2007
Information and communications technology

Now  2006

Transatlantic rower's diabetic challenge
Transatlantic rower Neil Hunter faces the extra challenge of managing his diabetes through the 3000 mile race. This will be done by using a compact blood glucose monitoring system, patient monitoring software on a laptop and transmitting data by satellite communications to a medical team back in Southampton, UK. 6 December 2007

Rescue helicopter in the exerciseESA project tests health emergency management via satellite
A training exercise in Greece has shown the viability of a satellite system for early warning and management of health emergencies in disaster situations. The exercise simulated an earthquake hitting the island of Crete. 6 December 2007

Kjaya Medical announces service for distributing high-volume digital CT images
Kjaya Medical has announced new managed services that combine powerful graphics processing units, computer hardware and proprietary software that allows quick distribution of CT images via standard high speed internet. 6 December 2007

Neurotechnologija releases face-matching software for smartcard security systems
Smartcard Face-Match stores and verifies biometric facial information on a smartcard, allowing individuals to maintain and protect their own information. It provides an extra level of security compared to either smart cards or face identification alone. 23 November 2007

New medical device profile for Bluetooth wireless technology
The Bluetooth Special Interest Group (SIG) has developed a Medical Device Profile for Bluetooth wireless technology. The profile defines how different applications use Bluetooth wireless technology to set up a connection and exchange data and ensures that devices in the medical environment can transfer data between devices in a secure and well defined way. 22 November 2007

Mathematical modelling to help unlock secrets of immune system
A multidisciplinary research project, the Immunology Imaging and Modelling (I2M) Network, is using mathematics to build a common model of immune responses. Their work will radically improve our understanding of the human immune system by allowing all the scientific disciplines working on it to have a common reference point and language. 5 November

Submersible keyboard aids fight against hospital infection
Devlin Electronics has launched a washable keyboard specifically designed to help health services tackle the problems of hospital-acquired infections. 5 November

Agfa's Orbis installed in Toulouse, France and Lecco, Italy
Agfa HealthCare has announced two European installations of its Orbis hospital information system, at Purpan Hospital in Toulouse and Azienda Ospedaliera Ospedale di Lecco in northern Italy. 22 October

Electronic health card pilot launched in Bulgaria
The pilot involving seven physicians, four pharmacies and 1,000 patients was launched earlier this month with the issuing of the first electronic prescriptions. 22 October 2007

Heidelberg University students study virtual anatomy
The University in Heidelberg will start a virtual anatomy course for medical students using 3viseon 3D imaging software in order to perform a virtual dissection of different organs in 3D. 16 October 2007

Agfa installs cardiology suite at Belgian Hospital
Agfa HealthCare has completed the installation of its Impax Cardiovascular Suite at the AZ Imelda hospital in Bonheiden, Belgium. The enterprise-wide, cardiology information management system and reporting solution allows physicians to view both cardiology and radiology images and reports. 16 October 2007

New release of Materials for Medical Devices Database
The database now has an orthopaedic module to help designers of spinal implants and over 1,600 additional device records in the existing cardiovascular module. 9 October

iSOFT launches laboratory reporting application
iSOFT has introduced a new reporting tool for its laboratory information systems from its business intelligence partner FMI Business Solutions Group. 5 October

Dräger releases new software to integrate neonatal monitoring systems
The software enables caregivers to view vital signs, respiration and thermo regulation data from multiple devices together on one screen at the bedside. 5 October

Sony launches high-definition medical monitor
The LMD-2450MD is Sony's first HD1080P model in its healthcare range. Aimed at endoscopic applications, it offers high image clarity and colour accuracy, and incorporates advanced imaging features. 5 October

Salzburg hospital migrates 600,000 patient data files to Agfa's Orbis
Agfa HealthCare has announced that it has successfully installed its Orbis hospital information system together with its Impax picture archiving and communications system in the Salzburger Landeskliniken in Austria. 17 September 2007

Mobile phoneMobiles phones dangerous near hospital beds
Mobile phones should come no closer than one metre to hospital beds and equipment, according to research published in Critical Care. Hazardous incidents caused by phones varied from a total switch off and restart of mechanical ventilator and complete stops without alarms in syringe pumps to incorrect pulsing by an external pacemaker. 12 September 2007

Barco and Medicsight produce virtual colonoscopy solution
Barco will integrate Medicsight’s CAD function into its ColonMetrix software solution, thereby enabling faster and more efficient recognition of suspect lesions during virtual colonography. 17 August 2007

Speech and therapy software for speech disabled
The Touch & Talk system is a speech communication and therapy tool for patients suffering from stroke, autism, cancer and other speech communication disabilities. 5 August 2007

Definiens launches new image intelligence suite for life science image analysis
The wealth of image information gathered in the various phases of the drug development process can now be integrated across and exchanged within the entire organization. 31 July 2007

Philips and UKE develop computer-aided diagnosis of PET and MRI brain scans
The University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE) and Royal Philips Electronics have developed software for computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) of PET and MRI imaging of the brain to aid the identification of neurodegenerative diseases. 11 July 2007

