Presenters at a day-long AF Symposium held just prior to this year's Heart Rhythm Society meeting lamented the disappointing long-term results with AF ablation and spoke about upcoming technological advances in catheters and adjunctive tools that may improve the procedure's efficacy and durability.

This article was adapted from "Top Device Stories of 2010: Waiting for the Other Shoes to Fall," in the January 2011 issue of IN VIVO.

For much of the device industry, 2010 felt like a transition year, breeding uncertainty in a number of important areas, including the economy, health care reform, and impending changes to the 510(k) process. A review of the year just ended turns up these stories: Device M&A on the Rebound; Is A First-Mover Advantage Emerging In Medtech? Boston Scientific Is Back In The Game; Early-Stage Deals In Decline; The Future Of Medtech: Where Private Investment Dollars Are Flowing; Transcatheter Valves Take Center Stage; Spine's Downturn; Diabetes Assumptions Begin To Shift; A Landmark Year In Ophthalmology; Health Reform In 2010: A Beginning, Not An End; Changes At FDA: 510(k) Reform Takes Shape, and finally, Is Physician Choice In Product Selection In Danger?

Overall in 2010, caution was the watchword for private investors, placing fewer dollars in fewer medtech deals compared to 2009. A total of $1.86 billion in private money was raised by medical device companies in 2010, a big drop from the $2.86 billion placed in the industry in 2009. Deal volume was down commensurately; there were 139 private medical device financings, compared to 207 in 2009. Investment dollars were apportioned, for the most part, in the usual fashion, with the largest proportion going into cardiovascular deals, followed by orthopedics. There were some surprises however, as a few categories, once avoided like the plaque, showed new investor interest.