A Medical Device Daily

Covidien (St. Louis) and PETNET Solutions, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Siemens Medical Solutions (Hoffman Estates, Illinois), jointly reported they have entered into a co-marketing agreement to offer a combined portfolio of high-energy and low-energy radioisotopes to the nuclear medicine community in the U.S.

Through the agreement, Covidien Imaging Solutions and PETNET will create a network of nuclear imaging product offerings to expand customer access to a wider range of products, including molecular imaging agents, or radiopharmaceuticals, designed to illuminate conditions, such as cancer or heart disease, during imaging procedures.

The agreement brings together Covidien's single photo emission computed tomography (SPECT) products and PETNET's positron emission tomography (PET) products.

"This agreement further validates the efforts Covidien has undertaken in recent years to enhance our reputation as a valued supplier of essential diagnostic products," said Steve Hanley, president, imaging solutions at Covidien. "With the agreement we are positioned to offer our nuclear medicine customers expanded access to both product lines to help them provide better patient diagnostic services. It also provides PETNET with access to our extensive SPECT product offerings."

The agreement also allows both companies to offer customers enhanced service, expertise and product sourcing options.

"We are pleased to work in tandem with Covidien to offer radiopharmaceuticals for both PET and SPECT imaging. This agreement strengthens Siemens' offerings in radiopharmaceutical distribution and contributes to the availability of molecular imaging to patients nationwide," said Michael Reitermann, CEO, molecular imaging, at Siemens Medical Solutions.

In other agreements/contracts news:

• Varian Medical Systems (Palo Alto, California) reported that Bethesda Memorial Hospital's Comprehensive Cancer Center (Boynton Beach, Florida) has installed the company's RapidArc radiotherapy technology. Varian said RapidArc provides the precision of intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) two to eight times faster than was previously possible.

A RapidArc equipped linear accelerator delivers treatments in a single rotation during which the treatment beam continually morphs to the shape and volume of the tumor at every possible angle.

"RapidArc allows us to more closely shape the treatment beam to the tumor," said Bruce Greene, MD, director of radiation oncology at Bethesda. "Compared with conventional IMRT treatment plans, we are finding that normal tissue sparing is noticeably better with RapidArc. Because of this accuracy, we expect to improve clinical outcomes and reduce unwanted side effects."

• Fujitsu Computer Products of America (Sunnyvale, California) said that ValleyCare Health System (Pleasanton, California) is using the Fujitsu PalmSecure palm vein authentication technology as part of its new Patient Access Lifetime Match (PALM) patient registration and identification system, which integrates with a health information system to provide ValleyCare with a highly accurate, non-intrusive verification method for effectively identifying patients.

The combined solution protects patient privacy, safeguards electronic medical records and helps ValleyCare comply with the Federal Trade Commission's new rules on identify theft.