The AP reports that states and communities around the nation are developing creative readiness strategies in preparation for the next influenza pandemic, for which the Bush administration has announced a call to action.

Examples include:

In Colorado, trailers packed with cots and medical supplies are parked in secret locations, ready for doctors to open makeshift hospitals in school gyms if a flu pandemic strikes.

An FDA panel comprised of independent experts has voted 11 to 8 against allowing the U.S. Navy to test emergency transfusions of an experimental blood substitute on civilian trauma patients because most of those patients would be unable to give consent. The panel concluded that the Navy lacked sufficient evidence to support its proposal to test Biopure Corp.'s Hemopure, which is made from cow blood.

"I do think there is a potential benefit. We just don't have the data," said panelist Dr. Thomas Quinn of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, according to a Yahoo News report.

A low-fat diet can help prevent breast cancer recurrence, according to a new study released during last week's 29th annual San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

In the study of more than 2,400 postmenopausal women with early breast cancer, those who cut down on fats in their diets were about one-fifth less likely to suffer a recurrence or die over the next six years, compared with those who did not change their eating habits.

Viking Systems Inc., a designer of 3D and 2D high-performance surgical visualization systems, has launched the Viking Systems ViCam Vision System for monitoring, managing and recording complex open surgical procedures for cardiology.

Eastman Kodak Company announced today that it has filed its submission with Health Canada for approval of its computed radiography (CR) system for mammography as part of its plan to obtain regulatory approval in Canada for its KODAK DIRECTVIEW CR Mammography Feature for CR 850/950/975 Systems.

Kodak’s CR mammography platform can enable healthcare facilities to perform general radiography and mammography exams on the same CR system.

PACS provider American Medical Sales, Inc. has received five PACS orders since the 2006 RSNA in Chicago. These orders include installations involving its MIDAS PACS Server components as well as its new PACS-in-a-BOX family of cost effective solutions.

A human tissue welding technique was successfully implemented in breakthrough laryngectomy and chondrectomy procedures at the Kiev Regional Clinical Hospital between May and November of this year. Dr. Rustem A. Abizov, Otorinolaryngology chair at the Kiev Medical Academy for Postgraduate Studies, used the live biological tissue welding/bonding technology developed by a subsidiary of CSMG Technologies Inc.

The electro welding/bonding technology devices from Live Tissue Connect were used to surgically treat patients suffering from larynx cancer.

CryoLife Inc. has received CE Mark and Health Canada approval for a new rigid applicator tip for its BioGlue Surgical Adhesive. The BioGlue Rigid Applicator Tip is 34 cm in length, enabling accurate delivery of BioGlue beyond the previous 27 cm.

BioGlue was first introduced to the European market in 1998 and is accepted and used by surgeons worldwide. Clinically proven to provide immediate hemostasis, BioGlue is effective in bonding, sealing and reinforcing soft tissue in a broad range of indications.

Exelixis Inc. and Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. have announced a collaborative agreement to develop and commercialize novel targeted therapies for the treatment of cancer.

Eastman Kodak Co.’s health group announced immediate price increases worldwide on all its medical imaging films and related supplies — the second such action Kodak has taken in 2006.

Kodak cited continued high costs of raw materials, especially silver, as the primary reason for the price hikes. The increases range from 8 to 12 percent, depending on products and markets around the world.

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