News archive
February 2008

3mensio receives US clearance for vascular imaging software
3mensio Medical Imaging BV of the Netherlands has received US FDA 510(k) clearance to market its 3surgery vascular imaging  software in the US. 29 February 2008

Leica Microsystems expands electron microscopy business
Leica Microsystems (Wetzlar) has taken over Bal-Tec AG of Liechtenstein, a producer of instruments for sample preparation in scanning electron microscopy. 29 February 2008

Microsoft launches US fund to promote development of HealthVault applications
Microsoft Corp has launched the $3 million Microsoft HealthVault Be Well Fund to stimulate the research and development of online tools for its health application platform, HealthVault. The fund is aimed at stimulating solution development across a broad range of health disciplines. 28 February 2008

ICON acquires US clinical testing facilities with acquisition of Healthcare Discoveries
Ireland-based ICON has acquired Healthcare Discoveries from Catalyst Pharma Group for an initial US$12m. The acquisition gives ICON an 85-bed clinical pharmacology testing facility in Texas. 28 February 2008

Smiths Medical to distribute Life-Tech’s nerve-stimulating catheters
Smiths Medical will distribute the catheters as an addition to their current line of peripheral nerve-block products. Stimulating catheters are used for continuous peripheral nerve blocks in orthopaedic procedures to the shoulder and knee. 28 February 2008

Agfa, InterComponentWare and Sun form Open eHealth Foundation to boost interoperability
The ehealth market is set for explosive growth, driven by growing challenges to healthcare systems in industrialized societies, as well as new medical information and communication technologies. The Open eHealth Foundation will provide software components under an Open Source license that will boost the open standards-based exchange of medical information. 27 February 2008

Philips re-structures healthcare informatics business
Royal Philips Electronics has restructured its healthcare informatics businesses to include its entire portfolio of clinical information solutions, including patient monitoring, enterprise and clinical image management, anaesthesia information, women’s health information, and cardiology information systems. 27 February

Touch Bionics expands in US to meet demand for prosthetic hand
Scottish company Touch Bionics, developer of the world’s first commercially available bionic hand, has set up a US subsidiary, Touch Bionics, Inc. to help meet the growing demand for its revolutionary prosthetic hand. This followed the opening of a new headquarters and manufacturing facility in Scotland in January. 27 February 2008

Computers better at diagnosing Alzheimer's disease from MR scans of the brain
A study led by scientists at the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging at University College London has shown that computers can be cheaper, faster and more accurate than experts at identifying signs of Alzheimers from MR scans of the brain. 27 February 2008

Cambridge research team close to breakthrough in repairing spinal injuries
The Centre for Brain Repair research team believes it is close to a clinical treatment that could allow nerve fibres to regenerate within the spinal cord and also encourage remaining nerve fibres to work more effectively. 21 February 2008

Siemens launches MR & CT innovations in UK
Siemens launched its latest CT and MRI imaging products in the UK. A high-field 3T MRI system, the Magnetom Verio and an adaptable single-source CT, the Somatom Definition AS, have been designed to offer advanced imaging functionality at a viable capital cost for the UK health marketplace. 21 February 2008

Surgical navigation robots improve hip surgery training
A pilot study at Imperial College, London has shown that a surgical navigation robot could improve hip surgery and help end painful repeat hip operations. The new robot made medical undergraduates three times more accurate during practice hip operations. 20 February 2008

Radiologists feel virtual organs with 3D mouse
Researchers at Uppsala University have developed a method of analysing images of organs and 'feeling' the resulting virtual organs with a 3D mouse. This can help construct three-dimensional models of organs when surgery or radiation treatment is being planned. 20 February 2008

Ultrasound detection of emboli in brain during surgery reduces stroke rates 
Surgeons at the University of Leicester have developed a new technique to detect emboli that has helped reduce stroke rates during and after a form of heart surgery. 20 February 2008

Chest to distribute Aerocrine airway inflammation detector in Japan
Swedish airway products company Aerocrine AB has entered into a distribution agreement with Chest MI Inc to market and sell Aerocrine's Niox Mino in Japan. 20 February 2008

DNA test for assessing risk of prostate cancer
deCODE genetics has launched a test that can identify genetic markers associated with increased risk of prostate cancer. The company believes the test will better predict the risk of prostate cancer and help to optimize both screening and treatment. 20 February 2008

Royal Marsden Hospital completes world's first VMAT radiotherapy treatment
The Royal Marsden Hospital in Sutton, UK, successfully completed the first volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) radiation treatment for cancer in the world using a commercial product. 18 February 2008

Medrad and Possis Medical to merge
Bayer HealthCare affiliate Medrad, Inc and Possis Medical, Inc. have announced that they have agreed to merge in a deal worth about US$361 million. The merger is seen as combining complementary cardiology products: Medrad's contrast injection systems and Possis Medical's mechanical thrombectomy devices. 18 February 2008

