OrbusNeich today announced that patient enrollment has been initiated in Japan in the pivotal clinical trial of the COMBO Dual Therapy Stent(tm) (COMBO Stent) employing a single Japan-U.S. protocol conducted as a Global Clinical Trial "proof-of-concept" under the framework of the joint Japan-U.S. Harmonization-By-Doing [HBD] initiative. The first patient was enrolled at Shonan Kamakura General Hospital, Japan, by Dr. Shigeru Saito, M.D., the vice director of the hospital and co-principal investigator of the study.

Corindus Vascular Robotics, a leading developer of precision vascular robotics, today announced that in addition to a talk focusing on robotics in the future of the cath lab, cases submitted by users of its CorPath Vascular Robotics System have been accepted for presentation at the Cardiovascular Research Technologies (CRT) conference on February 22 – 25, 2014 in Washington, D.C.

The interventional cardiology team led by Ehtisham Mahmud, MD, FACC, at UC San Diego Sulpizio Cardiovascular Center (SCVC) has successfully completed the first two robotically-assisted coronary angioplasty/stent procedures in California. Patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) now have access to this new technology that puts the precision of a robot in the hands of interventional cardiologists during procedures to open clogged heart arteries.

Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE: BSX) announces the appointment of Craig Thompson, M.D., as senior vice president and chief medical officer, Interventional Cardiology, effective immediately.  Dr. Thompson, a global leader in complex cardiac interventions, will play a key role in driving the development of innovative medical solutions within the Boston Scientific Interventional Cardiology business.

Tryton Medical, Inc., the leading developer of stents designed to treat bifurcation lesions, today announced the launch of the Bifurcation Institute. The Bifurcation Institute is a comprehensive education resource established to advance the standard of care for bifurcated coronary artery disease, a common, and often untreated, clinical need.

Rounding out a very successful year, Accreditation for Cardiovascular Excellence (ACE) reports they have reached record-breaking numbers of accreditation applications for cardiac cath labs in 2013. “Accreditation applications have more than doubled since 2012,” said Mary Heisler, RN, BA, ACE Executive Director. “More labs are realizing the importance of accountable metrics and know it’s time to get started on the quality journey with ACE.”

The American Heart Association’s Council on Clinical Cardiology presented its James B. Herrick Award for outstanding achievement in clinical cardiology to Marc Alan Pfeffer, M.D., Ph.D., of Harvard Medical School “for acclaimed research showing how cardiac muscle damage occurs during a heart attack, a discovery that led to new life-saving treatment.”

Neovasc Inc. (TSXV: NVC) today reported topline results for its COSIRA trial assessing the efficacy and safety of the Neovasc ReducerTM, a novel percutaneous device for the treatment of refractory angina. The data shows that the Reducer achieved its primary endpoint, significantly improving the symptoms and functioning of patients disabled by previously untreatable refractory angina. The COSIRA trial also confirmed that the Reducer is safe and well-tolerated, with no reports of device-related serious adverse events. The safety and efficacy data from the randomized, controlled COSIRA trial is consistent with results seen in previous non-randomized pilot studies of the Reducer.