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April 2009

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Medtronic initiates global abdominal aortic aneurysm study
Medtronic, Inc. has announced the start of ENGAGE, the largest ever study of its kind, which will evaluate the performance of the Endurant stent graft, an implantable medical device designed to provide an advanced minimally-invasive alternative to open surgical repair of abdominal aortic aneurysms. 24 April 2009

Axela introduces assay kits for validating tumour markers
Axela Inc. has launched nine plate based tumour marker assays  designed for stand alone use or to simplify the transition to automated dotLab assays. They can significantly transform the speed with which putative biomarkers can be validated. 24 April 2009

Applied Biosystems/MDS Analytical Technologies launch new mass spectrometer for proteomics research
Applied Biosystems and partner MDS Analytical Technologies have introduced the AB SCIEX TOF/TOF 5800 System, a high-speed sensitive MALDI-based mass spectrometer. 24 April 2009

Commonly used ulcer drugs may offer treatment potential in Alzheimer’s Disease
Scientists at the University of British Columbia have discovered that drugs commonly used to treat ulcers have significant neuroprotective properties, which appear to be enhanced when used in combination with ibuprofen, a widely used anti-inflammatory drug. 24 April 2009

IMEC paves way for multi-electrode deep-brain stimulation
The Belgium-based Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre (IMEC) has presented a new design strategy for brain implants, which it used to create a prototype multi-electrode stimulation and recording probe for deep-brain stimulation. 24 April 2009

European Association of Urology position statement on screening for prostate cancer
Based on the results of the European Randomised Study for Screening of Prostate Cancer (ERSPC), the EAU has formulated a position statement regarding prostate cancer screening in Europe, and the subsequent actions to be taken by health professionals and health authorities. 24 April 2009

Leicester University wins £320,000 grant to study magnetic nanoparticles for treatment of prostate cancer
The award will allow a multidisciplinary research team to design high-performance magnetic nanoparticles that target unique cell surface receptors present on the prostate tumour cell surface. 24 April 2009

Smart material technology helps repair skeletal malformations
Innovative technology developed in co-operation between the Electronics Department of the Helsinki University of Technology (TKK) and the Orton Invalid Foundation is a significant step in the repair of skeletal malformations. 24 April 2009

Tide turns in fight to stop European Commission restricting use of MRI scanners
Further pressure has been applied to the European Commission to amend the Physical Agents (EMF) Directive which, if adopted into national legislation, would drastically curtail the use of MRI scanners in hospitals and research centres across Europe. 24 April 2009 Deutsch

Bionanotechnology: a revolution at single molecule level
Progress in bionanotechnology is essential for our understanding of cells and for the development of new therapeutics, which nowadays increasingly function at the molecular level, according to Prof Nynke Dekker of the Delft University of Technology. 24 April 2009

McKesson acquires LMS Medical Systems' perinatal information system
McKesson has strengthened its enterprise Horizon Clinicals solution with the acquisition of LMS Medical Systems’ intellectual property for obstetrics surveillance and archival capabilities. 23 April 2009

OpenVista 2.0 improves patient care and staff workflow through targeted enhancements
Medsphere Systems Corporation has announced the release of an enhanced OpenVista Radiology Application. OpenVista Radiology 2.0 incorporates auto check-in, automatic printing of radiology requisition reports, improved work lists, enhanced picture archiving and autofax capabilities. 23 April 2009

Cerus expands Intercept product line with new set for platelets
Cerus Corporation has received CE mark approval for a new configuration of its Intercept Blood System, allowing a single treatment procedure to produce two pathogen inactivated platelet units for transfusion. 23 April 2009

Bioject gains US clearance for  Zetajet needle-free injection system
Bioject’s new Zetajet system offers an array of unique product features and patient benefits that can provide highly competitive differentiation to a wide variety of injectable market segments. 23 April 2009

Nanobiotix reports ‘proof of concept’ for nanoparticles in treating brain cancer
Nanobiotix has announced that an independent preclinical study has validated the applicability of using its nanoparticles — nanoPDT — to treat glioblastoma multiforme, one of the most prevalent brain tumours. 23 April 2009

Agilent introduces human copy number variation microarrays for study of diseases
Agilent Technologies has introduced the Human CNV Association 2x105K microarray for studying associations between genomic copy number variations (CNV) and disease. The array is based on a design by the Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium (WTCCC). 23 April 2009

Helicos BioSciences releases transcriptome sequencing (RNA-Seq) datasets on open access website
Helicos BioSciences has released transcriptome sequencing (RNA-Seq) datasets on the HeliSphere Technology Center, the company’s open access website for sharing Helicos datasets and bioinformatics software tools. 23 April 2009

Breakthrough in preclinical model for human cancer may lead to new drug development
Aveo Pharmaceuticals has announced findings from its novel human-in-mouse (HIM) cancer model system, in which it successfully created invasive human tumours from primary human breast tissue that develop over time in mice and mimic human tumour behaviours and response. 23 April 2009

