Diagnostics & Imaging Week articles from March 2003

Diagnostics & Imaging Week archives from March 2003

Matritech wins an additional approval for BladderChek test.
March 6, 2003... Matritech's (Newton, Massachusetts) NMP22 BladderChek Test, already in use to help urologists determine if a patient's bladder cancer Is recurring, now has been approved by the FDA as an aid in the initial diagnosis of cancer. The test,...

Meptide tech helps diagnosis of neurodegenerative disease. (Report from Europe).
March 6, 2003... Meptides are small methylated peptide fragments which can block protein/peptide aggregation, preventing the pathogenic process called amyloidosis which is associated with many age-related diseases. Senexis (Manchester, England) is a new...

Pathology lab developments. (Report from Europe).(Brief Article)
March 6, 2003... Leica Microsystems (Nussloch, Germany) has launched the CM3050S cryostat family for a wide range of applications in clinical histopathology and biomedical research. In particular a new electronic step motor precision control is claimed to...

Euroimmun develops carcinoid tumor tests. (Report from Europe).(Brief Article)
March 6, 2003... Carcinoid tumors are endocrine tumors of the gastrointestinal tract that occur most frequently in the 60 to 70 age group. Raised serotonin levels indicate carcinoid tumors, while increased levels of catecholamines and metanephrines are...

Humidity wakes up anthrax spores, hands them keys to practical desktop detection.
March 6, 2003... It took less than a teaspoonful of a strange powder, delivered in sealed, crudely addressed envelopes, to kill five Americans and critically infect eight others. The devil in those details, on the East Coast late in 2001, had all the earmarks...

ADA study shows sharp rise in cost of diabetes treatment.(American Diabetes Association )
March 6, 2003... The annual cost of diabetes in medical expenditures and lost productivity climbed from $98 billion in 1997 to $132 billion in 2002, according to a study by the American Diabetes Association (ADA; Alexandria, Virginia) published in the March...

AMDL receives a conditional commitment on added capital. (Financings roundup).
March 6, 2003... A Diagnostics & Imaging Week Staff Report AMDL (Tustin, California), a developer of tests for the early detection of cancer and other serious diseases, said it has received a conditional letter of intent for an investment by a strategic...

Cepheid. (Financings roundup).(Brief Article)
March 6, 2003... * Cepheid (Sunnyvale, California) sold 1.36 million shares of its common stock to certain investors for proceeds of about 55 million. EHS Securities acted as Cepheid's exclusive selling agent for the offering. The offered shares are registered...

Ethics advisers urge scrutiny of genetic test advertising.
March 6, 2003... The explosion of Internet-based advertising for genetic tests has provoked a sharp reaction from the European Union's top advisers on ethics. They issued a call for caution last week, and promised to investigate the matter closely. The...

ChromaVision Medical Systems (San Juan Capistrano, California), a provider of automated cell-imaging systems and manufacturer of the ACIS system, has signed an agreement with privately held Lakewood Pathology Associates (LPA; Lakewood, New Jersey) designating LPA as an accredited laboratory Center of Excellence in the ChromaVision Access remote pathology program. (Agreements).(Brief Article)
March 6, 2003... * ChromaVision Medical Systems (San Juan Capistrano, California), a provider of automated cell-imaging systems and manufacturer of the ACIS system, has signed an agreement with privately held Lakewood Pathology Associates (LPA; Lakewood, New...

Misys Healthcare Systems (Tucson, Arizona), which focuses on healthcare IT and is part of Misys plc (Evesham, UK), has signed a new contract with University Hospital Birmingham, NHS Trust. (Agreements).(Brief Article)
March 6, 2003... * Misys Healthcare Systems (Tucson, Arizona), which focuses on healthcare IT and is part of Misys plc (Evesham, UK), has signed a new contract with University Hospital Birmingham, NHS Trust. The agreement covers the acquisition, deployment and...

Dade Behring to trade on Nasdaq.(Brief Article)
March 6, 2003... Dade Behring (Deerfield, Illinois) said it would begin trading its common stock on the Nasdaq National Stock Market under the ticker symbol DADE. The company expected to begin trading Feb. 27. Trading of Dade Behring stock on the...

