A Medical Device Daily

Florida businesses involved in the healthcare sector can take advantage of Brazil's growing healthcare market by participating in Hospitalar 2009, the leading medical trade show in Latin America. The event will take place in Sao Paulo, Brazil from June 2-5.

Enterprise Florida (EFI; Orlando) said it will host a pavilion that will provide display space for Florida companies that want to market their products and services. Businesses will have several options for space size.

The organization said U.S. exports to Brazil grew to $24 billion in 2007, from $19 billion the previous year.

Last year, Hospitalar attracted more than 78,000 visitors from 70 countries, including 1,500 foreign buyers. Five Florida companies – Atlas Specialty Lighting, Digicare Biomedical Technology, the Mayo Clinic, TRADIS and World of Medicine – were represented in the state's section of the U.S. Pavilion.

Michael Schiffhauer, Enterprise Florida's director of European trade development, who is coordinating the state's participation in Hospitalar, said, "The Brazilian healthcare market has the highest potential for growth in South America, estimated at more than $58 billion."

He added, "The continued expansion of the Brazilian private healthcare sector is expected to create new opportunities for U.S. exporters, particularly for more advanced medical equipment, disposables, diagnostic devices, implants and components."

Enterprise Florida is a partnership between the state's business and government leaders and is the principal economic development organization for the state. Its mission is to diversify Florida's economy and create better-paying jobs for its citizens by supporting, attracting and helping to create businesses in innovative, high-growth industries.

EFI works closely with a statewide network of economic development partners and is funded both by the State of Florida and businesses.

Nano assessment firm seeks Pacific partner

nanoTox (Austin, Texas), which describes itself as the only company to provide complete risk assessment exclusively for nanoparticles, will with a group of technology firms in Tokyo this week. Arranged in part by Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO), the meetings will take place during nano tech 2009, described as the world's largest annual nanotechnology exhibition and conference, running today through Friday.

"We are actively looking for a joint venture partner in the Pacific region," said Greg King, COO of nanoTox and former director of corporate treasury with Mitsubishi Caterpillar Forklift, a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, headquartered in Tokyo.

"This event will allow us to meet with many of the region's most capable firms with understanding of and mutual interests in the nanotech arena," he said, "especially regarding nanotoxicology risk assessment. Japan is an important center for nanotechnology development and use."

Companies and organizations from all over the world will showcase their products, services and technologies during nano tech 2009. Last year's edition of the conference attracted 49,365 visitors and 522 exhibitors.

"This year will see dramatic changes in regulatory policy affecting nanotechnology," said King. "As companies with nanoparticles in their products prepare for market, they will require much more analysis of the risks those particles may pose to the environment and public health."

He added, "We are looking for a partner that will allow nanoTox to further assist those companies in rapid assessment of their products so that we can help them mitigate or manage risks appropriately and shorten their time to market."

IONM introduced in Pakistan hospitals

Faisal Jahangiri, a senior neurophysiologist with Impulse Monitoring (IMI; Columbia, Maryland), a provider of intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring (IONM) services to hospitals, recently introduced IONM at medical centers in four cities in Pakistan.

IONM assesses neurological function involving the brain, spinal cord and related nerve structures during surgery. Its use facilitates the surgical process and can reduce surgical risk by providing alerts to surgeons of potential harm to spinal cord or neural structure, according to IMI.

Jahangiri visited Pakistan at the invitation of the government of Pakistan to tour several medical centers and hospitals across the country, with the objectives to monitor several high-risk surgeries, as well as deliver education sessions on IONM.

"My tour included visits to four major cities, Rawalpindi, Peshawar, Abbottabad and the capitol city of Islamabad," said Jahangiri. "During my visit, I delivered multiple lectures, all of which were highly attended and appreciated. There is a great thirst and need for medical knowledge in Pakistan and other developing nations, particularly for techniques that can mitigate damage from high-risk surgeries."

"During his short stay in Pakistan, Jahangiri demonstrated some of the most advanced and exceptional skills in the field of intraoperative neurophysiological monitoring," said Malik Imad Khan, assistant medical director for Shifa International Hospitals in Islamabad. "[His] expertise was extremely helpful in some of the most difficult neurosurgical and orthopedics procedures. Our patients and ... consultants gained a lot from this new specialized field."

IMI provides monitoring and support services to hospitals and other facilities that include intraoperative neuromonitoring for spinal, nerve and brain-related surgeries, and autotransfusion.

Greek/Cyprus distributor for WacSTAT

SpectraScience (San Diego) said it has established a distribution partnership for the Greek and Cyprus markets through M.S. Jacovides Hellas, an Athens-based firm specializing in the marketing and distribution of innovative medical devices.

Michel Vaudry, SpectraScience VP of sales and marketing, said, "M.S. Jacovides is a respected and well-established medical distribution company and its decision to add the WavSTAT Optical Biopsy System to their portfolio is a strong validation of our technology.

M.S. Jacovides Hellas' President/Managing Director Aris Jacovides said, "We ... believe there is significant market potential for this innovative GI cancer diagnostic system. We see important benefits to our physicians, enabling them to quickly distinguish between normal and precancerous tissue in the GI tract and allowing for physical biopsy at exactly the same site and time that the optical biopsy is performed."