A Medical Device Daily

Global humanitarian healthcare agency International Aid (Spring Lake, Michigan) and GE Healthcare (Waukesha, Wisconsin) reported that they have entered a strategic partnership dedicated to bringing “vital, potentially life-saving” medical equipment to communities in developing countries.

GE Healthcare will donate previously used anesthesia machines and ventilators to International Aid. Going forward, GE Healthcare and International Aid said they plan to expand their partnership to cover a variety of GE Healthcare’s medical equipment, including maternal and infant care equipment, patient monitors and ultrasound systems.

GE will provide training to International Aid engineering staff to enable that organization to service the equipment. International Aid will refurbish and distribute the products overseas and will also provide education and product support to help local hospitals successfully deploy the donated equipment.

The new initiative is expected to involve the global distribution of more than 200 devices annually.

The partnership will significantly extend an important component of International Aid’s mission — leveraging the involvement of corporate and ministry partners to bring medical products and services to those in need, it said.

International Aid says it is currently a leading non-profit refurbisher and distributor of donated medical equipment. The agency’s extensive equipment-related operations are currently under review by the United Nations and other organizations evaluating best practices for overseas healthcare delivery.

During its 2006 fiscal year, International Aid shipped nearly 1,400 donated therapeutic and diagnostic devices to needy communities worldwide. Its related equipment-training program has trained nearly 500 technicians from 18 countries to maintain and repair an array of medical devices; as part of its work, International Aid maintains what it believes to be the world’s most extensive database of product operation manuals for donated medical equipment.

In other agreements news: iCAD (Nashua, New Hampshire), a provider of computer-aided detection (CAD) solutions, reported the signing of a development and distribution agreement with Agfa Healthcare (Mortsel, Belgium), a provider of IT-enabled clinical workflow and diagnostic image solutions. With this agreement, iCAD’s SecondLook Digital CAD solution is now available for Agfa’s direct digital mammography systems.

Agfa will market and sell this solution to customers globally, initially focusing on Europe and Asia. In the future, iCAD will develop a SecondLook Digital solution customized for Agfa’s other market-leading mammography systems.

“We are encouraged by the broad scope of this agreement ...” said Ken Ferry, president/CEO of iCAD.

Using sophisticated algorithms, iCAD detection software is designed to enable earlier cancer detection which can allow less invasive and more effective treatment options, enhancing patient care. iCAD’s algorithms have been shown to detect up to 72% of actionable missed cancers an average of 15 months earlier than mammography alone.

Agfa offers a selection of solutions across the healthcare spectrum that includes conventional and digital imaging options as well as a complete range of information systems. Agfa customers around the world benefit from the combination of clinically specific features with hospital-wide connectivity, enabling a seamless flow of information and a 360-degree view of patients and healthcare facilities.