Quest completes calculation of payout in Unilab exchange. (Deals roundup).(Brief Article)
March 6, 2003... A Diagnostics & imaging Week Staff Report Quest Diagnostics (Teterboro, New Jersey) reported the final calculations regarding the consideration to be paid to Unilab (Tarzana, California) shareholders who elected cash in the previously...

Syn X Pharma (Toronto, Ontario) said that after achieving the first in a series of milestones, it received a significant payment from Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics (Raritan, New Jersey), a unit of Johnson & Johnson (New Brunswick, New Jersey). (Financings roundup).(Brief Article)
March 6, 2003... * Syn X Pharma (Toronto, Ontario) said that after achieving the first in a series of milestones, it received a significant payment from Ortho-Clinical Diagnostics (Raritan, New Jersey), a unit of Johnson & Johnson (New Brunswick, New Jersey)....

Hutchinson Technology. (Financings roundup).(Brief Article)
March 6, 2003... * Hutchinson Technology (Hutchinson, Minnesota) said it has given notice to redeem its 6% convertible subordinated notes due 2005. The redemption date will be March 26 at a price of 101.71% of the principal amount of the notes, plus interest...

Boston Biomedica. (Financings roundup).
March 6, 2003... * Boston Biomedica (West Bridgewater, Massachusetts) said its board of directors has adopted a shareholder purchase rights plan and has declared a distribution of one rights for each outstanding share of the company's common stock to...

Health Care Property Investors. (Financings roundup).(Brief Article)
March 6, 2003... * Health Care Property Investors (Newport, Beach, California) reported the execution of an agreement for the issuance and sale of $200 million of its 6% senior unsecured notes due March 1, 2015, priced at 99.443%. The company said that the...

Expression Analysis. (People in Places).(Brief Article)
March 6, 2003... * Steve McPhail has been named chief executive officer for Expression Analysis (EA; Durham, North Carolina), a microarray genetics testing and analysis organization. McPhail replaces Donald Holzworth, president and CEO of Analytical Sciences,...

Orasure Technologies. (People in Places).(Brief Article)
March 6, 2003... * Douglas Watson has been appointed chairman of the board of directors of Orasure Technologies (Bethlehem, Pennsylvania), replacing William Crouse, who has announced his retirement from the board. Watson joined OraSure's board last May. Prior...

SourceOne Healthcare Technologies. (People in Places).(Brief Article)
March 6, 2003... * Maribeth McNeeley has been promoted from manager of customer care to director of customer care for SourceOne Healthcare Technologies (Cleveland, Ohio), a Platinum Equity company. The company also named Paul Dunn as its treasury manager. Dunn...

Acusphere. (Product Briefs).(Brief Article)
March 6, 2003... * Acusphere (Watertown, Massachusetts) has initiated a Phase III clinical study of A1-700, an ultrasound contrast agent designed for detecting coronary artery disease in patients with ischemic heart disease. The Phase III program began recently...

Calypte Biomedical. (Product Briefs).(Brief Article)
March 6, 2003... * Calypte Biomedical (Alameda, California) received FDA approval to eliminate the lot release testing requirement for the company's Cambridge Biotech HIV-1 Urine Western Blot test. On the heels of the Jan. 8 approval eliminating FDA lot release...

CeMines. (Product Briefs).(Brief Article)
March 6, 2003... * CeMines (Evergreen, Colorado) said that in additional clinical testing, its blood test correctly identified the presence of gastrointestinal cancer in each of the 26 patients tested. CeMines' Molecular FingerPrinting tests have now correctly...

Given Imaging. (Product Briefs).(Brief Article)
March 6, 2003... * Given Imaging (Yoqneam, Israel) said the FDA has cleared the Suspected Blood Indicator (SBI), a new feature of the Given Diagnostic Platform that automatically marks images that correlate with the existence of suspected blood or red areas....

M-Biotech. (Product Briefs).(Brief Article)
March 6, 2003... * M-Biotech (Salt Lake City, Utah) said it has received a third U.S. patent for the hydrogel technology used in its implantable glucose biosensor. The M-Biotech biosensor was developed to overcome the pain and inconvenience of existing...

Novitron International (Newton, Massachusetts) said its Dutch subsidiary, Vital Scientific NV, has received FDA clearance to market the Selectra-XL and the V-Twin Clinical Chemistry analyzers in the U.S. (Product Briefs).(Brief Article)
March 6, 2003... * Novitron International (Newton, Massachusetts) said its Dutch subsidiary, Vital Scientific NV, has received FDA clearance to market the Selectra-XL and the V-Twin Clinical Chemistry analyzers in the U.S. The Vitalab Selectra-XL is...

