September 27, 2007 - Siemens has extended the expiration date for the cash tender offer for all outstanding shares of Dade Behring Holdings Inc. to Wednesday, Oct. 31, as Siemens awaits merger control clearance by the European Commission for a transaction that has a value of approximately $7 billion.

September 27, 2007 - Varian Medical Systems and Clatterbridge Centre for Oncology (CCO) located in England, are jointly hosting Europe's first IGRT (image guided radiotherapy) training school, enabling hospitals across Europe to be trained to use radiotherapy technologies.

September 26, 2007 - The University of Tennessee Medical Center has deployed the Compliance Commander software by Intrusion Inc. to protect against patient data leaks onto public networks.
The company says the high costs associated with patient data breaches, and the potential loss of patient confidence, are key drivers for adoption of this new technology.

September 26, 2007 — The treatment that more cancer patients receive may one day depend on their genes.

With an increasing number of biological clues available, doctors hope they will be able to customize more patients' treatments based on their genetic profiles.

In research presented at a meeting of the European Cancer Organization in Barcelona, experts said this week that these clues will help doctors determine not only which patients will probably develop cancer, but even those who will relapse, or be suitable for specific treatments.

September 26, 2007 — The breast cancer death rate in the United States continues to fall by around 2 percent a year, as it has since 1990, according to Breast Cancer Facts & Figures 2007-2008, a report on breast cancer statistics and trends produced every other year by the American Cancer Society (ACS).

According to the ACS the figures represent an impressive winning streak for an important indicator of success in the fight against cancer, made possible in large part, the report says, by advances in early detection and treatment.

September 26, 2007 — Radiation oncologists and urologists at the Kimmel Cancer Center at Jefferson and Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia have begun using a real-time system to implant radiation-emitting seeds in prostate cancer patients.

While the system, made by Nucletron, is only being used for imaging and planning purposes so far, it may ultimately help with the actual placement of the seeds.

September 26, 2007 - Medical scale maker Seca launched its newly designed Web site and a nurses portal at www.seca.com.
The company says the new site and portal will serve as a valuable resource for nurses and health care professionals working in acute and primary care settings.

September 26, 2007 - Diagnostic software maker Rcadia Medical Imaging Ltd. received a second FDA clearance to market its COR analyzer family of products, which assists in triaging patients for coronary artery disease (CAD).
The new approval includes segmentation of the coronary tree with no human intervention and automatic detection of pathologies in the main coronary arteries.

September 26, 2007 — US Oncology expressed "deep concern" over a letter recently released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS).

According to a press release issued on its website, US Oncology believes that this new government policy outlined in the letter severely interferes with cancer doctors’ treatment protocols, creates a two-tiered system of cancer care in America, and potentially forces many cancer patients already undergoing chemotherapy treatment to undergo avoidable blood transfusions.

September 26, 2007 - Health First, an integrated healthcare delivery system in Rockledge, FL, has achieved notably improved patient care outcomes using the Eclipsys Corp. Knowledge-Based Charting solution.
Health First's results include reduced duplicate documentation, improved interdisciplinary communication and increased patient safety through evidence-based care.

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