Bad press has plagued St. Jude Medical's ICD leads since the Riata recall in December and the company is now riding out the latest wave. During the past week, the company received a surprising order from FDA to conduct studies on the recalled Riata as well as the non-recalled Durata and other leads.

Noted cardiologist Robert Hauser can’t seem to stop giving St. Jude Medical palpitations.

Pioneering startups have often been credited with pushing the boundaries of medtech innovation for the past several decades. And while medical device powerhouses such as Medtronic and Boston Scientific have also been instrumental in developing progressive technologies, they often look to the little guys for both inspiration and acquisition potential.

The three blind mice immortalized in nursery rhyme could have had entirely different fates today, thanks to a breakthrough in retinal implants that has restored sight in blind mice.

Wearable technologies are on track to be a $6-billion industry by 2016. But despite the potential mHealth, wearable sensing, and telemedicine applications hold, such wireless medical technologies also pose significant vulnerabilities to patients in terms of security and privacy.

Home to Warsaw, IN—also known as the "Orthopedic Capital of the World"—Northeast Indiana boasts $12 billion in total regional orthopedic device industry revenues in addition to nearly 100 life sciences, orthopedic, and medical device companies. Looking to leverage and support these local thriving orthopedics and life sciences sectors, Northeast Indiana's Whitley County Economic Development Corp.

Among the most-talked-about stories at this year's London Olympics was that of South African Sprinter Oscar Pistorius. A double amputee, Pistorius simultaneously won over crowds and fellow athletes alike and generated debate as to whether his artificial limbs, made by Ossur, gave him any sort of unfair advantage. Plus, the Wall Street Journal examined smart prostheses and other medical devices.

Innovative and tech-savvy university researchers have been pioneering the development of low-cost medical devices that leverage cell phones, which are often much more accessible in developing countries than traditional medical devices or technologies.

Deep brain stimulation has emerged as an exciting and promising field for treating both neurological and psychological disorders ranging from Parkinson's disease to depression. But the long-term viability of implants designed for DBS remains uncertain as current electrodes tend to induce an immune response in the patient's body that reduces the treatment's efficacy over time.

Former Vante CFO Adam Smith brought some unexpected controversy to the doorstep of his employer, a supplier to the medical device industry, this past week. Smith gained national attention when he posted a video on YouTube that went viral showing him berate an employee of the fast-food chain Chick-fil-A for working for the company, whose president, Dan Cathy, has openly opposed same-sex marriage. Smith was fired and issued an apology following the uproar. In other news, MPMN explores the driving factors behind M&A activity in the sector.