Schick Technologies. (Product Briefs).(Brief Article)
March 6, 2003... * Schick Technologies (New York) reported the introduction of CDR Wireless, which the company calls the world's first wireless instant dental X-ray system, at the Chicago Dental Society Midwinter Meeting. CDR Wireless combines all the...

Quest study indicates Thin Prep superior to conventional Pap.(Quest Diagnostics Inc.)(pap test)
March 13, 2003... A study by researchers at Quest Diagnostics (Teterboro, New Jersey) of Cytyc's (Boxborough, Massachusetts) ThinPrep Pap Test compared to the conventional Pap smear showed that the ThinPrep Pap test increased detection of high-grade squamous...

Biosite's ProfilER test for heart attack wins FDA clearance.(Biosite Inc.)(Food and Drug Administration)(Brief Article)
March 13, 2003... Biosite (San Diego, California) has received FDA clearance for its Triage Cardio ProfilER as an aid in the diagnosis of myocardial infraction, most commonly referred to as heart attack; as an aid in the diagnosis and assessment of the severity...

Biacore says SPR tech has cancer proteomics potential. (Report from Europe).(Biacore International)(surface plasmon resonance)(Brief Article)
March 13, 2003... Surface plasmon resonance (SPR) is claimed by its developers, Biacore International (Uppsala, Sweden), to have enormous potential in proteomics studies in cancer research. SPR technology can supply detailed functional information about protein...

Roche, RWD Tech roll out CD lab training, online certification.(Roche Molecular Diagnostics)(RWD Technologies)
March 13, 2003... Roche Molecular Diagnostics (Indianapolis, Indiana) and RWD Technologies (Baltimore, Maryland) this week rolled out three training and certification programs for clinical laboratory professionals delivered via CD-Rom and online testing. ...

Quest wraps up Unilab buy; SpectRx sells Bilichek line. (Deals roundup).(mergers and aquisitions between Respironics Inc. and SpectRx Inc., and Quest Diagnostics Inc. and Unilab Corp.)
March 13, 2003... Quest Diagnostics (Teterboro, New Jersey) wrapped up its big acquisition. Bringing a final end to a series of delays, Quest reported that it successfully completed the cash tender offer for all of the outstanding $100.8 million 12-3/4% senior...

Photoelectron. (Deals roundup).(Photoelectron Corp. declares bankruptcy)(Brief Article)
March 13, 2003... Photoelectron (North Billerica, Massachusetts) said that its previously announced efforts to obtain long-term financing for its business have been unsuccessful to date. Accordingly, the board of directors has decided to seek a buyer for the...

Dade Behring nets $1.48B; Alliance advances revenue. (Earnings roundup).(Dade Behring Inc.)(Alliance Imaging Inc.)
March 13, 2003... Dade Behring (Deerfield, Illinois) said sales in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 climbed by 13% to $.347.1 million from $305.9 million in 4Q01, while the net loss was $48.6 million, nearly double the year-earlier loss of $24.9 million. ...

Cantel Medical. (Earnings roundup).(Cantel Medical Corp.)(Brief Article)
March 13, 2003... Infection prevention and control products company Cantel Medical (Little Falls, New Jersey) reported net income of $2.38 million or 24 cents a diluted share for the second quarter ended Jan. 31, on sales of $34.43 million, a 14% increase over...

Diametics Medical. (Earnings roundup).(Brief Article)
March 13, 2003... Diametics Medical (St. Paul, Minnesota) said sales in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 slipped to $1.9 million from $6.4 million in the comparable quarter, impacted by the termination of its exclusive distribution agreement with Philips Medical...

iCad. (Earnings roundup).(financial statistics of ICAD Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 13, 2003... iCAD (Nashua, New Hampshire), a developer of computer-aided detection (CAD) imaging technology for the early detection of breast cancer, said sales increased in both the fourth quarter and year ended Dec. 31. Quarterly sales grew to $2.16...

