Abbott announced today the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval and launch of the iDesign Advanced WaveScan Studio System. The system acts as the "brain" of the LASIK procedure, generating a high-definition scan that measures and maps irregularities of the eye that may impact vision. From these measurements, the iDesign System creates an accurate and personalized LASIK treatment plan based on the unique "blueprint" of each person’s eyes.
The iDesign System captures more than 1,200 micro readings of the eye, as well as identifying the shape of the cornea, its curvature, how light passes through the eye and pupil diameter under different lighting conditions – all in one, three-second scan that can be used to precisely correct vision.
The development of the sensor technology within the iDesign System was the result of an earlier discovery by Abbott scientists, which NASA used to accurately measure and shape the mirrors in the James Webb Space Telescope to ensure it will transmit high resolution images of deep space back to earth. The telescope is scheduled to launch in 2018.
To view the Multimedia News Release, please go to http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7571951-abbott-idesign-system-3-d-eye-map/
Spring is around the corner, and it won’t be long before it’s prom and graduation seasons for many high schoolers. Rites of passage for many, these are times for teens to celebrate, but can also be times of poor decision-making, especially when vehicles are involved. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that 2,524 teen drivers and passengers were killed and 177,000 were injured in 2013. Twenty-seven percent of these fatalities occurred between April and June, according to the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).
“The statistics are staggering, especially when you consider that most of these accidents and fatalities are preventable,” said Randy Petro, Mercury Insurance’s chief claims officer. “We don’t want any families to suffer through the loss of a child, so Mercury is taking action with the launch of the ‘Mercury Insurance Drive Safe Challenge.’”
The Mercury Insurance Drive Safe Challenge kicked off with a free defensive driving program, which included hands-on driving skills training and classroom material. An interactive website provides teens with detailed instruction, as well as gives parents the tools to shape responsible driving behavior.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7772251-mercury-teen-drive-safe-challenge/
The Obama administration is holding the White House Summit on Nuclear Energy today discussing the role of nuclear energy in reducing carbon emissions linked to the threat of climate change. The event will be live streamed on WhiteHouse.gov and YouTube beginning at 1 p.m. ET.
“Nuclear energy has a really important role to play in the fight against climate change, and I think administrations in the past have recognized this but they’ve tended to be kind of quiet about it,” said Eileen Claussen, founder of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7677651-nei-nuclear-energy-summit/
As part of their ongoing Stop the Texts. Stop the Wrecks. Texting and Driving Prevention campaign, the Ad Council and the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) are partnering with YouTube creator and actress Meg DeAngelis to raise awareness of this dangerous behavior. The collaboration also coincides with the release of new television campaign public service advertisements (PSAs) and the launch of Project Yellow Light, a national video contest and scholarship program that aims to educate young drivers on and generate engagement around this issue.
Meg is joining the effort as part of the Ad Council’s Creators for Good program by distributing new exclusive video content to her almost four million subscribers on YouTube. The video amplifies the campaign message, showing drivers that no matter how “safely” they think they can drive while doing other things, distracted driving is always dangerous. Created as an advice video, Meg runs through “10 Everyday Things You’re Doing Wrong” - from putting in bobby pins to folding your clothes - and ends with a serious message to her fans about the dangers of texting and driving.
“Texting and driving is such a serious issue, so I'm really proud to be a voice of this important campaign,” said DeAngelis. “I want all of my viewers to stay safe, so I hope that together, we can spread the word on the dangers of distracted driving.”
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7682151-ad-council-project-yellow-light/
ACCU-CHEK Aviva Expert offers people with diabetes a new and easy way to simplify complex calculations to deliver precise insulin dosing advice.
Roche (SIX: RO, ROG; OTCQX: RHHBY) announced today that the ACCU-CHEK® Aviva Expert system, the first and only blood glucose meter system with a built-in insulin calculator to be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), is now available by prescription. The device represents a significant advancement in blood glucose meter technology for people with diabetes who take multiple daily insulin injections. The meter’s integrated bolus calculator provides easy-to-use and reliable dose recommendations based on automated calculations, eliminating the need for manual dosing calculations and estimations.
To view the Multimedia News Release, go to: http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7322751-roche-accu-chek-aviva-expert-blood-glucose-meter-now-available/
A new Obama administration regulation–the so-called Stream Protection Rule–is about to drive up energy costs and unemployment with no gain in environmental benefits, cautions the National Mining Association.
“The primary motive of this regulation is not to protect streams, as its title would suggest, but to protect federal regulators' jobs at the expense of coal miners' jobs as the nation's energy providers,” said Luke Popovich, vice president of communications for the National Mining Association.
In a classic example of needless regulation, the U.S. Office of Surface Mining, or OSM, plans to change more than 475 regulations, as well as add more new rules – despite no demonstrated need. OSM has crafted the rule behind closed doors, Popovich said, shutting cooperating states out of discussions about the purpose and content of the regulation.
