Ferno’s EZ Glide evacuation chair helps you evacuate people quickly, safely and easily from multiple-level buildings. Because the EZ Glide track system carries the weight down stairs, one rescuer can evacuate individuals up to 200 pounds, and two rescuers working together can evacuate individuals up to 500 pounds.

A five-position lift bar allows a rescuer of any size navigate over all surfaces, down stairs and through tight spaces safely. Easy-to-follow visual instructions are placed on the back, so anyone can quickly deploy the chair in an emergency.

In a deal estimated at $3.9 billion, Medtronic, Inc. and Kyphon announced today that they have signed a definitive merger agreement. This move will strategically reposition Medtronic’s spinal business, propelling the medical equipment manufacturer’s brand and offering beyond electronic heart devices and farther into the minds of their customers – surgeons and patients alike.

“We expect our combination with Kyphon to help accelerate the growth of Medtronic’s existing spinal business by extending our product offerings into some of the fastest growing product segments and enabling us to provide physicians with a broader range of therapies for use at all stages of the care continuum,” said Art Collins, chairman and chief executive officer of Medtronic. “Importantly, the combination will also enable more patients of all ages to receive the benefits of modern, minimally invasive spinal treatments earlier in their care, with life-style friendly options that are simpler, faster and less invasive than many traditional surgical treatments.”

The combination of the two companies will be nearly seamless. While they both specialize in minimally invasive, high-efficacy treatments, Medtronic’s spinal surgery segment has been mainly focused on younger patients suffering from ailments such as scoliosis and degenerative disc disease in the cervical and lumbar spine, while Kyphon’s focus has been on treating older patients afflicted with vertebral compression fractures and spinal stenosis.

This merger will allow Medtronic to offer solutions to the full spectrum of spinal reconstruction and therapy patients.

The transaction is expected to close in the first calendar quarter of 2008.

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The Missouri National Guard stocked up on over $105 million worth of new medical equipment early this week, further proof that our military isn’t slowing down in the least. The 205th Area Support Medical Company (ASMC) of Kansas City, Mo., is taking inventory in preparation for deployment to Iraq this coming winter.

“There’s a lot of work [involved with] getting prepared,” said Sgt. 1st Class Allen Briggs. “We have to account for everything, even things like temperature controlled medicine.”

These soldiers aren’t alone. Working alongside our military men and women are trained civilians helping ensure that our troops are well-equipped before they ship out. There were ten civilians performing tasks such as data entry, electrical equipment testing and taking inventory of supplies.

This is just a fraction of the ongoing effort to keep our military up-to-date, well-supplied and ready to deploy.

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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a Class 1 recall on an infusion pump from Baxter Healthcare Corporation, a worldwide medical equipment manufacturer headquartered in Deerfield, Illinois.

The pump, known as the Colleague Triple Channel Infusion Pump, suffers from a processing error related to buffer overflow that only occurs in specific situations. The pump has caused 16 known injuries associated with this issue.

Affected devices display an error code, sound an alarm and cease infusing in all three channels. This interruption of life-sustaining therapy could lead to serious injury or death.

All known customers of the Colleague Triple Channel Infusion Pump have been contacted by Baxter and the devices have been replaced. With over 200,000 pumps produced under the Colleague name, only the upgraded triple channel pumps have displayed this irregularity. The single and dual channel models are unaffected.

“Patient safety is our top priority. We identified this error early on in our U.S. remediation process and have taken decisive action to replace these pumps and correct the situation to the satisfaction of our customers,” said Peter J. Arduini, corporate vice president and president of Baxter’s Medication Delivery business. “We are currently evaluating a correction, which we will implement following completion of our testing and FDA review.”

Customers with questions regarding this recall are encouraged to contact Baxter directly, at (800) 843-7867.

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Medtronic Sofamor Danek, a medical equipment manufacturer in Memphis, Tenn., has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for The Prestige Cervical Disc, the first artificial cervical disc for the treatment of cervical degenerative disc disease. Cervical degenerative disc disease is one of the most common causes of neck and arm pain.

“The approval of this artificial disc means that people with cervical degenerative disc disease now will have another surgical option for treating this condition,” said Daniel Schultz, M.D., director, Center for Devices and Radiological Health, FDA. “This device will help relieve pain and restore function.”

The cervical spine, or neck region, consists of seven vertebrae. The vertebrae are separated by cushioning discs. Over time, these discs may wear down or bulge from between the vertebrae. A person with degenerative disc disease would experience accelerated break down of these discs, causing radiating pain the neck, shoulders or arms.

Currently, the most common surgical treatment for this condition is to remove the diseased or broken-down disc and fuse the vertebrae together. Approval of The Prestige Cervical Disc means patients now have the option of replacing the damaged disc.

A clinical study of 541 patients was done by the company and was the basis of FDA approval of the artificial disc. The study showed that the device was as safe and effective as cervical fusion, and that it effectively reduced pain associated with the neck and arms.

The FDA will continue to monitor the device as a precautionary measure to ensure patient safety and continued product effectiveness.

Read the full story here.