Wolters Kluwer Health launches ProVation Order Sets with decision support
Wolters Kluwer Health has launched ProVation Order Sets, powered by UpToDate Decision Support, an innovative order set development solution that combines ProVation Medical’s award-winning technology platform with UpToDate’s premier clinical decision support content. 23 April 2009

Gemalto joins SAFE-BioPharma Association
Gemalto is joining with biopharmaceutical and healthcare industry leaders to help the industry achieve its common goal of a fully electronic business environment by 2012. 23 April 2009

Rigel Pharmaceuticals and Proteros extend research collaboration
The collaboration gives Rigel access to Proteros’ Gallery Structures enabling Rigel to rapidly deliver high quality protein-ligand structural information. 23 April 2009

Siemens offers design guide for building energy-efficient labs
Siemens Building Technologies, Inc. is offering a new Life Science Solutions Design Guide written expressly for consulting engineers and other professionals who are looking to design and specify effective and more energy-efficient laboratory facilities. 22 April 2009

Discovery of tuberculosis bacterium enzyme paves way for new drugs
A team of University of Maryland scientists has paved the way for the development of new drug therapies to combat active and asymptomatic (latent) tuberculosis infections by characterizing the unique structure and mechanism of an enzyme in M. tuberculosis, the bacterium that causes the disease. 22 April 2009

Rigorous visual training teaches brain to see again after stroke
By doing a set of vigorous visual exercises on a computer every day for several months, patients who had gone partially blind as a result of suffering a stroke were able to regain some vision. 22 April 2009

Dutch Consortium builds registry for care of rare diseases
The Dutch Orphan Disease Registry Consortium is building a disease registry framework to collect information on rare diseases, encourage drug development and optimize patient care. The consortium focuses on inborn errors of metabolism as a target group of diseases. 22 April 2009. Deutsch Espanol Francais

MEDai launches patient-specific early warning system for hospitals
The early-warning system, Pinpoint Review, generates predictions for acute-care patients, focusing on the likelihood of a patient developing a complication, like decubitus ulcers, acquiring a hospital-acquired infection or being readmitted. 22 April 2009

Primal Pictures launches reference tool for interpreting radiology scans
Primal Pictures has developed interactive software for teaching how to interpret radiological scans that provides users with an invaluable aid to cross section anatomy, CT and MRI interpretation. 10 April 2009

St Mary’s Hospital unveils advanced intensive care units
St Mary’s Hospital in London, has opened a leading-edge intensive care unit that enables 24/7 patient observation and monitoring, automated visitor management and videoconferencing between staff and consultants, operated from the patient's bedside. 10 April 2009

The International Diabetes Federation’s 20th World Diabetes Congress
The International Diabetes Federation (IDF) will organize its 20th World Diabetes Congress this year in Montreal, Canada from 18-22 October. The Congress is held every two years and is one of the world’s largest medical congresses. More details about the event and venue ... 9 April 2009

Ignorance of eye health risk associated with diabetes risks blindness for millions
A survey conducted by Transitions Optical, Inc. in the US reveals a dangerous lack of awareness about eye health risks, with less than 40% of the population surveyed correctly identifying vision issues as possible complications of diabetes. 9 April 2009

Roche completes xCELLigence family of cell analyser products
The new RTCA DP Instrument is applicable for flexible low-throughput research assays and uses up to three 16-well plates for simultaneous experiments. 9 April 2009

Carl Zeiss Meditec launches new OCT applications for eye surgery
The new optical coherence tomography (OCT) applications support cataract, refractive, glaucoma and retina procedures. 9 April 2009

GE introduces Carescape platform for wireless patient monitoring
GE Healthcare's Carescape Telemetry platform builds enables hospitals to simultaneously leverage multiple telemetry frequencies and co-ordinate cell phone, Wi-Fi and other wireless technologies on one infrastructure. 9 April 2009

Parabon NanoLabs to use power of grid computing to design novel macromolecules based on synthetic DNA
Parabon Computation has spun off Parabon NanoLabs to develop nano-scale products based on designer DNA technology. It will initially focus on developing nano-scale sensors for therapeutics, diagnostics and other molecular detection systems.
9 April 2009

Cardima surgical ablation probe receives EU approval
Cardima, Inc. has received CE Mark approval for its Surgical Ablation Probe with Stabilization Sheath. The system can be used in open-chest surgery in conjunction with other procedures, or as a thoroscopic standalone, closed-chest procedure. 9 April 2009

The AAD Reverb ArmProsthetic arm with built-in MP3 player
Advanced Arm Dynamics has launched the Reverb Arm, an 'activity-specific' prosthetic arm that has a built-in MP3 player and amplified sound. 9 April 2009