US representatives call for more funding for prostate cancer research
Prostate cancer has become more common than breast cancer, yet advanced diagnostic imaging technologies comparable to mammograms remain unavailable. Over 20 US representatives have urged the US Department of Health and Human Services and National Institutes of Health to urgently fund research into the disease. 18 February 2008

European Commission sponsors study on regulating nanotechnology in the EU and US
The EC has awarded US$587,000 to a group of US and UK institutes, headed by the London School of Economics and Political Science, to compare nanotechnology regulation in the EU and US and assist a unified approach to regulation. 18 February 2008

Nonlinear Dynamics and UVP sign image analysis software distribution agreement
The agreement covers the promotion and supply of Nonlinear’s SameSpots image analysis software through UVP’s direct sales force and worldwide distributor network. 18 February 2008

St Jude Medical announces clinical study of deep brain stimulation for depression
St Jude Medical will begin enrollment in a clinical study of electrical stimulation of the brain's Brodmann area 25 for treating major depressive disorder in patients for whom currently-available treatments are not effective. 16 February 2008

Unilever extends collaboration with Transinsight in biomedical semantic searching
Unilever, one of the world’s largest consumer products companies, will continue working with German search technology company Transinsight in developing a semantic search solution to integrate internet and intranet searching. 15 February

Great Ormond Street Hospital opens innovative new diagnostic imaging centre for children
The new facility has been developed to provide a state-of-the-art diagnostic imaging and interventional treatment service whilst ensuring comfort for its young patients. 15 February 2008

iSOFT expands in Russian lab systems market
iSOFT Deutschland has strengthened its position in Russia with a partnership agreement with Moscow-based company ML Park to distribute and support iSOFT's laboratory information system (LIS) LabCentre. 15 February 2008

Leica Microsystems acquires Cell Analysis and Life Optics
Cell Analysis develops microscope image analysis software for histopathology while Life Optics makes head-mounted optical systems for surgery and dentistry. 15 February 2008

Acrongenomics targets Molecular Vision's microfluidics point-of-care diagnostics devices
Swiss technology investment group Acrongenomics, Inc. (OTCBB:AGNM), has announced an agreement with with Molecular Vision and The Imperial Venture Fund to acquire Molecular Vision by the end of the first quarter this year. 15 February 2008

Elekta signs brachytherapy sales sharing agreement with Xoft
Elekta will share identified sales opportunities for Xoft's Axxent electonic brachytherapy system in the radiation oncology market. The companies will also explore other areas of collaboration. 8 February 2008

Taking nanotechnology from lab to factory
An EU-funded 'network of excellence' has helped micro and nanotechnology make it from the laboratory to the factory. The Design for Micro & Nano Manufacture (Patent-DfMM) network involved teams from the fields of packaging, test engineering, reliability engineering, simulation and modelling. 8 February 2008

Medtronic partners with MediGuide to develop surgical navigational products
MediGuide has signed an agreement with Medtronic for co-development of medical positioning system- (MPS) enabled products. The agreement is based on providing Medtronic products with MediGuide's GPS-like (MPS) navigation capabilities to enhance various procedures. 8 February 2008

Miniaturised patient monitor from Welch Allyn
The PropaqLT is a highly intuitive patient monitor that can communicate with any Windows 2000/XP PC via a USB port, allowing healthcare professionals to customise parameters and print tabular trends and snapshots of patient data. 5 February 2008

Call for European transnational research proposals in nanoscience
Nanoscience Europe has announced a call for proposals for nanoscience research funding in Europe. A minimum of €16m will be distributed for the funding of innovative high-quality projects. 5 February 2008

A smart hologramSmart holograms help self-diagnosis for patients
Patients with chronic diseases such as diabetes, cardiac problems, kidney disorders or high blood pressure could benefit from the development of sensors made from a new type of hologram. 4 February 2008

Axon Lab to distribute iSOFT lab system in Switzerland
German company Axon Lab AG, a service provider for diagnostics and molecular biology in Austria, Germany and Switzerland has become a distribution partner for iSOFT's laboratory solution, LabCentre. 4 February 2008

US offers industry voluntary submission of nanotechnology hazards
Industry, non-governmental organizations and other groups in the US can voluntarily submit safety data on engineered nanoscale materials under the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) plan for the Nanoscale Materials Stewardship Program under the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA). 1 February 2008

iPods cleared of interfering with cardiac pacemakers
A study by the US Food and Drug Administration has refuted claims that portable music players, such as Apple's iPod, interfere with cardiac pacemakers. The study is reported in the open access journal BioMedical Engineering OnLine. 1 February 2008

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