Micro Therapeutics. (Earnings roundup).(fourth quarter sales of Micro Therapeutics Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 13, 2003... Micro Therapeutics (MTI; Irvine, California) said sales in the fourth quarter ended Dec. 31 doubled to $3.8 million from $1.9 million in 4Q01, while the net loss also doubled to $13.4 million or 55 cents a share from the loss of $6.4 million or...

E-Z-EM to repurchase 300,000 shares of its common stock. (Financings roundup).(E-Z-EM Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 13, 2003... E-Z-EM (Lake Success, New York) said its board of directors has authorized the repurchase by the company of up to 300,000 shares of common stock. The program, which the board intends to review regularly, allows for shares to be repurchased from...

New subsidiary for Suni Imaging. (Briefly Noted).(Suni Imaging Microsystems )(Brief Article)
March 13, 2003... Suni Imaging Microsystems (San Jose California) reported establishing a new subsidiary, Suni Medical Imaging, which will perform product development, manufacturing and marketing of its Intra-oral Digital Radiography Systems and Digital...

Osteoporosis gene identified. (Report from Europe).(Brief Article)
March 13, 2003... Roche Diagnostics (Mannheim, Germany) and partner deCODE genetics (Reykjavik, Iceland) said that deCODE researchers had identified numerous variations within a single gene on chromosome 20 which appears to confer carriers with an increased risk...

Sample-preparation microlaboratory. (Report from Europe).(Brief Article)
March 13, 2003... Gyros (Uppsala. Sweden) has used its miniaturized laboratory technology to develop a fully automated mass spectrometry (MS) sample preparation microlaboratory in CD format. Launched last year, the MALDI SPI integrates the steps of...

Bayer, Morphosys in collaboration. (Report from Europe).(Bayer AG, MorphoSys AG develop anti-tumor antibody)(Brief Article)
March 13, 2003... Bayer (Leverkusen, Germany) has acquired the rights from Morphosys (Martinsried, Germany) to develop a HuCAL antibody against a solid-tumor target. The antibody, which Bayer says shows significant anti-tumor efficacy in animal tumor...

TriPath Imaging (Burlington, North Carolina) said it has entered into a collaboration with Quest Diagnostics (Teterboro, New Jersey), a provider of diagnostic laboratory testing, information and services. (Agreements).(TriPath Imaging Inc.)(Quest Diagnostics Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 13, 2003... TriPath Imaging (Burlington, North Carolina) said it has entered into a collaboration with Quest Diagnostics (Teterboro, New Jersey), a provider of diagnostic laboratory testing, information and services. Under terms of the agreement, Quest...

Research Systems (RSI; Boulder, Colorado), a wholly owned subsidiary of Eastman Kodak (Rochester, New York), and the Nuclear Medicine Group of Siemens Medical Solutions (Malvern, Pennsylvania), a unit of Siemens AG (Erlangen, Germany), reported the formation of a strategic partnership to bring RSI's Watsyn software development platform to Siemens' e.soft nuclear medicine workstation. (Agreements).(Research Systems Inc.)(Siemens Medical Solutions Health Services Corp.)(Brief Article)
March 13, 2003... Research Systems (RSI; Boulder, Colorado), a wholly owned subsidiary of Eastman Kodak (Rochester, New York), and the Nuclear Medicine Group of Siemens Medical Solutions (Malvern, Pennsylvania), a unit of Siemens AG (Erlangen, Germany), reported...

Fuji in dry imaging film effort. (Briefly Noted).(Fuji Photo Film U.S.A. Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 13, 2003... Fuji Photo Film (Stamford, Connecticut), the parent of Fujifilm Medical Systems USA, said its Medical Products Division in Greenwood, South Carolina, has begun totally integrated manufacturing of the newest generation of dry medical imaging...

More payors cover Given capsule. (Briefly Noted).(Given Imaging's capsule endoscope covered by more health plans)(Brief Article)
March 13, 2003... Given Imaging (Norcross, Georgia) reported that six new payors have established coverage policies for the company's M2A capsule endoscope. With these policies, 70 million individuals in the U.S. now can potentially benefit from access to the...

Health Net partners with Alere. (Briefly Noted).(Health Net of California Inc.)(Alere Medical)(Brief Article)
March 13, 2003... Health Net (Los Angeles, California) has partnered with Alere Medical (San Francisco, California) to expand its congestive heart failure (CHF) disease management program to health plan members in Connecticut, New Jersey and New York. Using...

