Abbott Medical Optics, a Santa Ana-based business unit of Chicago-based Abbott Laboratories, is introducing a pair of products for laser cataract surgeries.
The company said this month that it received Food and Drug Administration clearance for the Cataract Operating System 3 and the Liquid Optics Interface 12. The products are used with Abbott Medical’s Catalys Precision Laser family of devices.
Catalys allows eye surgeons to replace manual incisions traditionally made in cataract surgery with those done by what Abbott Medical called “precise, image-guided, femtosecond laser technology.”
Cataract Operating System 3 is software that’s designed for greater efficiency and ease of use by doctors. Liquid Optics Interface 12 is used to dock Catalys and allows for a wider range of eye shapes to be treated in cataract surgeries, Abbott Medical said in a news release.
“As the population continues to age and the number of people with cataracts grows, it is essential to provide tools to doctors that enable them to further improve the visual outcomes of cataract surgery for their patients,” said Murthy Simhambhatla, Abbott senior vice president, medical optics.
Cataract Operating System 3 and Liquid Optics Interface 12 “provide advanced cataract treatment options to help more people around the world see better,” Simhambhatla added.
Abbott Medical, which came about after Abbott bought Advanced Medical Optics Inc. for $2.8 billion in 2009, has in recent years focused on organic growth and research and development. The company has said it can focus internally because of its parent, which has annual sales of $21.8 billion and a recent market value of about $64.1 billion.
ClearFlow Trial Results
Anaheim-based ClearFlow Inc. said a clinical study showed positive results for its PleuraFlow Active Clearance Technology device in reducing hospital complications after heart surgery.
The study looked at a method for actively clearing chest tubes of clotted blood in order to prevent retained blood complications. It showed that there was a 42% reduction of complication in the group that was treated with PleuraFlow.
Results show “a clear clinical benefit for patients that can also be translated to a significant economic value for hospitals and payers,” Paul Molloy, ClearFlow’s chief executive, said in a statement.
“Most hospitals are shouldering the burden of extensive cost increases due to lack of consistent protocols regarding blood evaluation post-cardiac surgery and the unacceptable failure with current available drains,” he said.
PleuraFlow was also found to reduce rates of atrial fibrillation, a form of irregular heartbeat.
Dr. Theodor Fischlein of the Klinikum Nurnberg Heart Center in Germany conducted the study. Results were presented at the Cardiovascular-Thoracic Critical Care 2014 annual meeting in Washington, D.C. The meeting is organized by the Foundation for the Advancement of CardioThoracic Surgical Care.
MemorialCare Relationship Grows
Humana Inc., a Louisville, Ky.-based managed care company with about 420,000 statewide local members, said this month that it added Greater Newport Physicians and Edinger Medical Group to a partnership with Fountain Valley-based MemorialCare Health System.
The partnership treats Humana’s Medicare Advantage health maintenance organization members with what Humana calls “highly integrated care leading to improved medical outcomes, better patient experiences and lower costs.”
Humana said in a news release that its OC Medicare Advantage members would have in-network access to MemorialCare’s facilities, including Orange Coast Memorial Medical Center in Fountain Valley and Saddleback Memorial Medical Center, which has campuses in Laguna Niguel and San Clemente.
Bits & Pieces
Irvine-based Quality Systems Inc.’s wholly owned subsidiary, NextGen Healthcare Information Systems LLC, said it and Cambridge, Mass.-based InterSystems are working with the Missouri Health Connection on InterSystems’ health information exchange. NextGen said in a news release that its clients can communicate and share clinical information via a secure, integrating messaging service with any provider, regardless of their information technology vendor. … Agendia BV, a Dutch molecular diagnostic company with U.S. headquarters in Irvine, named Dr. Jan Egberts its new chief executive. Egberts replaces David Macdonald, who left to pursue other opportunities. Egberts has more than 25 years of executive experience in the drug and medical device sectors. … Hoag Memorial Hospital Presbyterian announced that the Hoag Health Center-Huntington Beach received a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design designation from the U.S. Green Building Council.
