Becton Dickinson President, Chairman and CEO Vincent Forlenza speaks to IN VIVO about the business prospects at Becton Dickinson as it integrates its major acquisition, CareFusion, and oversees a major internal group restructuring, and about his role as the current chairman of AdvaMed.

The ability to create and maintain a data stream of information that flows from medical devices into electronic health records (EHRs) is starting to become an important priority for some of the nation’s hospitals. The development is a natural outgrowth of the movement toward having a viable EHR for every patient, as well as the understanding that quality of care can be enhanced if those EHRs are fed the type of data that comes from devices such as ventilators, infusion pumps, anesthesia machines, and products that measure patient vital signs. That need is creating a new, niche market for companies that offer connectivity solutions, and at some point, these changes are predicted to alter the way hospitals choose which medical devices to purchase.

Long part of a German foundation dedicated to improving optical science, Carl Zeiss Meditec has transformed itself into a more entrepreneurial entity, hoping to capitalize on the booming ophthalmics market. For Zeiss, the timing couldn't be better--driven by soaring demographics and new technology, the industry is hot. Plus an industry ripe for consolidation plays well into Zeiss' plans. The only question is: does Zeiss' foundation heritage help or hinder its efforts?

The development of medical devices and techniques that enable physicians to perform procedures less invasively has transformed the way medicine is practiced in many fields, including cardiology, radiology, neurology and orthopedics, and giving rise to thriving sub-specialties such as interventional cardiology. Pulmonx, a start-up launched by veteran physician/entrepreneur Rodney Perkins, MD, is looking to repeat that pattern through devices designed to spur the development of a new specialty, interventional pulmonology, while also improving the tools used in anesthesiology, internal and emergency medicine. While the company appears thus far to have the field to itself, Pulmonx faces major challenges in terms of the financing hurdles that come with a start-up's efforts to break new ground, as well as reimbursement issues in one of its primary product areas. Along with those challenges come major opportunities to capitalize on the advantages to patients, providers and payers that interventional procedures have brought to other clinical fields; and to become a market-maker in a new physician specialty.