RFID surgical sponge counting system approved
ClearCount Medical Solutions' SmartSponge System, which uses radio frequency identification (RFID) tags attached to surgical sponges, has received US FDA clearance. 19 June 2007

GE Healthcare and IntrinsiQ to integrate cancer treatment system with patient records
GE Healthcare and cancer care software supplier IntrinsiQ, LLC are to collaborate to integrate IntrinsiQ's cancer treatment information system with GE's Centricity electronic medical record (EMR) system. 7 June 2007

Spanish AmIVital project to develop intelligent devices for elderly and disabled
The AmIVital project is a cooperative effort between 17 public and private sector organisations that aims to create a wide range of devices especially designed and adapted to the elderly and to people with disabilities or reduced mobility. 6 June 2007

Software to help disabled children communicate
Software to aid disabled children communicate through computer devices such as PCs, laptops and PDAs, has been developed by a multidisciplinary team at Grenada University (AGR). 3 June 2007

GE receives FDA clearance for Carescape patient data-capture module
The module is small enough to stay with the patient to capture and store all patient measurements and ensures that the receiving nurse has a complete monitoring history when a patient arrives. 30 May 2007

ICW Master Patient Index passes IHE conformance tests
InterComponentWare AG (ICW) has shown that its Master Patient Index (MPI) is compatible with international standards at the 2007 Connectathon hosted by Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE). 12 May 2007

Agfa HealthCare and ICW collaborate to integrate hospital software
Agfa HealthCare and InterComponentWare AG (ICW) have announced a non-exclusive agreement to cooperate in developing integration and interoperability between Agfa HealthCare’s hospital information system (HIS) ORBISTM and ICW’s eHealth Framework. 12 May 2007

The Zarlink ZL70101 system on a chipZarlink introduces implantable wireless system-on-a-chip
The new ZL 70101 transceiver chip, which delivers high data rates, low power consumption and unique wake-up circuitry, is designed for use in both implanted medical devices and monitoring base stations. 11 May 2007

Virtual reality helps MS patients walk better
A virtual reality device that combines combines a wearable, cell phone-sized audio component and a visual feedback apparatus to improve walking speed and stride length in patients suffering from multiple sclerosis has been developed at the the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology. 10 May 2007

Philips and Misys collaborate in home telemonitoring solutions
The companies intend to develop an integrated software platform that will enable care agencies to provide high quality care to chronically ill patients at home, including the remote monitoring of patients’ health status to provide operational efficiencies. 10 May 2007

CAP creates new division to support SNOMED CT terminology
The SNOMED International division will now be called SNOMED Terminology Solutions and will focus on education, training and consulting related to SNOMED CT and its implementation. 7 May 2007

SNOMED CT clinical coding standard transferred to new international organization
SNOMED Clinical Terms (SNOMED CT), the UK-US developed standard for clinical terminology, has been acquired by the newly formed International Health Terminology Standards Development Organization from the College of American Pathologists for $7.8 million. 4 May 2007

Philips awarded telecare contract by Visiting Nurse Associations of America
Philips Consumer Healthcare Solutions has been awarded a contract as the “preferred provider” for telehealth products and services for Visiting Nurse Associations of America (VNAA) members. 3 May 2007

Philips bedside patient monitors give evidence-based care guidance
Royal Philips Electronics has introduced ProtocolWatch, an application for its IntelliVue patient monitors that analyses patient monitoring data using evidence-based care protocols and gives guidance on screen. 19 April 2007

Agfa and Free University of Brussels in agreement to develop healthcare IT and imaging solutions. 19 April 2007

Door lock and bell with GSM phone aids emergency response for elderly
The GSM Doorbell, developed by Dutch company Waleli, is a mobile phone application that allows people to answer their doorbell, talk to visitors and even open the door, whether they are at home or not. 17 April 2007

Virtual home for Alzheimer's patients
A virtual home showing the best features suitable for Alzheimer's patients will be developed by the Division of Geriatrics at Weill Cornell Medical College, USA. 6 April 2007

Master patient index locates patient data from 100 million data sets in split second
Hewlett-Packard tests of the ICW Master Patient Index using 100 million patient data sets in one database, combined with queries made by up to 1,000 concurrent users, resulted in response times of less than a second. 4 April 2007

Mobile phones safe in hospitals
A study by the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, USA, of mobile phone use in hospitals has found that they have no noticeable effect on medical devices in normal use. This dispels the long-held notion that they are unsafe to use in health care facilities, according to the researchers. 4 April 2007

Groundbreaking study shows hospital investment in IT does reduce costs
A two-year long study by PricewaterhouseCoopers and the Wharton School of Business of the use of information technology in US hospitals provides the strongest evidence that the investment does pay for itself, but it has to be comprehensive and given enough time to work. 3 April 2007

Computer training course for UK healthcare staff
The British Computer Society launched its new European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL) Health Unit at Healthcare Computing 2007 in Harrogate in March. It is the first computer skills syllabus in the world specifically for users of healthcare systems. 3 April 2007

