US-based Medtronic Spinal has launched a new type of spinal fusion surgery.

The MAST MIDLF procedure, announced to the North American Spine Society in Chicago, enables minimally invasive spinal fusion.

Described as a midline laminectomy, the procedure accesses the spine in the middle lower back, removing the need for the surgeon to work through a tubular retractor.

Over 250,000 people in the US undergo spinal fusions each year to treat degeneration of the lumbar spine.

“This surgical strategy enables a highly efficient, minimally invasive lumbar fusion, while allowing visualisation of familiar posterior landmarks,” said Dr. Richard Hynes, spine surgeon at The B.A.C.K. Center in Melbourne, Florida.

“A midline approach offers surgeons a number of benefits in addressing the challenges associated with decompression as well as sacral fixation in the lumbar or lower spine.”

The MAST MIDLFTM procedure can be used with Medtronic’s surgical navigation and imaging systems, improving the accuracy of device placement and reducing clinician exposure to radiation.

The new surgical procedure is the latest addition to Medtronic Spinal’s minimally invasive MAST portfolio of surgical treatments for degenerative and deformity-based spinal conditions.

Medtronic's spinal business, based in Tennessee, is a global leader in the treatment of spinal conditions.

The ABPI is proposing the PCMPA’s Constitution and Procedure be amended so that any future change to its Code of Practice can be done so without calling a general meeting.

The Association is obliged to implement any amendments the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations (EFPIA) makes but currently has to arrange a formal procedure to do so.

Its Board of Management is now requesting that where “changes arise solely” from amendments to the EFPIA Code they’re introduced without a general meeting.

The ABPI says companies would then be consulted regarding any changes.

The EFPIA recently made amendments to its Code on the Promotion of Prescription-Only Medicines to, and Interactions with, Health Professionals and to its Code of Practice on Relationships between the Pharmaceutical Industry and Patient Organisations.

The proposals have now been sent to the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the British Medical Association (BMA), the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain (RPSGB), and the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) as required by the existing Constitution and Procedure.

Although consultations are welcome on the proposals, it is anticipated they will be discussed before the ABPI’s bi-annual general meeting in November, with a view to approval by member companies.

The new measures would then come into effect from 1st January 2012, and become fully operative on 1st May 2012.

Boston Scientific has launched its new balloon dilation catheter, Coyote, to treat patients undergoing peripheral angioplasty procedures below the knee.

The Coyote Balloon Catheter is intended to help physicians when treating patients who have challenging obstructive lesions in the lower extremities.

With an ultra-low profile of 0.0174 inches, it promises to be highly deliverable and offer rapid deflation.

Balloon catheters are often used during peripheral angioplasty and stenting procedures to open blocked arteries.

J. A. Mustapha, Director of Endovascular Intervention at Metro Health Hospital in Wyoming, Michigan, said: “Its performance gives me greater confidence in being able to effectively treat patients with difficult anatomy who suffer from peripheral artery disease.”

The device is the latest in a series of balloon catheter products developed by Boston Scientific.  In June, the company launched its Mustang PTA Balloon Catheter, a 0.035 inch percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) catheter designed to be used in a range of peripheral angioplasty procedures.

Jeff Mirviss, President of Boston Scientific's Peripheral Interventions Division, said the new product launch “builds on Boston Scientific's global leadership in low-profile peripheral balloon angioplasty”.

Up to 9 million US patients suffer from peripheral artery disease, which is associated with high rates of morbidity.

Boston Scientific has begun marketing the product in the US, Europe and other international markets.

Two leading medtech companies have collaborated to provide a system that improves catheter placing during angiography procedures.

Siemens Healthcare has integrated the MediGuide navigation technology from St. Jude Medical into its new Artis zee angiography systems (pictured).

MediGuide makes it possible to place a catheter for angiography very accurately without continuous fluoroscopic tracking, thus reducing the radiation dose and amount of contrast agent needed.

The technology uses electromagnetic tracking to determine the catheter position during a minimally invasive intervention: a miniaturised sensor integrated into the catheter is located from positioning signals emitted by MediGuide transmitters in the Artis zee’s housing; then the position and orientation of the catheter are displayed in real time on previously-acquired fluoroscopic patient images from the patient.

In addition, the technology compensates for movements caused by respiration and heartbeat.

The technology is also available as an upgrade for a number of existing Artis zee systems.

“Siemens is the first to integrate MediGuide technology into its systems, demonstrating our ongoing commitment to lowering dose via our CARE initiative,” said Jane Whittaker, UK Angiography Business Manager at Siemens Healthcare.

The first interventions with the Artis zee and MediGuide technology have been carried out at the Heart Center in Leipzig, Germany.

“The low-radiation, precise localisation of the catheter tip onto the pre-recorded fluoroscopy image is a most impressive function, because the system is able to compensate the motion from heartbeat and breathing,” commented Prof. Dr. Gerhard Hindricks, Director of the Rhythmology Department.

“For my team and me, this is clearly the future in electrophysiology.”

Based in Minnesota, USA, St. Jude Medical specialises in devices for cardiac, neurological and chronic pain treatment. German-based company Siemens Healthcare is a global leader in diagnostic imaging.

A new study has found that radioembolisation improves survival chances of patients suffering from hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC).

Hepatology reported that patients with tumours at different stages, including those with advanced liver cancer who had limited access to treatment options, are likely to benefit most from the procedure.

Dr Bruno Sangro from the Clinica Universitaria de Navarra in Pamplona, Spain said: “Our findings show strong evidence of the survival benefit with radioembolisation, even in patients with advanced disease who have few treatments options.”

Radioembolisation consists of a large dose of radiation directly delivered to the tumour via a small tube inserted in the groin.  Tumours routinely become resistant to chemotherapy but not to these lethal doses of radiation.

An advantage of the therapy is that all the pretreatment and therapy is done on an outpatient basis so that only a limited amount of time will be spent by the patient in hospital.

The study assessed 325 HCC patients at eight European centres. Results revealed an average overall survival rate of almost 13 months with radioembolisation.

Almost 700,000 people died of HCC in 2008, with more than 80% of cases caused by hepatitis B and C infections, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

The National Cancer Institute estimates there will be 26,000 new cases of liver and bile duct cancer in the US by the end of 2011, resulting in 20,000 deaths.