• Respirics (Raleigh, North Carolina) reported the commercial launch of MD Turbo, a companion product to pressurized metered dose inhalers. MD Turbo will be marketed in the U.S. by TEAMM Pharmaceuticals, a subsidiary of Accentia Biopharmaceuticals (Tampa, Florida). MD Turbo incorporates i-Point, Respirics' inhalation technology, which triggers the release of medication when an inspiratory flow threshold has been reached by the user. The device works by automatically depressing the inhaler canister when the patient breathes, thereby coordinating the drug's delivery. MD Turbo features an electronic counter, which allows patients to keep track of how much medication remains in their inhaler. MD Turbo is available by prescription in pharmacies across the U.S.

• Roche Diagnostics (Indianapolis) reported that its newest coagulation monitoring system, the CoaguChek XS system for physician's office use, has been submitted to the FDA for 510(k) clearance. The CoaguChek XS system is a small, hand-held, easy-to-use instrument for prothrombin time/ INR testing. It provides fast results – in about a minute – and requires only one drop of blood from the fingertip. The test strip was designed with built-in controls, which it reads to determine strip integrity. The strips can be dosed on the top, right or left side, making it easier for patients to apply blood. The CoaguChek XS system gives information about a patient's level of anticoagulation directly on the spot and allows their healthcare professional to adjust, if necessary, the doses of medication to a level that reduces the risk of major complications.

• Siemens Medical Solutions (Malvern, Pennsylvania) introduced syngo WebSpace, a client-server computed tomography (CT) workplace solution, at the Stanford Radiology 8th Annual International Symposium on Multidetector-Row CT, which ended yesterday in San Francisco. syngo WebSpace enables storage for hundreds of thin-slice data cases and large thin-slice data sets that are immediately available for 2-D, 3-D and 4-D interactive reading using Siemens syngo InSpace 4-D software. All rendering takes place on the server, providing users with advanced processing speed. syngo WebSpace gives users rapid access to thin-slice data, while freeing up the CT scanner database. The program facilitates from five to 20 concurrent sessions, depending on the server configuration, from any number of users throughout the hospital network and via secure access from remote locations. Once syngo WebSpace is connected to the central server, a PACS workplace or PC can be turned into a processing workplace. First installations of syngo WebSpace, which is pending 510(k) review, are expected later this year at the University of Erlangen and the University of Munich in Germany and Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore).

• SpineVision (Paris) said that it has initiated a limited European release of FlexPLUS – a posterior lumbar pedicle screw-based system, which is the first new product developed by its wholly owned subsidiary, FlexSpine (Singapore), spun off from SpineVision's New Technologies business unit in December 2005 for the purpose of developing innovative motion preservation technologies. FlexPLUS enables spine surgeons to apply Selective Segmental Stabilization to adapt to multiple disc-degeneration stages. FlexPLUS is complementary with SpineVision's PediGuard device, a wireless, hand-held instrument capable of accurately detecting changes in tissue type, thus alerting surgeons to pedicular or vertebral breaches during pedicle screw site preparation. Real-time feedback is provided to surgeons via audio and visual signals, giving them new additional information. SpineVision will be demonstrating FlexPLUS, along with other products, at the 13th International Meeting of Advanced Spine Techniques in Athens, Greece, in July.