A Medical Device Daily

The Slide Medical System from Direct Medical (Hendaye, France) allows emergency or medical staff to easily slide a patient from an ambulance stretcher onto a bed, an X-ray table and/or onto an operating table.

This light and sturdy two-panel system slides under the patient, removing stress from both patient and careperson.

The company's device is made of two separate polycarbonate L-shaped panels equipped with a simple sliding runner and a handle that Slide Medicl said is easy to grip. Its special coating prevents skin friction or burn effect.

In addition to facilitating the smooth and swift transfer of a patient from a stretcher to a bed, it also can facilitate a patient's bathing activity, changing bedding, and avoids pressure on any existing bed sores.

In use, one panel is gently placed under the patient's shoulder and the other is slipped under his buttocks. Holding both grab handles and with one swift gesture, the nurse then horizontally pulls and places the patient onto the other support, without any pressure on the nurse's back.

The Slide System can either be thermosterilized or immersed in a disinfecting solution, thus maintaining a Staphylococcus-free environment for the patient. It is quick to assemble, the company said.

Direct Medical Export Manager Michel Berti re said the company is seeking a U.S. distributor for the Slide Medical System.

New financing assistance by Elekta

Elekta (Stockholm, Sweden) said it has entered a cooperative agreement with SEK, the Swedish Export Credit Corporation. The agreement entails customer financing and applies globally with the exception of North America, where Elekta already has an established partner for customer financing.

The company said the agreement with SEK Customer Financing strengthens and expands its opportunities for offering competitive solutions for customer financing. Within the framework of the agreement, SEK will offer care providers around the world financing in the form of installment credit and leasing of Elekta's clinical systems, and Elekta will be able to offer customers financing with limited impact on its own balance sheet.

"Since the credit crisis began, we have seen increased demand for alternative financing solutions. I am [pleased] that we are now able to offer our customers a broad range of attractive solutions in this area," says Elekta CFO Hakan Bergstr m.

"We are pleased to be entrusted with assisting Elekta with its customer financing platform. This agreement is completely in line with our ambition to increase the competitiveness of Swedish export companies in the global market," said Peter Yngwe, president of SEK.

Elekta is a company pioneering innovations for treating cancer and brain disorders. The company develops tools and treatment planning systems for radiation therapy and radiosurgery, as well as workflow enhancing software systems across the spectrum of cancer care.

Elekta solutions in oncology and neurosurgery are used in more than 5,000 hospitals globally. The company has some 2,500 employees worldwide.

UK court upholds Edwards vs. Cook

Global heart valve company Edwards Lifesciences (Irvine, California) said that the UK High Court of Justice has determined that Cook's (Bloomington, Indiana) UK transcatheter valve patent is invalid and not infringed by the Edwards Sapien transcatheter valve.

"We are gratified that the UK court has found Cook's patent invalid and has agreed with a German court decision that Edwards does not infringe the Cook patent," said Larry Wood, Edwards' corporate vice president, transcatheter valve replacement. "We remain committed to protecting our comprehensive intellectual property in transcatheter heart valves, which represents one important element of our broader leadership strategy."

As previously reported, the District Court of D sseldorf, Germany, determined in March that Edwards does not infringe Cook's German patent. Edwards has a separate lawsuit claiming invalidity of Cook's German transcatheter valve patent, which is expected to be heard in Munich next year.

Edwards' heart valve therapies, along with its critical care and vascular technologies, are sold in about 100 countries.