Toshiba America Medical Systems demonstrated software upgrades for its Aquilion series of CT scanners. The Version 3.0 software improvements include enhanced DICOM protocols and upgraded user interface for fluoroscopy applications. The new software began shipping in August.

Philips Medical Systems showed off new workstation software for its Brilliance 64-slice CT program that includes tools for cardiac vessel analysis. Extended Brilliance Workspace 3.5, scheduled for release in June, features electrophysiological planning for radiofrequency ablation and a function enabling tumor localization on the CT console.

Health care advocates have long encouraged physicians to switch to computerized medical records, saying they could improve patient care and increase efficiency. Doctors, however, have been more concerned about the high price tag — often more than $20,000 per physician for software, hardware and Internet connections — as well as having to maintain a computer network. Surveys estimate less than 20 percent of doctors have fully automated their offices.

America’s Health Insurance Plans is poised to announce an industry initiative for making personal health records portable from one health insurance company to another. AHIP will make public the details of an 18-month pilot project with 10 AHIP member companies on December 13.

The panel studied ways health insurance companies could assist in making PHRs interoperable. The plan will also recommend minimum elements for all PHRs. AHIP represents nearly 1,300 member companies providing health insurance coverage to more than 200 million Americans.

British researchers have developed a vaccine that stimulates colorectal cancer patients’ immune systems to fight cancerous cells.

In a clinical trial of 67 patients, researchers at the University of Nottingham observed that when the vaccines were administered before and after surgery to remove cancerous tumors, they helped stimulated immune cell production in up to 70 percent of patients. These results are published in the November 15 issue of Clinical Cancer Research.

Mercury Computer Systems Inc. today announced a cooperation agreement with the Germany-based Institute of Medical Physics for the development and commercialization of medical imaging technology deployed on the Cell Broadband Engine (BE) processor. The joint work is expected to accelerate the reconstruction and visualization of medical imaging data, as preliminary results show 100-times improvement in computed tomography (CT) reconstruction, Mercury officials said.

Toshiba America Medical Systems, Inc. announced today a new partnership with CVCTA Education and San Francisco Advanced Medical Imaging, a Liberty Pacific Medical Imaging Company, to serve as the company’s newest education and training partner, as part of its plan to deliver a cardiac CT training program to the medical community.

A pair of Georgia-based groups, Cardiovascular Medicine and Quantum Radiology, have announced the formation of a clinical research site that specializes in conducting Phase II-IV studies. Known as InnovaMed Alliance, the multidisciplinary collaboration is working with the healthcare industry to provide patients with access to novel therapies.

RADinfo Systems has announced plans to introduce its PACS solution for mammography, known as Micro PowerPACS Mammography, during the Radiological Society of North America’s annual conference in Chicago next week. With more and more hospitals and imaging centers looking to expand into digital mammography technology, RADinfo is touting its new Micro PowerPACS as an affordable yet high-quality digital imaging option.

New research suggests that men with prostate cancer who choose radiation therapy should seek treatment centers that will offer high-dose radiation. A new study from Fox Chase Cancer Center finds that higher doses of 74 to 82 Gray (Gy) greatly reduce the risk that the cancer will spread later — even 8-10 years after treatment.

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