GE Healthcare gives digital radiography system green status
GE Healthcare has given its first line of digital radiography X-ray products ecomagination status, based on the systems’ energy and operational efficiency. 9 April 2009

Fluidigm quantification system allows genetic sequencing of picogram samples
The new system allows researchers to sequence rare genetic samples, lower costs, improve data quality and speed up time-to-results for next-generation DNA sequencing. 9 April 2009

BioImagene launches new Ki-67 algorithm for prostate image analysis
The algorithm is used to detect and provide quantitative measurement of the protein biomarker Ki-67. 9 April 2009

Karo Bio reports positive results for new glucose control compound for diabetes
Karo Bio’s compound KB3305, a liver selective antagonist for the glucocorticoid receptor, shows clinically relevant and statistically significant effects on plasma glucose levels in type 2 diabetes patients. 8 April 2009

BioAdvance Greenhouse invests $550,000 in Novira Therapeutics' antiviral drug technology
Novira is focused on the development of novel small-molecule drugs against medically-important viral targets. 8 April 2009

AtriCure’s cryoablation system receives US FDA clearance. 8 April 2009

Physio-Control receives US clearance for Lifepak 15 monitor/ defibrillator. 8 April 2009

Affymetrix launches microarray-based analysis system for cytogenetics
The new system, which includes arrays, reagents, and software, enables fast and reliable detection of known and novel chromosome aberrations. 8 April 2009

OrSense receives EU approval for non-invasive haemoglobin and pulse oximetry monitoring system
OrSense Ltd has received a European CE Mark for its NBM-200MP, a multi-parameter sensor for non-invasive continuous hemoglobin, low signal oximetry and pulse rate measurements. 8 April 2009

Imaging Diagnostic Systems develops new algorithm for CT laser mammography
The new reconstruction algorithm improves visualization of angiogenesis (cancer) in laser mammography images. 8 April 2009

Genedata strengthens TcLand Expression’s research informatics infrastructure for personalized medicine. 8 April 2009

AVEO and Biogen Idec in partnership to develop ErbB3-targeted antibodies. 8 April 2009

Aphios collaborates with VivaCell Biotechnology España to develop combination therapy for HIV latency. 8 April 2009

FluGen secures exclusive rights to novel vaccine-delivery technology
Flugen Inc., has secured rights to vaccine-delivery technology being commercialized by Ratio Inc. The easy-to-use, disposable micro-device painlessly delivers seasonal and pandemic influenza vaccines. 7 April 2009

Gene Bridges licenses recombineering technology to Daiichi Sankyo
Heidelberg-based Gene Bridges GmbH, has licenced its Red/ET recombination technology to Japanese company Daiichi Sankyo.  7 April 2009

IlluminOss photodynamic bone stabilization system receives EU approval
The system requires a 4.5mm pathway into the bone. A photo sensitive, liquid monomer is infused into the contours of the interior of the bone, then a light source converts the liquid monomer into a hardened polymer within 90 seconds, stabilizing the bone. 7 April 2009

Growth in data storage for digital medical imaging causing interoperability problems
It is essential that image archive storage solution providers, PACS vendors and image modality manufacturers become aware of the growing requirements of storage space, says Frost & Sullivan in a new report. 7 April 2009

Boston Scientific launches new coronary imaging catheter
Boston Scientific Corporation has launched its iCross coronary imaging catheter, a product designed to improve the deliverability of the company's intravascular ultrasound technology. 7 April 2009

Integrated care with electronic records reduces cardiac deaths by 73%
Kaiser Permanente has substantially improved the heart attack survival rate for its members in Colorado through an innovative program that links coronary artery disease patients, and teams of pharmacists, nurses, primary care doctors and cardiologists, with an electronic health record. 7 April 2009

Cardiac Science adds DICOM to cardiac systems
Cardiac Science has added DICOM connectivity to its Quinton Q-Stress cardiac stress testing system and Quinton Q-Tel cardiac rehabilitation system. 7 April 2009

HD technology ushers new era in minimally invasive surgery
High-definition (HD) video technology has measurably enhanced the ability of surgeons conducting minimally invasive surgery. End-to-end integration of HD devices used in a variety of MIS procedures represents a new era in disruptive technology. 7 April 2009

Intel and GE form $250m alliance to develop home healthcare technology
GE and Intel Corporation have entered into an alliance to market and develop home-based health technologies that will help the elderly live independently and patients with chronic conditions manage their care at home. 6 April 2009

CyberKnife radiosurgery for prostate cancer shows 100% PSA response
Low-risk prostate cancer patients were treated using CyberKnife radiosurgery. At a median follow-up of 33 months, no patient experienced a PSA recurrence and early side effects were no worse than other prostate cancer therapies. 6 April 2009

Patients and nurses benefit from in-bed patient monitoring system
The system comprises a mattress coverlet which is embedded with sensors that measure heart rate, respiratory rate and provides a bed-exit alert for fall prevention. 6 April 2009

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