BB&T European Editor and Staff Reports

Siemens Healthcare (Erlangen, Germany) rolled out in Germany, Austria and Switzerland last month the Cappa C-Nav system for navigation and guidance during minimally-invasive surgical procedures.

An optics-based navigation system suited to primarily spinal surgery, as well as some trauma surgery applications, the Cappa C-Nav made its world début at the Congress of the European Federation of National Associations of Orthopaedics and Traumatology being held this week in Vienna, Austria.

Perioperative X-ray images are used to create a 3-D map of the target surgery site and then instruments and markers on the patient's body are calibrated with an infrared optic system.

Intra-operative navigation is provided by a stero infrared camera that continuously track the movement of instruments relative to the fixed positions on the patient and referencing the 3-D X-ray image.

This capability enhances accuracy, for example virtually testing the length of the pedicle screws and verifying their placement, which is credited with reducing re-interventions for repair or rescue procedures.

Cappa C-Nav can be retrofitted for hospitals with Siemens' mobile C-arm Arcadis Orbic 3D.

CAS innovations (also Erlangen) develops computer-assisted surgical navigation systems for Siemens using electromagnetics and optical tracking.

CAS and Siemens entered into a collaborative agreement at the end of 2005 and Siemens subsequently acquired the company in February 2008.

China MED draws 26,000-plus

The recent staging of China MED 2009, the 21st International Medical Instruments and Equipment Exhibition held in Beijing, featured 505 exhibitors from 22 countries showcasing their products over 322,900 square feet of exhibit space to 26,408 attendees.

Sponsor Messe Duesseldorf, which puts on the world's largest medical trade exposition, MEDICA, said CHINA MED 2009 featured not only IT technology, medical software, surgical instruments, medical diagnostics and imaging equipment, but also special exhibits for medical consumables, orthopedics, dental and rehabilitation equipment.

Messe Duesseldorf said the number of visitors confirmed the rapid growth and development of the Chinese medical care industry. About 30% of the visitors were from medical organization and R&D institutes, while 60% were wholesalers and distributors.

According to the People's Republic of China customs statistics, the export of medical devices, equipment and products from January to November 2008 was worth $3.2 billion, an increase of 31.4% compared to the same period of 2007.

Messe Dusseldorf said it is estimated that the peak for the Chinese medical industry development will be between 2008 and 2010.

It said CHINAMED 2009 exhibitors were pleased with the visitor quality and quantity. "It is encouraging that we have found both clients and supplier in this trade fair. The platform provided by CHINA MED enhances the interaction among the participants effectively. The large visitor participation makes me confident about China's future," said Thomas Gutridge of Blu-med. Zhang Ning of Ningbo Xingaoyi agreed, saying, "The percentage of trade visitors seems higher than ever. This is our first time we participated as an exhibitor and the results are good."

Jim Litter, VP of service at Vital Image, said, "Sometimes we were too busy to have lunch because there were always visitors interested in our products."

The exhibits at CHINA MED 2009 were complemented by more than 50 symposiums on topics such as medical imaging equipment, logistics and large equipment quality assessment as well as seminars about orthopedic trauma, tumor imaging diagnosis and clinical laboratory science.

The next staging of CHINA MED is scheduled for March 2010 in Beijing.

NHS cited for efforts in improving care

UK National Health Service (NHS) Chief Executive David Nicholson recently thanked NHS staff for their work in improving care for patients this year, including reducing healthcare associated infections and waiting times, and extending general practitioner opening hours.

Launching his third annual report at the yearly NHS Chief Executive's Conference, Nicholson said that while the NHS had delivered what it said it would over the year, it had to go farther and faster to improve the quality of services for patients.

He said the NHS would receive 11% increases in funding over the next two years, which will be locked in on a recurring basis, but would need to prepare for leaner times after that. This meant the NHS would need to deliver efficiency savings on the order of £15 billion over the three years after 2011, Nicholson said, in order to address pressures in the system.

This, he said, can only be achieved through the improvements in quality and advances in innovation envisioned in the Next Stage Review.

