FDA approves Power Medical Interventions devices

Driven by software...BD

The Food and Drug Administration granted marketing clearance Friday to Power Medical Interventions Inc. for its iDrive surgical devices.
The Langhorne, Pa., medical device company's iDrive devices are reusable, self-contained, hand-held devices that can be used to power and control the existing suite of surgical cutters and staplers developed by Power Medical (NASDAQ: PMII).
The i60 Intelligent Surgical Instrument™ is PMI's Articulating Endoscopic Linear Cutter designed to transect, resect and anastomose tissue. It is controlled by drive motors, motor control circuits and clinician-feedback technology that have been miniaturized and integrated into the handpiece. The i60 is designed for used in laparoscopic surgery.
A push of a button initiates a sequence of steps under software control which are performed automatically unlike conventional staplers that require a series of manual operations