All jokes about British oral health aside, 1st Dental Laboratories gives dentists in the UK the supplies they need to give patients a better smile. With more than a dozen labs spread from Devon to Northumberland, the company offers full-service dental laboratory services -- including the manufacture of crowns, bridges, and dentures -- to dentists and dental surgeons in the UK. 1st Dental Laboratories has grown by snapping up other independent dental laboratories throughout the country, including Advanced Restorative Techniques, Aesthetic Dental Lab, Benchmark Dental Laboratories, and Riley Dental Laboratory.

In this case, those M's might stand for medical devices, management, and microbiology. 3M Health Care is a division of the highly diversified 3M Company. It is one of the largest producers of medical and surgical products (tape, dressings, and surgical drapes). It also manufactures Littmann stethoscopes, dental and orthodontic products (the latter through 3M Unitek), drug delivery systems (transdermal patches, inhalers), health information management systems, and microbiological testing and monitoring equipment used by food processors. These businesses account for more than 15% of 3M's annual revenues. 3M created its first health care-focused division in 1961, as the aptly named Medical Products Division.

3M Health Care Ltd. is the European arm of 3M's health care operations. The company manufactures and distributes medical, dental, veterinary, and food safety products. Its products range from wound care dressings, tapes, casting materials, and stethoscopes to transdermal patches and microbiology testing equipment. Its dental care products include adhesives, coatings, crowns, infection control, and sealers. The company also provides information services and software to the health care industry. 3M Health Care Ltd. maintains research and development facilities as well as manufacturing and distribution operations.

Abbott Diabetes Care cares about diabetics. The unit of Abbott Labs makes glucose monitoring equipment and supplies for use by diabetics at home or by medical professionals in hospitals and other care facilities throughout the US in retail stores and online. Its monitoring systems are sold under the FreeStyle and Precision Xtra brands. Its diabetes data management systems are sold under the CoPilot and Precision Link brands and are designed to be used in conjunction with its monitoring systems. The company also offers insulin pumps including its CoZmonitor which is a combination of insulin pump and blood glucose monitoring system.

Those wanting to see more clearly might benefit from products made by Abbott Medical Optics (formerly Advanced Medical Optics). The subsidiary of Abbott Labs makes eye care products in three key segments: corneal, refractive, and cataract. The company's corneal products include contact lens solutions and eyedrops for consumers. Its refractive and cataract product lines focus on professional devices, equipment, and accessories used in laser vision correction procedures and cataract surgery; it is the global leader in LASIK surgical devices. Surgery products are marketed to eye surgeons and surgery centers worldwide through a direct sales force.

ACA Financial Guaranty provides financial guaranty insurance for municipal and other public finance bonds. Previously, the company also provided asset management services for collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) built by pooling fixed-income assets, including bonds, loans, and credit swaps; investors in the company's CDOs included banks, money managers, hedge funds, and insurance companies. While the company's guaranty business was sound, its other services led to its distress. When the US subprime mortgage market tanked, the company was forced to reorganize and place its municipal bond guaranty business into run-off. Now tending to its existing obligations, ACA is no longer writing new policies.

Accellent provides the nuts and bolts for the medical device industry. The company offers outsourced design, engineering, and manufacturing of custom components, subassemblies, and completed devices, primarily for medical device firms. Its customers include such industry leaders as Medtronic, Abbott Labs, Stryker, and Johnson & Johnson. Accellent specializes in equipment used for cardiac rhythm management, interventional cardiology, neurology, and orthopedics, as well as urology and minimally invasive procedures (especially in the field of endoscopy). It also offers its customers complete supply chain management. The company owns or leases about 25 locations in North America and Europe.

Acclarent's medical technology helps people breathe easy without surgery. The company created the Balloon Sinuplasty, a minimally-invasive device used to treat patients with chronic sinusitis. The Balloon Sinuplasty opens blocked sinuses by inflating a balloon in the sinus cavity instead of cutting away bone and tissue, and patients can return to work as soon as the next day. The FDA-approved device is marketed directly to ear, nose, and throat (ENT) doctors in the US and internationally. Acclarent was acquired by Ethicon, a Johnson & Johnson subsidiary and a leading maker of medical equipment, in 2010.

Accuray's CyberKnife radiosurgery system zaps solid tumors with precisely aimed, high-dose radiation. The system, approved for use in the US, the EU, and several Asian countries, improves upon older radiosurgery systems that have limited mobility and are mostly used to treat brain tumors. Doctors can use CyberKnife to treat tumors anywhere in the body; the system tracks and adjusts for movement in real time, allowing for patient and tumor movement. Procedures with CyberKnife require no anesthesia and can be performed on an outpatient basis. Roughly 200 of the systems have been installed in hospitals around the world, more than 65% of them in the US.

ACI Medical helps your blood go with the flow. The company manufactures and markets pneumatic compression devices used to increase blood flow for patients with severe vascular conditions. Products include: ArtAssist, which increases arterial blood flow in the legs using compression; VenaPulse, which creates pressure to a patient's limbs during vascular testing; and VenAssist, which works to prevent deep vein thrombosis (clots). Its APG device is a diagnostic tool designed to evaluate the type and severity of vascular conditions a patient may have. The company also manufactures miniature pumps and does custom injection molding. ACI Medical was founded in 1984.

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