Ekso Bionics Holdings Inc. has received a green light from the U.S. FDA to market its Eksonr robotic exoskeleton for use with patients with acquired brain injury (ABI). The company said it is the first exoskeleton product to receive the agency's nod for rehabilitation use with ABI, allowing a broader patient population to access the device. This is good news for Richmond, Calif.-based Ekso, which, like many other device companies, saw its earnings off during the first quarter.
The U.S. FDA’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic may have got off to a rocky start, but the agency’s device center has changed course rather quickly several times in recent months. Tim Stenzel, director of the FDA’s Office of In Vitro Diagnostics and Radiological Health, said on the latest COVID-19 town hall that the push is now on several relatively novel points of emphasis, including high-throughput testing, a technology that may prove critical to corralling the SARS-CoV-2 virus when flu season arrives later this year.
Medtronic plc has won the U.S. FDA’s nod for the first deep brain stimulation (DBS) system that integrates Brainsense, the company’s technology to sense and record brain signals for more personalized treatment. The next-generation Percept PC DBS with Brainsense is approved to treat symptoms associated with Parkinson’s disease, essential tremor, dystonia, epilepsy and obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Regulatory snapshots, including global submissions and approvals, clinical trial approvals and other regulatory decisions and designations: Babson Diagnostics, Circadia Health, Ekso Bionics, Medtronic, Nyxoah, Viraxclear.
Precardia Inc. received some good news from the U.S. FDA, which has granted the company's catheter-based system for treating volume overload in patients with acutely decompensated heart failure (ADHF) breakthrough device designation. The device is intended to quickly reduce congestion in the venous system, known as cardiac preload, with an eye toward improving overall cardio-renal function.
Sommetrics Inc. said Tuesday that it has requested emergency use authorization from the U.S. FDA to market its Aersleep II device for sleep apnea patients at risk of COVID-19. The aim is to reduce the transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, by treating infected patients with sleep apnea with Aersleep instead of continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy.