A Medical Device Daily

CompView Medical (Beaverton, Oregon), a provider of audio-visual systems for healthcare environments, reported a partnership with GE Healthcare (Waukesha, Wisconsin) through its General Electric Healthcare OEC Surgery Division (GE OEC).

GE OEC will distribute the CompView Medical NuBOOM video integration and equipment management system. The company said the agreement would provide a complete surgical solution for in-patient hospital facilities and outpatient ambulatory surgical centers. This is the first time video integration equipment has been represented by a surgical fluoroscopic imaging company, according to CompView.

NuBOOM is an equipment management and video visualization system designed to deliver four fully adjustable high definition monitors around the operating room table. The system is intended to provide surgeons and operating room staff ergonomically-sound viewing angles of high quality images from anywhere within the operating field, the company said.

GE OEC develops computer-based X-ray and fluoroscopic imaging systems for hospitals, outpatient clinics and surgical centers.

CompView, a private company, specializes in the design/integration of audio-visual systems for healthcare.

In other agreement news:

• Innocoll (Ashburn, Virginia) reported that its subsidiary, Innocoll Technologies, has entered ia collaboration with TGR BioSciences (Adelaide, South Australia) to evaluate the combination of Innocoll’s collagen-based drug delivery technology, CollaRx, with TGR’s wound healing compound, TGR-265.

Innocoll said that its CollaRx technology is a biocompatible, fully bioresorbable collagen matrix for localized drug delivery, comprised of purified Type I fibrillar collagen and prepared in the form of a lyophilized sponge or film-cast membrane. Both CollaRx formats are designed to be surgically implanted or applied topically to wounds, enabling drugs to be delivered locally to the intended site of action and thereby minimize any systemic-related side effects, Innocoll said.

CollaRx matrices are biodegraded by natural enzymatic activity and fully resorbed within a few days or up to several weeks, according to the local physiological environment, Innocoll said. The in vivo release of drug from the CollaRx matrix takes place via a combination of diffusion and natural breakdown of the collagen to provide both rapid and prolonged release, which can be controlled through formulation techniques and processing variables. The CollaRx matrix also provides an initial scaffold for cell migration and proliferation, thereby stimulating production of certain cytokines and growth factors and so itself plays an integral role in the repair and replacement of both hard and soft tissue by accelerating tissue granulation and epithelialization, according to the company.

TGR-265 is a bioactive protein shown to stimulate the fibrogenic response, production of host type 1 collagen and deposition of extracellular matrix, TGR BioSciences said.

Innocoll will incorporate TGR-265 into the CollaRx sponge and membrane formats for further evaluation. TGR will fund development of the formulated products.

Innocoll is a private, specialty pharmaceutical company focused on surgical and dermatological products. It develops a range of pharmaceutical products and medical devices using its collagen-based technologies, CollaRx and Liquicoll.

TGR develops biologically active compounds by using high throughput screening technology.

• Ultrasonix Medical (Richmond, British Columbia) said it has signed an agreement with Global Medical Imaging (GMI; Charlotte, North Carolina) for distribution rights in the Southeastern U.S. The agreement covers Ultrasonix customers in Maryland, Virginia, Washington D.C., North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama and Eastern Tennessee.

GMI is a full service ultrasound sales and service company.

Ultrasonix is a privately held company that makes diagnostic ultrasound imaging systems.

• Sysmex America (Mundelein, Illinois), a diagnostic instrument manufacturer and health information systems developer, reported a five-year Cost Per Reportable Result (CPRR) agreement with the Rocky Mountain Network, Veterans Integrated Services Network (VISN) 19. Sysmex will standardize hematology instrumentation, training, technical support and services for seven U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs facilities in Colorado, Utah, Montana and Wyoming.

Sysmex said it also holds Veterans Affairs hematology standardization contracts with VISNs 2, 6, 10, 15 and 23 as well as stand-alone within many other VISN networks.

VISN 19’s hospitals, community-based outpatient clinics and veterans’ centers offer veterans acute medical, surgical and psychiatric inpatient services as well as outpatient services.

Sysmex America is the U.S. headquarters of Sysmex (Kobe, Japan).