• Alphatec Holdings (Carlsbad, California) said it recently held its first medical training for commercial use in Vienna, Austria, of the OsseoFix spinal fracture reduction system, a device for the treatment of vertebral compression fractures. OsseoFix is designed to allow for improved fracture reduction and designed to use less cement during a surgical procedure, both of which Alphatec believes reduces the risk of cement extravasation, reduces surgical complications and increases clinical efficacy.

• Dyadem (Toronto) said that Cochlear (Lane Cove, Australia), a hearing implant manufacturer, is using software from Dyadem to enhance and standardize its quality assessments. Dyadem's FMEA-Med, a software solution that helps automate compliance reporting, enables Cochlear to link risk and quality assessments, and to set a new standard in quality for its hearing implant solutions. FMEA-Med is a software solution that delivers industry-standard Failure Mode and Effects Analysis (FMEA) reports for medical device and pharmaceutical manufacturers. Dyadem claims that the FMEA methodology improves quality and prevents potential flaws in hardware design and manufacturing processes in a variety of industries. FMEA-Med helps manage quality lifecycle management processes, and was built to reflect the unique standards and operating environments of the medical device industry. This is essential to an industry that is regulated heavily, and where poor product quality has unique consequences.

• Ethicon (Somerville, New Jersey) reported the launch of the Proceed Ventral Patch (PVP device), the latest addition to its family of hernia products. PVP Device is an umbilical hernia repair device featuring lighter-weight mesh and exclusive, absorbable deployment technology. It is indicated for use in umbilical, epigastric, small ventral and trocar site hernias. The PVP device is a sterile, self-expanding, partially absorbable, flexible mesh device that uses the proven design of Proceed surgical mesh. The PVP device is available in small (4.3 cm) and medium (6.4 cm) sizes.

• Health Sciences Online (www.hso.info) has been launched, which offers more than 50,000 courses, references, guidelines, and other expert-reviewed, high-quality, current, cost-free, and ad-free health sciences resources. Free and accessible to anyone, the up-to-date information is aimed primarily at health care practitioners and public health providers, enabling their training, continuing education, and delivery of effective treatments to patients. The information is delivered by search technology from Vivisimo (Pittsburgh), which allows users to see comprehensive search results and find the answers they need with a graphic interface. Through integration with Google Translator, users can search and read materials in 22 languages.

• MedVirginia (Richmond, Virginia) said it participated in live demonstrations of the Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN) Trial Implementation in Washington, and was the only health information exchange to participate in four Use Cases. CEO Michael Matthews said, "We are pleased to be able to build on our earlier successes and demonstrate four examples of the power of health information exchange to make significant improvements in our health care delivery system. These are real-life examples of how patients' healthcare can be improved and we are excited to be in an ideal position to move into production." MedVirginia is a health information technology company.

• MiCardia (Irvine, California) reported the implant of its new Dynaplasty mitral valve repair device in two patients. The surgery marks the commencement of the company's study designed to provide data for CE mark of the Dynaplasty technology. Jochen Cremer MD, PhD, who led the cardiac surgery team for the implantation, said, "This is a new generation of dynamic repair device. It implanted easily using a conventional approach and the patients are doing well. We are excited to be participating in the DYANA study and believe Dynaplasty technology will address a major weakness of current devices, namely their inability to deal with changes in valve shape and function after the initial repair procedure."