Exact Sciences (Marlborough, Massachusetts) reported publication of a study in which stool and blood plasma were assessed in a head-to-head comparison for the detection of colorectal cancer (CRC). Using an improved BEAMing DNA detection technology from Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore), study data demonstrated a 92% sensitivity for detecting CRC in stool samples – BEAMing incorporating the use of "beads, emulsion, amplification and magnetism." BEAMing stool-based DNA testing outperformed blood plasma testing, especially for the detection of early stage CRC. The technology is a method for performing single-molecule analysis of DNA, or "digital PCR," demonstrated to provide a high level of sensitivity for detecting mutations or deletions in gene sequences of interest. Exact uses applied genomics to make screening technologies for use in the detection of cancer.

HemCon Medical Technologies (Portland, Oregon) reported new antibacterial indications approved by the FDA, including a barrier against methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), for its HemCon bandages, ChitoFlex dressings and KytoStat bandages. The hemostatic HemCon Bandage and ChitoFlex dressing are now approved with an antibacterial barrier indication against a wide range of harmful organisms, including MRSA, Enterococcus faecalis and Acinetobacter baumannii. HemCon's bandages, created from a natural substance in shrimp shells called chitosan, stop bleeding including extensive arterial bleeding within two to five minutes. The antibacterial barrier properties of the bandages help prevent infection transmission to other patients and healthcare providers and also make it easier for medical professionals to help prevent infections at incision-site wounds.

ICON (Dublin, Ireland) said that its medical imaging division has become the first commercial imaging core laboratory to offer quantitative coronary angiographic (QCA) analysis with an integrated electronic case report form. This new service has been made possible through the integration of QCAPlus, a QCA application from Sanders Data Systems, with an eCRF within ICON Medical Imaging's proprietary Medical Image Review and Analysis (MIRA) system. The company provides outsourced services to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device industries.

Nova (Waltham, Massachusetts) is offering a software enhancement for its StatStrip Glucose and StatSensor Creatinine point-of-care monitoring systems that allow off-line entry of POC test results for immediate data capture. With the enhanced NovaNet instrument manager software, operators can use StatStrip touch screen to manually enter almost any off-line POC test result, such as pregnancy or urinalysis, and use the meter as a POC communication device to transmit the information to the hospital's electronic database. The NovaNet open system architecture allows results and reporting to be entirely user configurable. StatStrip and StatSensor meters can be pre-configured so that test results can be entered numerically, via multiple choice, or text. Nova StatStrip Glucose and StatSensor Creatinine are hand-held, whole-blood meters for point-of-care testing.

TomoTherapy (Madison, Wisconsin) said it will introduce the TomoDirect discrete-angle delivery mode for its Hi Art treatment system at two upcoming radiation oncology conferences. The company says that this technology allows Hi Art system users to deliver TomoTherapy radiation treatments with a series of linear beam paths, rather than the existing helical path. TomoDirect was developed as a complement to helical TomoTherapy, with both using the same binary multi-leaf collimator and CT-style gantry technology. The choice of which modality to use for a given case will depend on the nature of the tumor volume and surrounding organs at risk. TomoTherapy makes the Hi Art treatment system, a radiation therapy system for treating a variety of cancers.