• A.D.A.M. (Atlanta) has introduced the Medzio, a new mobile health application designed specifically for iPhone users. With A.D.A.M.'s consumer health information as the foundation, Medzio brings together some of the most progressive healthcare companies to create a new and unique Mobile Health Network that offers consumers a powerful way to interact and collaborate on-the-go about their health. The Medzio Mobile Health Network will help consumers determine when and where to seek care, and how much that care should cost. Medzio is now available as a free download at the iPhone App Store. Some applications of the Medzio are first aid information; interactive health information; interactive health information; local care access; and a mobile health network.

• Covidien (Mansfield, Massachusetts) said that its surgical devices business unit has launched the Covidien SILS Port multiple instrument access port for laparoscopic surgeries through a single incision. The SILS Port is a single, flexible port that may be fitted through a small incision in the umbilicus that results in a single "hidden scar," a cosmetic advance over the multiple visible scars associated with standard multi-port laparoscopy. The port has the capacity for up to three laparoscopic instruments. SILS is an advanced laparoscopic procedure for which specialty training is strongly recommended.

• Eclipsys (Atlanta) said it is unveiling a new version of its PeakPractice solution featuring functionality directly aimed at the clinical and financial needs of ambulatory surgery centers (ASCs). The new functionality in the integrated, .net-based electronic medical record (EMR)/practice management (PM) solution features an enhanced supply chain module that supports creation of a single solution that automates inventory supply management, clinical documentation and billing processes. Also, the functionality supports electronically filing for both professional (HCFA 1500) and facility (UB04) billing. Integration capabilities with the physician office EMR database also enable physicians utilizing an ASC for outpatient surgeries to gain single charting capabilities to avoid recreating the patient record.

• Microlife Medical Home Solutions (Golden, Colorado) said it has launched two clinically validated and practice-tested solutions designed to help improve healthcare quality and reduce healthcare costs by transforming physician practices to a patient-centered model of care. The company said the WatchBP and WatchWT programs will allow physicians to better assess and treat hypertension and obesity thereby reducing future health complications and medical expenditures. An important component to Microlife's programs is use of a coordinated care team. Wilson Pace, MD, professor of medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, said, "Primary care physicians will need to utilize clinical support staff such as nurses or medical assistants to help manage care. Physicians can become more efficient by integrating shared medical visits to educate/counsel patients on hypertension or weight management, which is better for the patient and healthcare system."

• NuGEN Technologies (San Carlos, California) said it has employed its Single Primer Isothermal Amplification (SPIA) technology to create a new line of products that offers life scientists a fast, simple, and low-cost solution for routine gene expression analysis. The first members in the Applause family include the WT-Amp ST and WT-Amp Plus ST RNA Amplification Systems, designed to prepare cDNA targets from >50 ng total RNA for analysis using Affymetrix GeneChip Gene ST or Exon ST arrays, respectively. The addition of Applause brand products expands the NuGEN portfolio which includes the company's flagship Ovation family of RNA amplification systems optimized for particularly small (down to a single cell) and degraded specimens. Applause products are specifically designed to address specimens in which RNA is more abundant (>50 ng) and intact, such as fresh-frozen tissue and cultured cells. This addition makes NuGEN's proprietary SPIA technology available for use with virtually all sample types for downstream microarray- or qPCR-based gene expression analysis, from small and degraded samples to larger and pristine samples.