Medtronic is the acknowledged leader in one of the hottest device sectors-neurostimulation-but even this giant struggles with problems of limited market penetration. So Medtronic is bringing a new approach to this area: an aggressive clinical trials strategy to differentiate its products and drive physician adoption. Who better to run the business than a clinical trials expert? Richard Kuntz talks about future neuro opportunities and the current challenges facing device clinical trials.

Brief summaries of recent product and company developments in the device industry, including Medtronic's acquisition of Kyphon, Siemens' purchase of Dade, and the FoxHollow/ev3 merger.

Market growth in image-guided surgery will come, in part, from new technologies that can guide surgeons in soft tissue. Pathfinder Therapeutics Inc. thinks its IGS platform, built on 15 years of academic R&D by pioneers in IGS, fits the bill. The first application is for the large, unmet need in treating liver cancer. Currently, just 20% of patients are eligible for open liver surgery, the current gold standard treatment.

Thanks to advances in neurological imaging technology, some physicians--among them the founders of Melbourne, FL-based Image-Guided Neurologics Inc.--have begun to apply minimally-invasive techniques to intracranial drug delivery and neurosurgical procedures.