• Merge Healthcare (Milwaukee) reported the introduction of mobile technology that enables patients and healthcare professionals to view digital medical images such as CT, MRI, X-ray and other images on an Apple iPhone or iPod Touch. Merge Mobile technology will enable the development of applications to retrieve CT, MRI, X-ray and other images wirelessly, and to perform standard radiologic manipulations to guide decision-making, much like computer-based solutions such as PACS. Merge Mobile incorporates remote rendering techniques, including multi-planar reconstruction, which eliminate downloading of large data quantities to the mobile device and enable near-immediate access to images. Features include remote stack viewing using the iPhone multi-touch interface, scroll, contrast adjustment, zoom and pan. A secure communication protocol addresses privacy.

• Monogram Biosciences (South San Francisco, California) said that additional EGFR/HER assays have been successfully tested in sets of fixed human tumors and are now available for use in drug development programs. These assays provide quantitative measurements of the HER2:HER3 heterodimer, and its associated downstream HER3:PI3K complex. An assay for p95, a truncated form of HER2, is in advanced development. These assays provide a measure of the activation state of key signaling pathways in tumors and may help predict patients' responses to novel cancer therapeutics in development as well as potentially predict resistance to currently available drugs. HERmark, Monogram's HER2 and HER2:HER2 Homodimer Breast Cancer Assay, is available through Monogram's CAP-certified clinical reference laboratory and provides accurate, quantitative measurements of a patient's HER2 status, which is believed to be an indicator of the likelihood of response to Herceptin. HERmark is a diagnostic that accurately quantifies HER2 expression and HER2:HER2 dimerization in patients with breast cancer.

• Thinking Systems (St. Petersburg, Florida) reported the integration of its flagship ThinkingPACS, a multi-modality PACS with comprehensive clinical solutions, with Synapse PACS from Fujifilm Medical Systems to provide advanced enterprise molecular imaging PACS solutions. "All Synapse users will now benefit from seamless access to comprehensive solutions for nuclear cardiology processing/quantification, PET-CT fusion, SPECT-CT fusion, and general nuclear medicine processing/quantification for MUGA, renal, gallbladder, gastric emptying, and lung studies, as well as general ROI analysis," said Xiaoyi Wang, co-CEO and co-founder of Thinking Systems.

• Xcorporeal (Los Angeles) said the XCR-6 dialysis platform for self-directed kidney hemodialysis will be the smallest, lightest and easiest-to-use dialysis machine ever conceived, using Xcorporeal's proprietary closed loop, regenerated dialysate technology platform. The company said it is preparing for unattended/home use clinical trials of the XCR-6 in anticipation of commercialization in the near future. The XCR-6 was developed to offer a significant improvement compared with equipment currently utilized by patients suffering from chronic renal failure. Xcorporeal said the technology will, for the first time, allow dialysis providers to "bring the therapy to the patient" because the XCR-6 uses an extremely small amount of tap water; requires no special plumbing or water processing plants; runs on standard household electricity; is the size and weight of a small household appliance; is easy to learn and use as all tubing is integrated into a single cassette that snaps into place with one hand and retains all fluids within the disposable cassette, facilitating clean-up.