Nicholson said that in 2008/2009, the NHS:

• Met the commitment to treat all patients within 18 weeks from referral to hospital treatment five months early.

• Reduced MRSA infections by 62% below the 2003/2004 baseline – exceeding the target of 50%.

• Provided extended opening hours at 71% of GP practices – exceeding the target set by the prime minister of 50%.

• Employed an additional 1,195 midwives by the end of 2009 against a target of adding 1,000 to the 2006 baseline.

• Exceeded the Gershon efficiency savings target of £6.47 billion, delivering £7.88 billion of savings.

Public confidence in the NHS rose to the highest levels on record during the year and staff morale also remained at record highs, Nicholson said.

He said the NHS' primary goal this year will be "focusing on innovation to drive quality and productivity."

Toshiba releases two Voxar products

Toshiba Medical Visualization Systems Europe (Edinburgh, Scotland) reported two releases in its Voxar 3D product line: Voxar 3D 6.3.2 Workstation and Voxar 3D 6.3.2 ActiveX.

The company said the products are the most widely-used advanced visualization solutions for picture archiving and communications systems (PACS), offering a rapid time-to-market with the most commonly-used advanced visualization features.

Voxar 3D Workstation is an application that offers the features through a best-in-class integration with PACS, and Voxar 3D ActiveX is a software component that offers them seamlessly embedded into PACS.

Both systems are designed to be easy to implement and support, the company said, operating on standard PACS platforms, and backed by a world-wide technical and clinical support organization.

"Voxar 3D Workstation and ActiveX are ideal ways for a PACS vendor to add the power of advanced visualization to their products," said Calum Cunningham, senior VP. "They provide outstanding functionality, and yet they are easy to integrate, deploy, and maintain."

Voxar 3D Workstation has enterprise-wide integration with PACS. It uses the PACS worklist, so users can access advanced visualization with just one mouse click, Toshiba said. It also can share data in memory with PACS, loading series at five times the speed of a traditional DICOM transfer.

Once a PACS workstation has loaded a series, it is available to Voxar 3D Workstation immediately – there is no need to load it again from the workstation or over a network.

Australia approves SyntheMed's Repel-CV

SyntheMed (Iselin, New Jersey), a biomaterials company that is developing anti-adhesion products, reported that Repel-CV, the company's bioresorbable adhesion barrier film for the reduction of adhesions following cardiac surgery, has received approval from the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration for use in all patients who undergo open-heart surgery.

Repel-CV is a bioresorbable adhesion barrier film designed to be placed over the surface of the heart at the conclusion of an open-heart surgical procedure to reduce the extent and severity of adhesions, or scar tissue, that form between the surface of the heart and opposing tissue surfaces following the surgical procedure. It is designed to perform the therapeutic task and then degrade so that it is cleared from the body.

Tag Medical, a distributor of cardiac surgery products, will market repel-CV throughout Australia.

Repel-CV is FDA-approved for use in pediatric cardiac surgery patients and is marketed in the U.S. through a direct sales force. It also has CE-mark approval for use in all cardiac surgery patients and is marketed in the European Union and certain other international countries through a network of independent distributors.

Qiagen to supply Brazilian program

Qiagen (Venlo, the Netherlands) said it has entered into an agreement to supply molecular sample and assay technologies for a new national, PCR-based blood-screening program for HIV and hepatitis C (HCV) in Brazil.

The company will provide Bio-Manguinhos, the main provider of vaccines and diagnostics to the Brazilian Ministry of Health, with "a significant volume" of molecular testing solutions – sample and assay technologies, related instrumentation, operational know-how and training.

Following the approval by Brazilian patent authorities, the agreement will run for five years and contains options for subsequent extensions.

New South Korean venture established

Infinitt North America (Phillipsburg, New Jersey) reported that its business partner Infinitt Korea, a developer and marketer of health information technology solutions, has formed a partnership with Toshiba Medical Systems (Tokyo) to establish a joint venture company called TI Medical Systems (Toshiba-Infinnitt Medical Systems).

