A Medical Device Daily

Zoll Medical (Chelmsford, Massachusetts) has been awarded a follow-on contract for Airworthy CCT defibrillators by the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency. If fully exercised, the potential revenue from the contract could approximate $30 million. The services that can order units against this contract are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, and federal civilian agencies.

The Department of Defense will provide an upfront payment of $3.9 million for Zoll to procure parts to build units to comply with inventory requirements. This payment will initially be included in deferred revenue. Recognition of revenue will occur depending upon how and when future orders are placed. Zoll received a similar award in 2004, with four one-year extension options, all of which were exercised. This new agreement, initially for a one-year period, also contains four one-year agreement extension options.

"We are pleased, once again, to be chosen to provide equipment on a continuing basis to all military branches and federal civilian agencies with a quick turnaround to help ensure our nation's state of readiness," said Richard Packer, chairman/CEO of Zoll.

The date of performance completion is Sept. 27, 2010, subject to contract extension. The Airworthy CCT is an advanced life support, critical care transport defibrillator and monitor.

In other agreements/contracts news:

• Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Cancer Center (Boston) has purchased four radiation therapy treatment systems from Elekta (Stockholm), including three Elekta Infinity and one Elekta Synergy S. The order, which includes information management software, will enable the facility to offer patients a complete cancer treatment solution from the company. The three Infinity systems position MGH to take advantage of Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT), a new radiation therapy technique that allows clinicians to deliver tightly focused radiation treatments in less time. A treatment session typically can be conducted in five minutes or less and delivered with single or multiple arcs depending upon the patients needs.

• Ingen Technologies (Yucaipa, California) reported that it has signed contracts with Emergo Group (Austin, Texas) to debut the Oxyview Nasal Cannula at the world's largest healthcare exhibitions. On Nov. 18, 2009, Emergo Group will introduce the new Oxyview Nasal Cannula at MEDICA meeting in Germany. On Jan. 25, 2010, the Emergo Group will introduce the new Oxyview Nasal Cannula at Arab Health.

• Cyberonics (Houston) reported two collaborations in the field of EEG-based seizure detection to build on its position as the leader in medical devices for epilepsy. On Oct. 1, 2009, Cyberonics entered into a license agreement with NeuroVista (Seattle), providing Cyberonics with access to a range of technology and patents in exchange for payments extending through April 2011. The NeuroVista technology will enable Cyberonics to accelerate its program for development of an implantable pulse generator for stimulating the vagus nerve in response to EEG-based detection of a seizure and includes technology related to an algorithm for seizure detection, a rechargeable battery system, wireless communication, and an implantable lead. Earlier this year, Cyberonics entered into an exclusive patent license agreement and a research agreement with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, Massachusetts) to license two patent applications relating to EEG-based seizure detection and to sponsor related research. The license agreement provides for minimal up-front and annual payments and future royalty payments based on net sales of the licensed product. "Collectively, these agreements demonstrate our commitment to continuing to develop medical devices for patients with epilepsy, and incorporating new and promising technology into future generations of the VNS Therapy System, " said Dan Moore, president/CEO. "The proven ability of VNS Therapy to provide significant long-term relief to people with epilepsy, including seizure reduction and improvements to quality of life, will be enhanced by these and other investments in our research and development efforts. Combining these investments with our previously disclosed investments in cardiac-based seizure detection provides a unique, broad-based approach to developing seizure detection for patients with epilepsy."

• Radia (Everett, Washington) reported a diagnostic imaging services partnership with Olympic Medical Center (Port Angeles, Washington) commencing on Oct. 1, 2009.

"Our continuous effort to provide the best quality care for our patients led us to this partnership with Radia," says Eric Lewis, CEO, Olympic Medical Center. "We look forward to working with Radia and increasing our level of service to our referring providers and our patients." The partnership will provide Clallam County referring physicians and patients subspecialized radiology expertise day and night through teleRadia, a secure, state-of-the-art teleradiology service wholly owned and operated by Radia.

• Premier Purchasing Partners (Charlotte, North Carolina) reported that new agreements for hemostasis and compression products have been awarded to HemCon Medical Technologies (Tigard, Oregon) and Medrad Interventional/Possis (Minneapolis). Effective August 1, 2009, the agreements are available to acute care and continuum of care members of the Premier healthcare alliance.