GE, USOC team up in Olympic partnership

In preparation for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC; Chicago) and General Electric (New York), a worldwide partner of the Olympic Games, reported two research programs aimed at demonstrating that health monitoring and early intervention leads to injury prevention and enhanced health and sports performances for athletes.

The first program is a cardiac clinical research study with top U.S. Olympic athletes and hopefuls on the U.S. Men's Rowing and USA Weightlifting teams while the second initiative will monitor the musculoskeletal health of athletes competing for USA Weightlifting, USA Boxing, USA Wrestling and the U.S. Women's National Soccer Team. These two studies are continuations from research programs at the Torino 2006 Olympic Winter Games.

"Every day an Olympic athlete spends in rehab is a day lost in training, making earlier injury diagnosis and real-time recovery monitoring crucial for elite performance," said Michael Reed, MD, U.S. Olympic Committee Medical Director, performance services division. "It is increasingly important that as a National Olympic Committee, we have the most innovative tools to help predict, diagnose, treat and monitor sports injuries earlier to ensure a quick return to play. It's my belief that GE's ultrasound technology will become a standard tool in healthcare for athletes."

GE Healthcare (Waukesha, Wisconsin) makes products and services to enable healthcare providers to better diagnose and treat cancer, heart disease, neurological diseases and other conditions earlier.

Symmetry Medical to miss 10-K due date

Symmetry Medical (Warsaw, Indiana) reported that the filing of its 2007 Annual Report with the SEC was delayed beyond the March 28, 2008, extended due date.

The company said it has delayed its 10-K filing in order to provide its audit committee, independent auditors and management team time to complete work associated with responding to the discovery of accounting irregularities at its Sheffield, UK, operating unit, including completing the final review of the required filings.

Symmetry makes orthopedic devices.

CRH Medical opens colorectal health center

CRH Medical (Vancouver, British Columbia) said that it has opened a Center for Colorectal Health in Pembroke Pines, Florida. This center is the company's second in the Miami area, one of many new markets that CRH has targeted for expansion. The opening of the Pembroke Pines Center brings the company's total number of centers to 11.

According to the National Institute of Health, about 50% of the U.S. population will develop hemorrhoids by age 50. The company said it plans to significantly increase the number of Centers for Colorectal Health across the U.S. to address this underserved market.

CRH specializes in the treatment of hemorrhoids using its treatment protocol and technology.