• GE Healthcare (Waukesha, Wisconsin) reported the introduction of its new Carescape telemetry platform, a wireless patient monitoring offering for hospitals. Built on GE Carescape Enterprise Access and leveraging GE ApexPro CH Telemetry, GE Carescape telemetry enables hospitals to simultaneously leverage multiple telemetry frequencies and coordinate cell phone, Wi-Fi and other wireless technologies on one infrastructure. The Carescape provides dual-band capabilities enabling hospitals to simultaneously leverage the two protected frequency bands 600 MHz and 1.4 GHz in Wireless Medical Telemetry Service (WMTS) with a single, central telemetry system. Hospitals can monitor up to 438 patients while ensuring that critical patient data is sent securely without interference.

• LDR (Austin, Texas) said that it received FDA clearance to market its ROI-A implant as an anterior lumbar interbody fusion (ALIF) device. Previously cleared as a partial vertebral body replacement, the ROI-A system incorporates the VerteBRIDGE screwless plating technology. The ROI-A ALIF is a stand-alone implant system with zero profile, self-locking plates designed for initial and long-term stability. The surgical technique is a direct anterior approach, with the curved plates inserted along the sagittal plane thus requiring no additional exposure to the vertebral bodies. The system is comprised of multiple footprint sizes, lordotic angles and heights for optimized fit per anatomical requirements. An inserter holds the implant, protecting vascular structures and guiding the plates during insertion.

• Microtest Laboratories (Agawam, Massachusetts) said that it is adding dissolution testing to its current suite of analytical testing and stability services. Dissolution is a compendial method used to measure a drug's rate of release from its dosage form. It is a complement to other analytical assays - potency and related substances - that characterize the dosage form. Dissolution is typically used to optimize drug delivery rate during development studies; for use in routine QC analysis for lot release and to measure lot-to-lot variability; for use in stability studies to study the effects of time/temperature/humidity on the dosage form; and to compare one dosage form to another (different formulations, different processes, analysis of competitor's samples).

• Non-Invasive Monitoring Systems (Miami) said that the results of a laboratory investigation published in the April issue of the journal Neuroscience links the technology behind NIMS' Exer-Rest acceleration therapeutic platform to a reduction in brain damage for the major cause of stroke. The report concluded that whole body periodic acceleration (WBPA, pGz), the technology behind the Exer-Rest, has potential to positively impact on the management of stroke, the third leading cause of death and the major cause of significant disability in adults living in the USA and Europe. They selected this treatment because it increases release of beneficial substances, such as nitric oxide, prostacyclin, prostaglandin E2, and adrenomedullin, from the inner lining of blood vessels into the circulation.

• Solos Endoscopy (Boston) said it has developed a new endocoupler with an eye piece for the MammoView system. Along with its current endocoupler, it will allow the MammoView scope to be used by a majority of the video systems currently in the market place. Solos has already started to market the new endocoupler to those customers that previously could not utilize the standard endocoupler. The company says that the new MammoView Endocoupler will allow healthcare facilities to have more flexibility because it allow them to utilize any video system at their disposal.

• Toshiba America Medical Systems (Tustin, California) has introduced Next Generation Advanced Image Processing (AIP) available on its Infinix X-ray product line. Toshiba says the AIP feature improves patient care by increasing the quality, sharpness, and image contrast during interventional procedures. Additionally, it said that this proprietary technology has virtually eliminated image lag, benefiting clinicians while guiding and deploying devices during fluoroscopy. Next Generation AIP further increases image clarity during interventional procedures using AIP, creating a safer, more time-efficient exam by reducing the possibility of having to re-image the patient because of unclear images.