A Medical Device Daily

GE Healthcare-Dynamic Imaging Solutions (Barrington, Illinois), a unit of GE Healthcare (Waukesha, Wisconsin), has partnered with Orthocrat (Petach Tikva, Israel), a provider of orthopedic preoperative templating software, to introduce an integrated digital image management and surgical planning tool for orthopedic surgeons.

GE Healthcare's Centricity PACS-IW for hospitals and imaging centers, and Centricity PACS Office-IW for physician offices offers tight integration to Orthocrat TraumaCad software, providing Web-based, single-click access to digital orthopedic templating tools, according to the companies. Both companies are demonstrating this integration to TraumaCad 2.0 this week at the Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine (SIIM; Leesburg, Virginia) conference in Seattle.

"The simplicity of Web-based integration between Centricity PACS-IW and TraumaCad has empowered our customers to truly leverage their PACS investment for orthopedics," said Brad Levin, VP of marketing for GE Healthcare-Dynamic Imaging Solutions. "Practices of all sizes and clinical mission can take advantage of this solution, and our top industry rankings are indicative of the success that these tools offer to patient care."

The Centricity PACS-IW is intended to allow orthopedic surgeons to integrate templating into clinical workflow, maintaining all images, reports and templating results in one location, as well as integrated to the EMR (if available). No pre-existing TraumaCad software needs to be loaded at the location where the orthopedist requires access. Once authenticated into Centricity PACS-IW, from any client location accessible via the Internet, the user simply needs to request the TraumaCad software plugin, which is then quickly downloaded from the server.

Orthocrat's TraumaCad software enables orthopedic surgeons to streamline their process for planning all types of trauma, reconstructive or implant surgeries by providing "one click" access to digital templating tools that can help them accurately measure and plan for implants needed in joint arthroplasty, deformity correction, spine and trauma surgeries, the companies said.

"This is another example of success that's come from our established relationship with GE Healthcare," said Zeev Glozman, co-founder of Orthocrat. "What's exciting is that our joint effort greatly improves clinical efficiency. With just a few clicks of the mouse, orthopedic surgeons can log on to Centricity PACS-IW, plan their surgeries with embedded TraumaCad tools, and then save those images and data right back into the patient's folder on Centricity PACS-IW. It's a self-contained unit that bridges the workflow gap."

In other agreement news:

• Invibio Biomaterial Solutions (Thornton-Cleveleys, UK) said it has agreed to collaborate with Smith & Nephew (S&N; London) to develop a next-generation family of structural bioresorbable polymers.

According to Invibio, the program will seek to develop advanced structural bioresorbable materials with the performance specifications needed for more rigid, load bearing applications typically not attained by today's resorbable biomaterial technologies.

The development collaboration between Invibio and S&N is an initial three-year project, and is co-funded by the Technology Strategy Board's Collaborative Research and Development program. The Technology Strategy Board is an executive body established by the UK government to drive innovation.

• Roche Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) said that Quest Diagnostics (Indianapolis) has signed a multi-year agreement to use the Cobas AmpliPrep/Cobas TaqMan HIV-1 test for HIV viral load testing.

Doctors use the test information to monitor the effects of antiretroviral therapy by measuring changes in HIV-1 RNA levels, the company noted. Roche's newest HIV-1 viral load monitoring test is the first fully automated, real-time PCR test approved by FDA, according to the company.

• QuantRx Biomedical (Doylestown, Pennsylvania), a diagnostics company, reported an agreement with CytoCore (Chicago) to supply its PADKit Collection Kit to provide samples for cytology and human papilloma virus diagnostics, for the worldwide women's health laboratory market.

CytoCore said it also intends to add other QuantRx products as they are introduced to the market, the company said. QuantRx expects the agreement to positively impact revenue beginning this year.

CytoCore develops screening systems for early detection of gynecological cancers and sexually transmitted diseases.

• Quidel (San Diego), a provider of rapid point-of-care diagnostic tests, and Prodesse (Waukesha, Wisconsin), a biotech company developing molecular diagnostic reagents for a variety of infectious diseases, have agreed to jointly promote Prodesse's ProFlu+ multiplex molecular diagnostic test within the U.S. According to the company, ProFlu+ is an FDA 510(k) cleared, real-time PCR, closed tube test that simultaneously detects Influenza A, Influenza B and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).

Quidel said it would now have access to a new molecular product, particularly suited for the acute-care laboratory market. The ProFlu+ provides a complementary product to the Quidel QuickVue rapid influenza and RSV tests, the company noted. As part of the agreement, Quidel earns a fee for all product placements.