Alliance Imaging. (People In Places).(Alliance Imaging Inc. selects vice president)(Brief Article)
March 13, 2003... James King has been named regional vice president for Alliance Imaging (Anaheim, California). He will be based in Dallas, Texas, and will be responsible for managing the sales and operations of diagnostic imaging services in the company's...

Fischer Imaging Corp. (People In Places).(chief technology officer selected)(Brief Article)
March 13, 2003... Roman Janer has been named chief technology officer for Fischer Imaging (Denver, Colorado). Janer previously served as vice president of technology at Hologic. Fischer Imaging manufactures specialty medical Imaging systems.

Lumenis. (People In Places).(Lumenis Inc. names executive vice president)(Brief Article)
March 13, 2003... Wade Hampton has been named executive vice president of the Medical Business Unit of Lumenis (Yokneam, Israel). Hampton was formerly vice president of International in the Coherent Medical Group when it was acquired by Lumenis in April 2001. He...

Non-Invasive Monitoring Systems. (People In Places).(software engineer promoted)(Brief Article)
March 13, 2003... Emerance Gummels has been promoted from senior software engineer and quality assurance manager to product manager in charge of the acceleration therapeutics product line for Non-Invasive Monitoring Systems (NIMS; North Bay Village, Florida)....

Universal Hospital Services. (People In Places).(vice president selected)(Brief Article)
March 13, 2003... Joseph Schiesl has been appointed senior vice president, medical equipment outsourcing, for Universal Hospital Services (UHS; Bloomington, Minnesota). Schiesl is responsible for managing the medical equipment outsourcing business. Previously,...

iCAD. (Product Briefs).(Brief Article)
March 13, 2003... iCAD (Nashua, New Hampshire) said that it has received approval from the FDA to market a new version of its CAD software with the highest overall cancer detection sensitivity in the industry. The company said the software improves detection...

Meridian Co. Ltd. (Seoul, Korea) said its U.S. subsidiary, Meridian America Medical, has begun sale of the ABR-2000 (Autonomic Bioelectric Response Recorder) in the U.S. market. (Product Briefs).(Brief Article)
March 13, 2003... Meridian Co. Ltd. (Seoul, Korea) said its U.S. subsidiary, Meridian America Medical, has begun sale of the ABR-2000 (Autonomic Bioelectric Response Recorder) in the U.S. market. The ABR-2000 is an automatic, whole body-screening device used to...

Philips Medical Systems. (Product Briefs).(Philips Medical Systems Inc. presents enhance CT software)(Brief Article)
March 13, 2003... Philips Medical Systems (Andover, Massachusetts) introduced a new CT Lung Nodule Assessment and Comparison option at this week's European Congress of Radiology in Vienna, Austria. The new option comprises a program that provides quantitative...

R2 Technology. (Product Briefs).(R2 Technology Inc. presents enhanced medical diagnostic software)(Brief Article)
March 13, 2003... R2 Technology (Sunnyvale, California) showcased its new ImageChecker CT software with OmniCAD technology for the efficient detection of lung nodules in multi-detector Computed Tomography exams at the European Congress of Radiology meeting in...

Viatronix (Stony Brook, New York) said it has completed integration of its V3D-Colon and V3D-Explorer packages with the Sectra PACS through Sectra's (Linkoping, Sweden) Clinical Solutions Network. (Product Briefs).(Viatronix Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 13, 2003... Viatronix (Stony Brook, New York) said it has completed integration of its V3D-Colon and V3D-Explorer packages with the Sectra PACS through Sectra's (Linkoping, Sweden) Clinical Solutions Network. The combined products were on display at the...

Epigenomics, Roche fashion potential $105m diag deal.(Epigenomics AG)(Roche Diagnostics Corp.)(cancer diagnostics alliance)
March 20, 2003... Epigenomics AG (Berlin, Germany) stands to gain $105 million in a three-year deal with Roche Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) that's focused on developing cancer diagnostics. Specifically, the purpose of the alliance is to develop a range...

Nellcor thermometer-like device targets early marker of sepsis.(Nellcor Inc.)
March 20, 2003... Warning: If you are ever put in an intensive care unit with sepsis, your chances of coming out alive are only about 50% or so. According to the National Initiative on Sepsis Education, severe sepsis is the most common cause of death in...