Project to develop virtual people
A new project aims to create computer-generated virtual persons that interact with humans in a life-like manner. The methodology may prove valuable for developing more user-friendly archiving and retrieval of information, and for computer games, among other uses. 4 April 2007

Hand-held computers analyse patients' vital signs, improve patient care and reduce costs
VitalPAC records, stores, and analyses a patient’s vital signs (pulse, blood pressure, respiratory rate, etc) allowing clinicians to effectively monitor the condition of their patients in real time throughout a hospital stay. 30 March 2007

Tunstall celebrates 50 years in telecare
UK company Tunstall is celebrating 50 years of providing healthcare solutions that support older people and those with long-term needs, by effectively managing health and well-being. 30 March 2007

New alliance to help MS sufferers make the best use of technology
The MS Technology Collaborative is an alliance of leaders from three specialty areas — pharmaceutical, technology, and patient advocacy — to improve the way technology may help people with MS maintain their health and independence, have support for their life choices, and stay connected with their families, friends, and communities. 29 March 2007

Computer-aided detection for CT colonoscopy
CADCOLON im3D is a computer aided detection (CAD) system from iM3D SpA designed to support radiologists' diagnoses of suspect polyps in the colon and rectum, using high and low dose CT. 27 March 2007

The NASA Aquarius underwater habitat and laboratoryNASA undersea mission to test space medicine
The NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) scheduled for May this year will include a variety of advanced medical technology experiments, including robotic telesurgery on simulated patients. 11 March 2007

Cambio Healthcare Systems launches in UK
Cambio Healthcare Systems, the largest healthcare administration software provider in Scandinavia, has set up office and won its first contract in the United Kingdom. 11 March 2007

Agfa integrates clinical data into RIS/PACS
Agfa HealthCare has launched the IMPAX Clinical Module that brings disparate clinical data such as lab results, pharmacy and pathology to the IMPAX Radiology Desktop. 6 March 2007

Sun expands healthcare IT portfolio
Sun Microsystems has introduced the Sun B2B-enabled Electronic Master Patient Index (EMPI), and two picture archiving systems, iPACS and uPACS aimed at manufactureres for building their own PACS systems. 6 March 2007

InforSense launches clinical decision support solution
InforSense's HealthSense is a workflow-based decision-support solution that enables clinicians to analyse large patient data sets to identify key risk factors for better decision-making in patient care. 28 February 2007

Computer model of brain's visual processing could lead to better image analysis and robot vision
A new computer model of how the brain processes visual information has surprised researchers at its power. Developed as a tool for neuroscientists it could now have applications in surveillance and automobile driver’s assistance, visual search engines, biomedical imaging analysis, and robots with realistic vision. 22 February 2007

Cardinal Health joins US Dossia project to develop online personal health records for employees
Dossia is a Web-based infrastructure which will empower individuals to manage their own healthcare records and maintain comprehensive, up-to-date histories for themselves and their families, in a secure and private environment. 19 February 2007

€12m European SOPRANO project to develop technology for  independent living for older people
The Service Orientated Programmable Smart Environments for Older Europeans (SOPRANO) project will develop affordable, smart IT-based assisted living services aimed at promoting independence for older people, improving quality of life and addressing the issue of an ageing population across Europe. 13 February 2007

Adoption of electronic work processes pushing convergence of electronic health records and clinical trials
The move towards the use of IT and computer-based patient record systems across hospitals in Europe and North America, and efforts to streamline the functioning of clinical trials are promoting the expanded use of electronic data capture. This is encouraging merging of work processes in clinical care and clinical research areas. 2 Feb 2007

Smiths Medical launches medication control software for infusion pumps
Smiths Medical, part of the global technology business Smiths Group, has received 510(k) clearance from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for software that makes programming pain management infusion pumps simpler and safer. 1 Feb 2007

Bulgaria pilots electronic health cards
The Bulgarian National Health Insurance Fund (NHIF) is carrying out a pilot project for electronic health cards involving 1,000 patients. The  project will be implemented by ICW and Cisco. 30 Jan 2007

Pointsec solution controls copying of data onto USB storage devices
Pointsec Mobile Technologies has launched the Pointsec Device Protector to control access to data through the security weak points of computer ports and portable storage devices. The new system secures data access through a combination of port management, content filtering and optional media encryption. 23 January 2007

Video game gives real-world experiences of nanomedicine
NanoMission is a PC-based game that educates players about basic concepts in nanoscience through real-world practical applications from microelectronics to drug delivery. 16 Jan 2007

Gemalto qualifies for Germany's 80m healthcare smartcard programme
Gemalto has been chosen to supply its secure microprocessor-based smartcards to Germany's healthcare programme. The first trial phase commenced in December 2006, involving 70,000 units in 7 regions. A larger scale experimentation of 300,000 cards is due to start in 2007, which will be followed by mass deployment. 12 Jan 2007

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