News archive
December 2008
Medtronic acquires remaining shares of
CryoCath Technologies Inc.
31 December 2008
Medtronic acquires Influent Medical's Repose
product line
Medtronic, Inc. has acquired InfluENT Medical's Repose GAHM product line
for the treatment of obstructive sleep apnea. 31 December 2008
St Jude Medical acquires MediGuide
St Jude Medical, Inc. has acquired all of the outstanding shares of
MediGuide Inc., including the 41.3% interest owned by Elbit Systems
Ltd., for $283 million in cash. 31 December 2008
St Jude Medical acquires Radi Medical Systems
St Jude Medical, Inc (NYSE: STJ) has completed the acquisition of
Radi Medical Systems AB for $250 million in cash. 31 December 2008
U-Systems, Inc. announces technology licensing
agreement with Siemens Healthcare
The U-Systems’ somo•VIEWer advanced workstation for Automated Breast
Ultrasound has been licensed for use with the newly introduced Siemens’
ACUSON S2000 Automated Breast Volume Scanner (ABVS). 31 December 2008
Nihon Kohden acquires Neurotronics
Japanese company Nihon Kohden Corporation has announced the mutual
agreement of acquisition of a 100% share of Florida-based Neurotronics
Incorporated. 31 December 2008
BioNJ launches tool kit to assist bioscience
companies in troubled economy
BioNJ, the trade association for the US state of New Jersey's bioscience
industry, has launched the Troubled Times Tool Kit. The virtual program
was developed to assist New Jersey's bioscience companies by providing
strategies and tactics for weathering the current economic storm. 31
December 2008
Eating dark chocolate at Christmas can help
prevent over-eating
Dark chocolate is far more filling than milk chocolate, lessening our
craving for sweet, salty and fatty foods, so can eating it may be an
efficient way to keep your weight down over Christmas, according to
research at the University of Copenhagen. 22 December 2008
Olympus enters into sales and distribution
partnership with Advanced Surgical Concepts
Olympus has signed an exclusive agreement to distribute the minimally
invasive surgery products of Irish company Advanced Surgical Concepts
worldwide. 22 December 2008
deCODE discovers common genetic variations
contributing to risk of osteoporosis
Scientists from deCODE genetics and colleagues from Australia and
Denmark have reported the discovery of common single-letter variations (SNPs)
in the human genome linked to low bone mineral density (BMD), the
clinical measurement used to diagnose osteoporosis. 22 December 2008
Siemens to integrate laboratory and clinical
systems at Hospital Clinic Barcelona
Siemens Healthcare has signed an agreement with Hospital Clinic in
Barcelona, Spain, to integrate the use of laboratory diagnostics,
imaging and information technology systems to improve management of
patient care from early detection and diagnosis of diseases or
conditions to patient treatment. 22 December 2008
EU legislation
threatens use of MRI scanners
Urgent action and public pressure is still required to stop the
European Union adopting legislation which will restrict the use of
magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanners throughout Europe, according
to the UK's Institute of Physics. 22 December 2008
Hidalgo physiological monitoring system gains
CE approval
Produced by Jaltek Systems Equivital is an ambulatory, wearable, high
performance physiological system providing continuous real-time
visibility of an individual’s vital signs. 19 December 2008
German hospital finance reform improves access
to medical technologies
The German parliament has paved the way for the use of more innovative
medical technologies with the passing of the Hospital Financing Reform
Act. 19 December 2008
First UK prostate patient treated with
RapidArc radiotherapy
A 65-year-old grandfather of six has become the first cancer patient in
the UK to be treated using RapidArc radiotherapy technology from Varian
Medical Systems. 17 December 2008
St Jude Medical announces name change for
neuromodulation division
St Jude Medical, Inc. (NYSE:STJ) has announced that its neuromodulation
division, formerly Advanced Neuromodulation Systems, has adopted the St
Jude Medical name. 17 December 2008
Fresenius Medical Care dialysis products
awarded Nordic Ecolabel
Fresenius Medical Care has been awarded a Nordic Ecolable license for
its peritoneal dialysis bags. The first Ecolabelling of its kind in the
world, the dialysis Ecolabel applies to peritoneal dialysis bags and
disposables used both in hospitals and in homes. 17 December 2008
German innovation for HIV/AIDS diagnostics
used 2.5 million times in 2008
During 2008, 2.5 million patient tests have been performed with Partec's
CyFlow system, which is already supporting more than 1 million people
living with HIV/AIDS. 17 December 2008
Philips ranked first for patient monitoring
systems in 2008
Royal Philips Electronics has announced that customers have again rated
Philips Healthcare first in overall service performance for patient