OncoGenome Sciences raises E14m for cancer diagnostics. (Report from Europe).(OncoGenome Sciences BV)
March 20, 2003... OncoGenome Sciences BV (Liege, Belgium) raised EUR 14 million in its first financing round to progress Its plan to develop a range of genomics-derived clinical testing services and diagnostic kits for the early detection of cancer. The...

Med-Tel in recapitalization; iScience closes series B. (Financings roundup).(Med-Tel International Corp.)(Brief Article)
March 20, 2003... Parthenon Capital (PCAP, Boston, Massachusetts), a middle-market private equity firm, said it has led a $19 million recapitalization of Med-Tel International (McLean, Virginia). Med-Tel, founded in 1994, is an owner and operator of diagnostic...

U.S. Army buys Orex systems to gear up for Middle East war. (Grants/contracts).(digital radiography systems)
March 20, 2003... In conjunction with increased military buildup in the Middle East and the Army's potential need to accelerate battlefield diagnoses, the U.S. military has purchased 26 more Orex radiological systems from SourceOne Healthcare Technologies...

To help reach rural citizens in need of specialty healthcare services, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield (Indianapolis, Indiana) has awarded a $250,000 grant to the University of Virginia's (Charlottesville, Virginia) Office of Telemedicine to extend the reach of specialty care into rural, medically underserved areas of Virginia. (Grants/contracts).(Brief Article)
March 20, 2003... * To help reach rural citizens in need of specialty healthcare services, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield (Indianapolis, Indiana) has awarded a $250,000 grant to the University of Virginia's (Charlottesville, Virginia) Office of Telemedicine...

MDI reports progress in talks on partnership, acquisition. (Deals roundup).(Molecular Diagnostics Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 20, 2003... Molecular Diagnostics (MDI; Chicago, Illinois) reported what it called "substantial progress" in merger and license/strategic partner discussions with various companies. As previously announced, CEO and Chairman Peter Gombrich said that "a...

CompuMed CEO issues shareholder letter.(CompuMed Inc.)(chief executive officer)(Brief Article)
March 20, 2003... Jerry McLaughlin, president and CEO of CompuMed (Los Angeles, California), issued a letter to shareholders providing an update on management's progress in achieving its dual goals of revenue growth and long-term profitability. McLaughlin said,...

HDI withdraws from SmallCap Market.(Hypertension Diagnostics Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 20, 2003... Hypertension Diagnostics (HDI; St. Paul. Minnesota) has requested a withdrawal from the Nasdaq SmallCap Market effective as of the open of the markets on Friday so that its securities may be listed on the OTC Bulletin Board. The company's...

Siemens to develop all-digital facility.(Siemens Corp.)(Brief Article)
March 20, 2003... Siemens Corp., a subsidiary of Siemens AG (Munich, Germany), has entered into a multi-year alliance with Scott & White Memorial Hospital and Scott, Sherwood and Brindley Foundation to develop the Center for Advanced Medicine, a fully...

iScience Surgical. (Financings roundup).(financial support)(Brief Article)
March 20, 2003... iScience Surgical (San Francisco, California), a developer of imaging systems and microsurgical instruments for the minimally invasive treatment of glaucoma, said it has closed its Series B financing, raising $7 million. Prism Venture Partners...

Sectra Imtec AB enters partnership with Confirma. (Agreements).(Confirma Technology Corp.)(Brief Article)
March 20, 2003... Confirma (Kirkland, Washington), a company focused on developing CAD systems for medical imaging applications, has entered into a partnership agreement with Sectra Imtec AB (Link, ping, Sweden). Under the agreement, Confirma's CADstream system...

NICE guidelines push insulin pumps. (Report from Europe).(National Institute for Clinical Excellence)(Brief Article)
March 20, 2003... Guidelines issued by the UK's National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE) to the National Health Service (NHS) recommend for the first time that insulin pumps be made available to some Type 1 diabetes patients in England and Wales. Pump...

BSE test kit to be launched in 2Q03. (Report from Europe).(bovine spongiform encephalopathy )(Brief Article)
March 20, 2003... Pierce Biotechnology Inc., a U.S. subsidiary of Perbio Science AB (Helinsborg, Sweden), and Prionics AG (Zurich, Switzerland), said they expected to launch the Prionics-Check Luminescent Immuno Assay Test Kit for bovine spongiform...

