• Covidien (Boulder, Colorado) said it has gained FDA clearance for the Nellcor OxiMax N-600x pulse oximeter with OxiMax SPD alert for adults. The OxiMax SPD feature enables the pulse oximeter to detect and alert clinicians of worrisome oxygen desaturation patterns, allowing them to make timely and more informed decisions about patient care.

• Lumdx (Oakland, California) has introduced new software to collect interventional radiology procedural information at the point of care. Delivering comprehensive data capture for both general and vascular procedures, the Interventional Radiology module automatically documents JCAHO and patient safety performance measures. Lumdx says this new solution is the first commercial software to offer sophisticated, integrated tools for this service line, and was designed to meet hospitals' clinical and business objectives.

• Medrad's (Warrendale, Pennsylvania) Multi Vendor Service has reported the launch of TotalRepair, the first and only guaranteed repair solution on select ultrasound probes. Enabled by 100% repair capabilities, TotalRepair helps healthcare facilities to spend less on costly exchanges and replacements by maximizing the use of probe repair.

• Neoprobe (Dublin, Ohio) said that a multi-center Phase III study of Lymphoseek has reached the accrual of 203 lymph nodes, the study's primary accrual objective. The multi-center, open-label study has been conducted in patients with either breast cancer or melanoma. Based upon a review of the preliminary data from the study, the primary efficacy end-point of the study was achieved. Lymphoseek is a radioactive tracing agent being developed for use in connection with gamma detection devices in a surgical procedure known as Intraoperative Lymphatic Mapping.

• OrSense (Nes Ziona, Israel) reported the launch of NBM-200MP, a multi-parameter sensor for non-invasive continuous hemoglobin, low signal oximetry and pulse rate measurements. NBM-200MP operates via a ring-shaped sensor that is fitted on the patient's finger and applies a gentle pressure, temporarily occluding the blood flow. During the occlusion optical elements in the sensor perform a sensitive measurement of the light transmitted through the finger. This method, called Occlusion Spectroscopy, provides a quick, accurate and painless measurement of the patient's blood constituent, while greatly improving patient comfort, eliminating infection risk, and providing the caregiver with superior accuracy and immediate results.

• Spiral Biotech (Norwood, Massachusetts) said it will introduce its new Autoplate Spiral Plating system which it claims delivers faster cycle times, a touch screen display, and self-cleaning features that boost processing speed and efficiency in microbiology laboratories at The American Society for Microbiology's annual meeting in May. The new Autoplate deposits microbial suspensions without the need for most serial dilutions, thus increasing efficiency in the microbiology laboratory. Labor and material costs associated with sample preparation and manual dilution are reduced by 75%, the company said. Moreover, by eliminating the variability inherent in manual procedures, Autoplate delivers both a higher degree of accuracy, and repeatability.