The new rule carries a heavy economic price tag, Popovich warned. He pointed to an analysis by an independent consultant that found that OSM’s rule would put more than 268,000 mining and dependent jobs at risk—adding to the 40,000 high-wage jobs already lost in the industry.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7221731-national-mining-association-americans-electricity-bill-increase-due-to-epa-regulations/
Abbott announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved the company’s Absorb bioresorbable heart stent, making the first-of-its-kind medical device commercially available to treat people with coronary artery disease in the United States.
Absorb is the only fully dissolving stent approved for the treatment of coronary artery disease, which affects 15 million people in the United States and remains a leading cause of death worldwide, despite decades of therapeutic advances. While stents are traditionally made of metal, Abbott’s Absorb stent is made of a naturally dissolving material, similar to dissolving sutures. Absorb disappears completely in approximately three years, after it has done its job of keeping a clogged artery open and promoting healing of the treated artery segment. By contrast, metal stents are permanent implants that restrict vessel motion for the life of the person treated.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7826651-abbott-fda-approval-stent/
The winter of 2014 is in its early stages, and yet many parts of the country are already experiencing extreme weather conditions and power outages. In fact, a power outage can happen at any time, and it can affect the safety of your food. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration reminds you that the best way to ensure that food stays safe is to have a plan in place, and to know what food safety precautions to take if a power outage does occur.
To view Multimedia News Release, go to http://www.multivu.com/mnr/64318-u-s-fda-food-safety-during-and-after-a-power-outage
Following the unprecedented Gore REDUCE Clinical Study conclusion that closure of patent foramen ovale (PFO) can prevent recurrent ischemic strokes, W. L. Gore & Associates, Inc. (Gore) has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for an expanded indication for its GORE® CARDIOFORM Septal Occluder. The device, already approved for closure of atrial septal defects (ASDs) up to 17 mm, is now also approved for the closure of PFO to reduce the risk of recurrent ischemic stroke in certain patients.*
To view the multimedia release go to:
https://www.multivu.com/players/English/8301551-gore-cardioform-septal-occluder-fda-approval/
Abbott announced today that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved the Tecnis Symfony® Intraocular Lenses for the treatment of cataracts. The first in a new category of intraocular lenses (IOLs), the Tecnis Symfony lenses are the only lenses in the United States that provide a full range of continuous high-quality vision following cataract surgery, while also mitigating the effects of presbyopia by helping people focus on near objects. The FDA approval includes a version of the lens for people with astigmatism, the Tecnis Symfony Toric IOL.
Cataracts are a common condition, with almost 4 million cataract surgeries performed each year, and that number is expected to increase.1 By age 80, more than half of all Americans either have a cataract or have had cataract surgery.2 However, cataracts do not just impact seniors. In 2016 it is estimated that nearly one in four cataract surgeries will be performed on people younger than 65.1 Many people who have cataracts experience other problems with their vision, such as presbyopia and astigmatism, which the Symfony lenses also address. Presbyopia, which affects most people over age 40, means people have lost the ability to focus on objects up close and often require glasses to perform near visual tasks. Astigmatism is when the cornea is misshapen, which causes blurry or distorted vision.
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7870151-abbott-intraocular-lenses/
The period between Christmas and New Year’s typically has one of the highest rates of impaired driving fatalities, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). In an effort to reduce drunk and buzzed driving related incidents during the holidays, NHTSA, the Ad Council and the Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB) launched their 12th annual “Project Roadblock: Local TV Puts the Brakes on Drunk Driving.”
Project Roadblock was created in 2004 in support of NHTSA and the Ad Council’s Buzzed Driving Prevention public service advertising (PSA) campaign. To date, broadcast TV stations across the nation have donated more than $40 million in media to support this effort. The partnership aims to unite local television stations in creating a nationwide advertising roadblock by airing Project Roadblock PSAs (Public Service Announcements) between December 26 and December 31. Local broadcast stations voluntarily participate in the campaign by donating on-air, online and mobile time and space with a special push at 10 p.m. local time on New Year’s Eve. In addition, TV stations will be reaching out to their communities on social media to share social graphics and messaging to further reach audiences.
“Drunk driving remains a serious threat on our roads and claims more than 10,000 lives a year,” said NHTSA Administrator Mark Rosekind. ”Local broadcast television is an effective tool in reaching consumers, and we thank the TVB, all the stations, and the Ad Council for their ongoing support of drunk driving prevention, especially during the holiday season.”
To view the multimedia release go to:
http://www.multivu.com/players/English/7701751-ad-council-nhtsa-buzzed-driving-psa/
Abbott today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the Masters HP™ 15mm rotatable mechanical heart valve, the world’s smallest mechanical heart valve, that will allow doctors to treat babies and toddlers in need of a mitral or aortic valve replacement. Until today, surgeons could only use a range of larger-sized valves to replace a pediatric heart valve that could not be repaired, and larger valves are often not suitable given the smaller size of children’s hearts. This dime-sized new valve is the first and only pediatric mechanical heart valve developed for newborns and infants, and offers hope for pediatric patients in urgent need of treatment who have no other approved options.
To view the multimedia release go to:
https://www.multivu.com/players/English/8280551-abbott-pediatric-heart-valve-fda-approval/
