Medical Devices and Surgical Technology Week

Laparoscopic Surgery - Data lacking on venous thromboembolism prophylaxis

Legal Issues - Patent issued covering cremophor-free taxanes

Lipid Research - Company launches metabolic pathway maps and Signature flux equations

Lumbar Disc Prosthesis - Shock absorption is compared between lumbar disc prostheses

Lung Cancer - $464,000 Grant given to conduct research on lung cancer immunotherapy

Lung Cancer - Myths, realities in surgical management of bronchioloalveolar carcinoma reviewed

Lung Cancer - Tc-99m-MIBI scintigraphy might be valuable in detecting recurrent lung cancer

Magnetic Resonance Imaging - New shortest high-field MRI system provides more openness and less noise

Malaria - Telomerase assay detects activity in P. falciparum

Market Analysis - Drug-eluting stents improve outcomes in heart stent procedures

Medical Ethics - AMA will provide electronic ethics alerts to physicians

Medicare Fraud - New efforts aimed at stopping abuse of the power wheelchair benefit

Mergers and Acquisitions - Company plans to acquire generics manufacturer and diagnostic test kit company

Mergers and Acquisitions - Hillenbrand Industries plans to acquire the maker of The Vest

Mergers and Acquisitions - Imaging company to be acquired

Mergers and Acquisitions - Martek completes acquisition of South Carolina company

Mergers and Acquisitions - Pain management company acquires assets of its distributor

Microanalysis - A nanoinjector for microanalysis has better than 1.2% repeatability

Microarray Technology - Nanogen teams to develop infectious disease diagnostics

Mitral Valve Stenosis - The 3D TEE enables a better description of the mural valvular anatomy

Multiple Pregnancy - Rare conjoined twins in triplet pregnancies present management challenges

Nanotechnology - DuPont Electronic inks agreement for carbon nanotubes in field emission displays

Needle Safety - Safety-engineered needle technology receives FDA patent

New Facilities - International consortium appointed to develop two surgical hospitals in England

Oral Mucositis - Study demonstrates CG53135's activity in two animal models

Orthodontics - Cervical vertebral bone age predicts mandibular growth potential

Pain Relief - NWT 4000 preparing for clinical trials, expects to seek FDA approval

Pain Therapy - Positive phase III results for bicifadine, a novel, non-narcotic analgesic, announced

Parkinson Disease - New clinical research study evaluates novel cell therapy

Pathogen Detection - Genetic assessment company announces FDA purchase of Smart Cycler II

Patient Care - Academy recognized for enhancing physician-patient communication

Pericardial Repair - CardioWrap pericardial film wins FDA approval

Personnel - Board strengthened with addition of new chairperson at device firm

Personnel - Device firm names Swank chief financial officer

Personnel - Genetics testing company organization names Thomas Goralski as lab director

Personnel - Gennevois named VP of medical affairs at cardiovascular device company

Personnel - Kimberly K. Dennis named vice president, corporate services

Personnel - Laser maker names new CEO

Personnel - Levin named to scientific advisory board at infectious disease firm

Personnel - Lloyd G. Glenn joins pharma company as VP marketing and corporate development

Personnel - Martin B. Leon, MD, interventional cardiologist, joins scientific advisory board

Personnel - Medical device manufacturer names new vice president of international sales

Personnel - New officer, board member, chairman named at diagnostics company

Personnel - Oxygen delivery company shareholders elect board's nominees

Personnel - Peter U. Feig, Caron D'Ambruso join healthcare company

Personnel - Zelefsky named to board of directors at pharmaceutical firm

Pompe Disease - Myozyme development program expanded

Post-Transplant Infections - CMV DNA assessment may help early diagnosis in pediatric liver transplant

Prostate Cancer - Bombesin may act as a mitogen in prostate cancer

Prostate Cancer - Brachytherapy seed supplier now sells direct

Pseudomyxoma Peritonei - Pseudomyxoma peritonei is reviewed

Pulmonary Fibrosis - Idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis appears to arise from improper wound healing

Pulmonary Medicine - Prenatal screening impacts cystic fibrosis prevalence in Brittany, France

Rectal Cancer - Endosonograpy and MRI are important in staging rectal cancer

Regulatory Process - Expression Analysis submits microarray-based gene expression data to FDA

Reimbursement - Companies offer additional reimbursement coverage for capsule endoscopy

Renal Transplantation - A transplanted kidney can be interpreted as a malignant lesion on FDG PET

Reproductive Medicine - New methods detect the gene for spinal muscular atrophy before implantation

Research Funding - Devices could help diagnose precursors to cancer

Restenosis - Angioplasty device company starts clinical studies of catheter

Restenosis - Restenosis rates drop to 5.1% in sirolimus-eluting coronary stent trials

Sepsis - CE Mark issued for test that aids in sepsis risk assessment

Sexually Transmitted Disease - SD amplification detects comparable numbers of STD cases with vaginal swabs

Sickle Cell Anemia - Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh reports successful bone marrow transplant

Sleep Apnea - Nasal-Aire II hits market

Spine Surgery - A new technique for implanting prosthetic disc-nucleus devices is introduced

Spine Surgery - Classification of heterotopic ossification in artificial disk replacement proves reliable

Spine Surgery - Preliminary results with ProDisc II are encouraging

Spine Surgery - SB Charite disc replacement improves function

Stem-Cell Research - Mesenchymal stem cells can regenerate craniofacial bone in animals

Stents - European surgeons implant new nonvascular stents

Stock Market - Predictive medicine company listed as "IME" on American Stock Exchange

Streptococcus - Expanded distribution and promotion for Strep A test

Stress Incontinence - New class of incontinence products introduced

Sudden Cardiac Death - Distribution agreement announced for sudden cardiac death risk stratifier

Surgical Equipment - Radiation/oncology company signs provider contract

Thrombosis - Central line thrombosis in patients with cancer is a common complication

Transplant Medicine - Complement from renal allograft tubules may play largest role in rejection

Transplant Medicine - Pediatric kidney transplantation improved in areas of infant survival, rejection reversal

Transplant Medicine - Racial groups fare equally well in kidney transplant using combination therapy

Transplant Medicine - Renal transplant artery stenosis reviewed

Tumor Histology - Noninvasive bladder cancer has microinvasion; may affect recurrence, progression

Tumor Metastasis - Use of in vivo radiolabelled cytokines can help locate inflammation, metastasis

Tumor Response - SPET and PET have a role in monitoring tumor response to therapy

Varicose Veins - Radiofrequency treatment offers faster recovery, less discomfort

Viral Genomics - The INNO-LiPA assay can quickly identify hepatitis B virus variants

Virology - Hybrid amplicons change the way adenoviral genes are delivered

Visual Impairment - New hand-held obstacle detection device launched

Waste Collection - CE Mark awarded for gastrointestinal device

West Nile Virus - Clinical trial of West Nile virus patients begins