More doubt cast on St. Jude's Durata heart device wire

Article by: BARRY MEIER , New York Times
Updated: November 21, 2012 - 7:41 PM

A Medtronic study led to the rejection of insulating material similar to that on St. Jude's leads.

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punky2012Nov. 22, 1212:51 AM

You mean that imperfect human beings created a product that isn't absolutely perfect, yet it helps save lives anyway? Oh, the horrors!

dahdahNov. 22, 12 7:46 AM

3 or 4 weeks ago, Lee Schafer had a column about this company's decision to lay off about 250 workers. Schafer blamed the small federal medical device tax for the RIF. Several viewers disagreed, and one (not me) pointed directly at the company's faltering mfg. and prod. line. He was right, as we can see from this story. The company's products are deficient or have the reputation for failures, leading to less use by doctors. This story, still unfolding, should bother us all---St. Jude is one of the stars of the local economy. But its top brass appear to have developed a bunker mentality, and won't face the facts. On the good side, I notice that unlike Schafer they are not blaming Obamacare for their failures; in fact, they don't blame anyone except their critics.

jepop90Nov. 22, 12 9:30 AM

Medical devices that are designed and manufactured by humans are not always perfect and will at times fail. However, if one was sick and given the choice of, "without a device you have a 50/50 chance of living through your next episode of sudden cardiac arrest" or "with a device there is a small chance that your device may not perform as expected" (and you end up dying any way)", I know choice that 99% of the public would make. That said, situations like the one with Durata are ultimately bad for the entire med device industry and hurt not only the industry but the state of Minnesota and the jobs that these companies create.