The joint venture agreement, signed by Toshiba CEO Dr. Kenichi Komatsu and Sun-Joo Lee, CEO of Infinnitt, gives TI Medical Systems exclusive distribution rights for Toshiba medical equipment throughout South Korea.

Charles Ju, former CEO of BarcoView Korea, has been appointed CEO of the new venture.

Toshiba said its current and future customers in South Korea would benefit through better access to service and sales support from TI Medical Systems.

Fertility centers open in Colombia

INVO Bioscience (Beverly, Massachusetts), a company focused on treatment options for patients diagnosed with infertility, reported that the first South American INVO Center has opened in Cali, Colombia, and six existing In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) centers located in Armenia, C cuta, Bogot ; Ibagué, Medellin and Ubate, Colombia, are also now offering the INVO procedure.

INVO Bioscience's product, the INVOcell, allows for vaginal incubation of eggs, sperm and early embryo development during the infertility treatment process.

The INVO Center of Cali in Colombia, located at the clinic of Farallones, is the first standalone INVO center opened in South America. Six IVF centers that have elected to start offering the INVOcell procedure were all introduced at an infertility conference with specialists in infertility from Central and South America in attendance.

INVO also said it plans to work with infertility specialists in Panama, Guatemala, San Salvador, Mexico and Peru to offer the INVOcell procedure in the near future.

D3 in CEO search

D3 Technologies (Glasgow, Scotland), a provider of trace level detection technologies based on the exploitation of surface enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) and surface enhanced resonance Raman scattering (SERRS), said it is searching for a new CEO.

The company's current CEO, Ewen Smith, will continue to serve in his current position during the search process before he steps down later this year.

The company is seeking a CEO with international experience of new product development and marketing of clinical molecular diagnostics products, to lead D3 Technologies as it moves toward the international launch of its first in vitro diagnostic products.

NHS projects awarded over £1 million

Ten healthcare scientists from across England have been awarded research fellowships worth a total in excess of £1million for projects that will lead to improvements in patient care, Chief Scientific Officer Sue Hill reported.

The awards were the results of the first round of the new CSO Research Fellowship competition launched last September to support the development of research capacity in healthcare science in the NHS. The program is funded by the UK Department of Health and managed by the National Institute of Health Research.

The projects include a range of healthcare science activities such as developing techniques to diagnose health conditions and improving patient care for cancer, diabetes and cardiovascular and respiratory disease. Along with supporting individual research programs, the funding will support the postgraduate training needs of each research fellow.

The CSO Research Fellowship Competition will run for another two years and provide a total of £4 million in funding.

CE mark expanded for Dascor system

Disc Dynamics (Eden Prairie, Minnesota), a developer of minimally invasive treatment options for low back pain caused by degenerative disc disease (DDD), reported that its CE mark for the Dascor Disc Arthroplasty System has been expanded to incorporate a posterior-lateral surgical approach, as well as an endoscopic approach.

The Dascor system is a catheter-based, minimally invasive nucleus replacement technology for the treatment of degenerated lumbar discs.

The device consists of a two-part curable polyurethane and an expandable polyurethane balloon that is inserted into the disc nucleus space after the desiccated nucleus has been removed. The balloon is then injected with a flowable polymer, which creates a complete, patient-specific implant that conforms to the shape and size of the disc space.

In the U.S., Disc Dynamics is completing its IDE feasibility clinical study.

$500,000 in grants for Compugen

Compugen (Tel Aviv, Israel) reported that it has been notified by the Office of the Chief Scientist of Israel that it will receive grants totaling about $500,000 to support the company's drug and diagnostic product candidate discovery activities and continued capabilities enhancement.

The product candidate programs that will be supported by this funding are focused on discoveringadditional drug targets for antibody therapeutics and pre-clinical nucleic acid biomarkers for drug-induced toxicity. These activities, in large part, will be based on modifying and enhancing certain of the company's 10 existing discovery platforms.

In addition, a portion of the funding will support the company's ongoing activities with respect to extending and enhancing its predictive discovery capabilities infrastructure.