monitoring systems in the annual IMV ServiceTrak survey. 15 December
2008
Technology innovation award for OBS Medical's patient monitoring
system
OBS Medical, a wholly-owned subsidiary of British company Oxford
BioSignals, has been awarded the prestigious 2008 North American Frost &
Sullivan Technology Innovation Award for its Visensia early-warning
patient monitoring system. 15 December 2008
EU project developing DNA diagnostic device
for doctor's desktop
The SMART-BIOMEMS project is developing a lab on a microfluidic chip
that can be used in a portable diagnostic device to simultaneously and
automatically analyse various DNA samples with high precision. 10
December 2008
fMRI shows robotic hand exerciser improves
brain function of stroke patients
Chronic stroke patients can be rehabilitated by a hand-operated robotic
device, according to a study that used functional magnetic resonance
scans (fMRI) to map changes in the brain. 10 December 2008
New molecular imaging technique targets hard
to detect breast cancers
Breast-specific gamma imaging (BSGI), an emerging molecular imaging
technology, is effective in the detection of cancers not found on
mammograms or by clinical exam. 10 December 2008
Hospital on a chip could increase survival of battlefield wounded
Researchers in the US aim to develop an implantable biochip that
could diagnose and provide medication to soldiers as soon as they are
injured. Survival of battlefield wounds often depends on the level of
treatment within the first 30 minutes, so providing instant treatment to
wounded soldiers before a medic can reach them could increase chances of
survival. 8 December 2008
Mathematical breakthrough could remove donuts from MRI scanners
Researchers in Ohio and France have solved a longstanding scientific
mystery involving magnetic resonance — the physical phenomenon that
allows the MRI scanners used by hospitals to take images of tissues deep
within the human body. Their discovery, a new mathematical algorithm,
should lead to new MRI techniques with more informative and sharper
images. 8 December 2008
IBM breaks new ground with open-standard medical imaging and
archiving solutions
IBM has unveiled a powerful combination of advanced imaging and
information archiving technologies that provides healthcare and medical
research organisations with complete and timely access to critical
imaging and diagnostic information at the point of care — regardless of
the source, age or location of the information. 8 December 2008
Smiths Medical renews research partnership
with Great Ormond Street Hospital and University College London
The partnership will provide sponsorship for the Smiths Medical
Professor of Anaesthesia and Critical Care at UCL and research into
paediatric respiratory physiology and paediatric anaesthesia and
intensive care. 5 December 2008.
Global life science businesses seeking UK
partners in biotechnology
UK companies have an opportunity to meet and do business with
international players in the life science industry at The Biotechnology
Business Exchange (BBE) in London on Monday 8 December. 4 December
2008
Neglected diseases targeted by Genzyme and the
International Center for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology
The collaboration to advance treatments for neglected diseases will
initially focus on the development of new, improved treatments for
malaria, a debilitating infectious disease of developing countries. 4
December 2008
NeuroNexus Technologies and Philips partner to
develop deep brain stimulation devices
The partnership combines Philips Research’s strengths in
microelectronics, signal processing, ultra-low power system design and
miniaturization with NeuroNexus Technologies’ expertise in micro-scale
electrode design and fabrication. The first aim is to develop a device
to treat parkinson's disease. 4 December 2008
HepaLife liver stem cell line launched onboard
Space Shuttle
A liver stem cell line developed by HepaLife Technologies, Inc. was
launched on board Space Shuttle Endeavour on its recent 15-day mission
in November. 4 December 2008
Medtronic gains EU approval for world's first
MRI-safe pacemaker
Medtronic, Inc., has received the CE mark for the first-ever
MR-conditional pacemaker system, the EnRhythm MRI SureScan pacemaker and
CapSureFix MRI SureScan pacing leads (Model 5086MRI). 4 December 2008
PerkinElmer launches high performance imaging
acquisition and analysis software
The Volocity 5 software is a complete solution for 3D and 4D image
acquisition from fluorescence microscopy systems, allowing data
visualisation, deconvolution, publication, object measurement, tracking
and charting. 4 December 2008
Computer model improves design of ultrasound
transducer
Researcher Koos Huijssen of the Delft University of Technology has
developed a computer model that can predict the sound transmission of
improved designs for ultrasound transducers. It will lead to better
imaging for ultrasound scanners. 4 December 2008
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