Medtronic plc snagged FDA premarket approval for its recharge-free implantable neurostimulator (INS), Vanta, for patients with intractable pain. The spinal cord stimulator offers up to 11 years of device life, with optimal programming. That represents a 10% improvement on the Dublin-based company’s previous longest-lasting INS, Primeadvanced, and a near doubling of device life compared to Abbott Laboratories’ Proclaim and Boston Scientific Corp.’s Wavewriter Alpha, using the settings recommended in the clinician manuals.