Aspect Medical Systems (Newton, Massachusetts) said it has entered into a multi-year licensing agreement with Dixtal Biomedica (Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil) to integrate Aspect's Bispectral Index (BIS) technology into Dixtal's patient monitoring systems sold in Brazil.(Aspect Medical Systems Inc.)(Brief Article)
March 20, 2003... * Aspect Medical Systems (Newton, Massachusetts) said it has entered into a multi-year licensing agreement with Dixtal Biomedica (Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil) to integrate Aspect's Bispectral Index (BIS) technology into Dixtal's patient monitoring...

Bayer Diagnostics.(Bayer Diagnostics Div.)(enhanced glucose monitor approved)(Brief Article)
March 20, 2003... * Bayer Diagnostics (Tarrytown, New York) received A clearance for Ascensia Breeze, its newest blood glucose monitor. The first meter to debut under Bayer's new Ascensia line of diabetes care products and services, the Ascensia Breeze blood...

Given Imaging.(more health insurance companies cover capsule endoscopy costs)(Given Imaging Ltd.)(Brief Article)
March 20, 2003... * Given Imaging (Yoqneam, Israel) said that the Austrian Health Ministry has initiated reimbursement for capsule endoscopy throughout the Austrian hospital system. Reimbursement was effective Jan. 1 and covers a broad range of gastrointestinal...

Palomar Technologies (Vista, California) said that Hologic's Direct Radiography Division (Bedford, Massachusetts) has selected Palomar's 3500-II automatic component assembly machine to automate production of hybrid microelectronics used in its DirectRay radiographic imaging technology.(Palomar Technologies Corp.)(Direct Radiography Corp.)(Brief Article)
March 20, 2003... * Palomar Technologies (Vista, California) said that Hologic's Direct Radiography Division (Bedford, Massachusetts) has selected Palomar's 3500-II automatic component assembly machine to automate production of hybrid microelectronics used in...

Varian.(Varian Medical Systems Inc. introduces newest medical software)(Brief Article)
March 20, 2003... * Varian (Palo Alto, California) launched the latest version of its Vnmrj software providing an integrated environment for the instrument control and data analysis for all nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) applications. VnmrJ is a software...

BD. (People in Places).(BD Biosciences)(employee promotions)(Brief Article)
March 20, 2003... * Vincent Forlenza has been promoted from senior vice president, technology, strategy and development, to president, BD Biosciences for BD (Becton, Dickinson and Co.; Franklin Lakes, New Jersey). Forlenza succeeds Deborah Neff, who is leaving...

Swissray Medical AG. (People in Places).(chief operating officer named)(Brief Article)
March 20, 2003... * Mark Falkowski has been named chief operating officer for Swissray Medical AG (Elmsford, New York), its European subsidiary and manufacturing center. Falkowski also will fill the newly created role of vice president, worldwide customer...

iCAD in European launch of digital mammography software.(ICAD Inc.)
March 27, 2003... iCAD (Hudson, New Hampshire) reported this week the European launch of CompanionCAD, a computer aided detection system for use in analyzing full field digital mammography images. The launch marks a key milestone in the company's development...

Liquid-based cytology shows positive results in UK study. (Report from Europe).(cervical cancer screening)(Brief Article)
March 27, 2003... A Diagnostics & Imaging Week Staff Report The initial report to the UK Department of Health on a pilot study evaluating liquid-based cytology (LBC) for cervical cancer screening indicated positive results in disease detection, specimen...

GenVault gets $10M `A' round; Alere raises $11.5M privately. (Financings roundup).(Alere Medical Inc.)
March 27, 2003... A Diagnostics & Imaging Week Staff Report GenVault (Carlsbad, California), an archiving company focused on revolutionizing biological sample and data management, with a room temperature, high-throughput archive system, said it has received...

NetImpact looks to sign deals for disease detection kits.
March 27, 2003... NetImpact Holdings CT, (Temecula, California) is hoping to secure contracts within the next 30 days for its rapid disease diagnosis kit, which it has named the MDS 200. The rugged, portable device uses samples of blood, sweat, saliva or...

Colorectal cancer test would help some avoid colonoscopy.
March 27, 2003... Nobody relishes undergoing colonoscopy--the undignified screening examination for colorectal cancer (CRC). Interest might therefore run high in a recently reported pilot study suggesting that a simple blood test might identify people at risk of...