Invuity has launched a new illuminated orthopedic surgical tool, adding to its growing line of devices that promise to provide surgeons with improved visibility in an era of smaller and smaller surgical incisions.

A new Medicare cost-control program aimed at reducing costly hospital readmissions has heart failure squarely in the cross-hairs, and the consequences could mean hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost Medicare revenue for hospitals that fail to meet the new readmission standards. As a result, providers are scrambling to implement programs to assess and reduce heart failure readmissions, and a growing number of device companies are touting a variety of technologies they believe could help them achieve that goal.

The drive toward cost-effectiveness and expanded patient access have spurred device developers to take proven therapies or procedures and re-engineer them in ways that make them simpler, less expensive and easier to use. Now, the biggest player in wound care is following suit. In January, Smith & Nephew PLC announced that the FDA had cleared PICO, its new, single-use, pocket-sized negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT) system.

A new Medicare cost-control program aimed at reducing costly hospital readmissions has heart failure squarely in the cross-hairs, and the consequences could mean hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost Medicare revenue for hospitals that fail to meet the new readmission standards. As a result, providers are scrambling to implement programs to assess and reduce heart failure readmissions, and a growing number of device companies are touting a variety of technologies they believe could help them achieve that goal.