•Accumetrics (San Diego) said patient enrollment into the GRAVITAS (Gauging Responsiveness With A VerifyNow Assay-Impact On Thrombosis And Safety) trial has begun. The GRAVITAS trial is designed to evaluate the use of the VerifyNow P2Y12 test to identify patients that exhibit a low response to antiplatelet therapy who are at risk for adverse cardiac events, and prove that these at-risk patients will benefit from tailored antiplatelet therapy. The VerifyNow P2Y12 test is a whole blood point-of-care assay that is used to measure the level of P2Y12 receptor blockade. Accumetrics provides diagnostic tests for rapid platelet function assessment.

•Cardiac Science (Bothell, Washington) reported the launch of Pyramis 6.2, the HeartCentrix data management product for the hospital market. The company said Pyramis 6.2 centralizes diagnostic cardiology data for rapid access across all facilities within a hospital network. Pyramis supports hospitals' preferred ECG devices, stress testing equipment, Holter monitors and other devices on a single platform and provides bi-directional communication when paired with most Quinton and Burdick devices. Cardiac Science is a developer of advanced cardiac diagnosis, resuscitation, rehabilitation and informatics products.

•Haemonetics (Braintree, Massachusetts) reported at the annual meeting of the Plasma Protein Therapeutics Association the launch of plasma collection software for its PCS2 plasma collection system that reduces plasma donation time by 20%. The PCS2 software can be used with existing PCS2 devices, so no device replacement or additional operator training is required. The product will be launched in limited market release, with full market release expected by year end. Haemonetics provides blood management solutions.

•Naviscan PET Systems (San Diego) reported new clinical data using the PEM Flex scanner in breast cancer management. The PEM Flex Solo II uses PET technology for the breast application known as positron emission mammography, PEM. Results presented from an independent study of 136 patients comparing the accuracy of PEM and MRI in the pre-surgical planning of breast cancer patients indicated the PEM technology is more sensitive than MRI in detecting the smallest cancers. PEM demonstrated 91% sensitivity in ductal carcinoma in situ compared to 83% with MRI and better sensitivity in cancers less than 5 millimeters in size. Naviscan PET Systems specializes in organ-specific, high-resolution PET scanners.