April 25, 2007 - BD Diagnostics, a segment of BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company), has submitted to the FDA the first assay for the rapid and simultaneous identification of methicillin-sensitive Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) from patients with positive blood cultures.

This assay will enable physicians to implement the right treatment at the right time for patients with bloodstream infections, transforming patient care and significantly reducing healthcare costs.

April 25, 2007 - Medical device maker Medtronic Inc. said it plans to buy the O-arm imaging assets of privately-held Breakaway Imaging LLC for an undisclosed amount.

Medtronic said the technology — which provides complete multidimensional surgical imaging in real-time — is essential to image-guided surgery, and will further the adoption of minimally invasive spine surgeries and other novel therapies.

April 25, 2007 - Mazor Surgical Technologies, developer and manufacturer of image-based surgical positioning systems, introduced a new SpineAssist application to enable precise placement of thoracic spinal implants, designed to address the approximately 20 percent misplacement rate for thoracic screws.

April 25, 2007 - Alpharma Inc., a global specialty pharmaceutical company, announced that it has received FDA clearance for the KADIAN 10mg strength capsule. The company expects to launch this new dosage strength in 2007.

This is the second FDA approval for a KADIAN line extension in 2007. In March, the company received FDA approval for a 200mg dosage strength which was launched in April 2007. KADIAN is Alpharma's branded extended release morphine sulfate product and is currently marketed in 20mg, 30mg, 50mg, 60mg, 80mg, 100mg and 200mg dosage strengths.

April 25, 2007 - A new line of antimicrobial respirators that meet and exceed CDC and WHO standards for protection against airborne illnesses such as Avian Influenza is available from The Safe Life Corp.

April 25, 2007 – Bycast Inc. today announced that it has entered into an original equipment manufacturing (OEM) software licensing agreement that will enable IBM to deliver IBM branded products based on Bycast StorageGRID software, addressing healthcare’s challenge to efficiently manage and archive data and other critical information assets with operational efficiency.

April 25, 2007 - Direct Medical Systems, LLC received FDA clearance to market its InnovaSound USB Ultrasound System, a Plug and Play ultrasound probe system equipped with standard ultrasound probe capabilities but without the six-figure price tag.

The computer requirements for the USB ultrasound system are USB 2.0 and an operating system of Windows XP or Vista with minimum of 1 Megaherts processor, 512 memory. This technology results in affordable ultrasound being available in non-traditional locations.

April 25, 2007 - Given Imaging Ltd., a manufacturer of capsule endoscopy, announced that Japan’s Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) has granted a regulatory approval number for the company's PillCam SB capsule endoscope, allowing the company to market and sell the endoscopic pill in Japan.

April 24, 2007 - Color Kinetics Inc. announced a global licensing agreement with TRUMPF GmbH Co. KG, a $2 billion German manufacturing company.

TRUMPF will license Color Kinetics' patents to offer the iLED surgical light, which combines intelligent microprocessor control with LEDs to produce variable color temperatures of light. The license will also apply to any future intelligent LED-based medical lights that TRUMPF may develop. The agreement marks Color Kinetics' first in the medical lighting field, and the first related specifically to white light applications.

April 24, 2007 - AADCO Medical Inc. has developed a new sterilized disposable surgical drape, X-drape, made from AADCO's proprietary non-leaded composite radiation absorbing material, "X-Ban"and works within the sterile field to significantly reduce dose from scatter radiation, up to 98 percent.

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