conference and Expo in San Antonio from June 25 to 27.

Based on a 40 percent increase in total deal value during the last 12 months, PricewaterhouseCoopers expects the healthcare mergers and acquisitions (M&A) and joint venture activity to continue growing through the rest of 2011. The need to reduce costs, increase productivity and develop integrated business models will drive the trend, PwC stated in a mid-year M&A outlook.

Carestream Health displayed the embedded 3D tools on its Carestream Vue PACS workstation at the annual Workstation Face-Off, part of the International Symposium on Multidetector-Row CT (ISCT), held June 14, in San Francisco.

The National Council for Prescription Drug Programs (NCPDP) and the Committee on Operating Rules for Information Exchange (CAQH CORE) have agreed to collaborate on activities related to harmonizing electronic data interchange standards and operating rules across the healthcare industry.