Varian showcased at AAPM 2007 a new "smart" radiotherapy treatment planning tool that will reportedly enable clinicians to significantly reduce the amount of time needed to create sophisticated treatment plans for advanced treatments like intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT).

July 25, 2007 — Patients admitted to Milton Hospital and New England Sinai Hospital and Rehabilitation Center should take a closer look at the bracelet wrapped around their wrist.

No longer just pieces of plastic with a barely legible name on them, bracelets at the two hospitals now have an electronic bar code that could prevent a life-threatening drug reaction. The two facilities are the first private hospitals on the South Shore to use a bar code and scanning system to prevent common medication errors and patient mix-ups.

July 25, 2007 - Outpatient Care Technology promotes its annual “Outpatient Excellence Award” for imaging centers, recognizing and honoring worthy facilities for their clinical, financial and operational accomplishments and achievements. But we need your help. Please nominate as many worthy imaging centers as you’d like by clicking on the red button in the left-hand column of the front page of OPCT Online (www.opctonline.net).

July 25, 2007 - The Cedara I-Response application from Cedara Software is designed to help evaluate, assess and monitor the effect of cancer therapy over time using data from multiple modalities. Not only does it provide tools for the standard anatomical measurements used for tumor assessment in cancer management and research, Cedara I-Response can also reportedly analyze both PET/CT and MR-based diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI).

July 25, 2007 - Outpatient Care Technology wants to recognize and highlight cancer treatment centers that creatively and effectively use intensity modulated and image guided radiation therapy (IMRT and IGRT) technology to deliver high-quality patient care. But we need you to tell us who these influential market leaders are. Please nominate as many worthy IMRT/IGRT cancer treatment centers as you’d like by clicking on the green button in the left-hand column of the front page of OPCT Online (www.opctonline.net).

July 25, 2007 — Picis has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire LYNX Medical Systems.

LYNX provides revenue cycle management solutions to hospital emergency departments and Picis provides the market-leading clinical information system for emergency care. The combined companies will now offer a reportedly powerful solution that provides the most comprehensive end-to-end system to manage, automate and optimize both the clinical information and financial functions of hospital emergency departments.

June 25, 2007 - Nucletron announced that Arizona Oncology Services (AOS) is the first U.S. healthcare practice to install the new microSelectron Digital afterloader. AOS Scottsdale Center in Scottsdale; AOS Paradise Valley Center in Phoenix; AOS Arrowhead Center in Glendale; and AOS East Valley Center in Mesa will use the equipment for multicatheter and high-dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy to treat breast, gynecologic and prostate cancers.

July 25, 2007 - Selecting the best set of gantry angles for delivering an IMRT treatment can be challenging, even for a skilled dosimetrist. Varian has enhanced its Eclipse treatment planning system with beam angle optimization, a treatment planning tool that automates the process of choosing the best set of beam angles. Beam angle optimization uses sophisticated algorithms to analyze anatomical images and calculate the optimal number and combination of angles for achieving a dose prescription.

For more information: www.varian.com

July 25, 2007 — A new study published in the July issue of the open access journal Critical Care finds that understaffing of registered nurses in hospital intensive care units increases the risk of serious infections for patients; specifically pneumonia, a preventable and potential deadly complication that can add thousands of dollars to the cost of care for hospital patients.

July 25, 2007 — Siemens has signed a merger agreement with US-based Dade Behring, Inc., a leading clinical laboratory diagnostics company. Siemens intends to acquire all outstanding shares of Dade Behring by submitting a cash offer to the Dade Behring shareholders of US$77 per common share. The planned acquisition has a total transaction volume of approximately US$7 billion. Closing is expected in the second quarter of fiscal year 2008. Completion of the merger is subject to receipt of regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.

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