Possis Medical (Minneapolis), a provider of devices used in endovascular procedures, launched a new website, www.DVTanswers.com, to raise awareness concerning deep vein thrombosis (DVT). The site, , provides education about the risk factors and symptoms of DVT, how the disease is diagnosed and how it can be treated.

During 2008, more than 600,000 people in the U.S. will be diagnosed with blockages in the deep veins of legs and arms. If not quickly diagnosed and properly treated, DVT can cause chronic pain, loss of mobility, permanent damage to vessels and tissues and, for as many as 200,000 patients; DVT can contribute to pulmonary embolism

PE is a life-threatening condition that occurs when a clot from the leg or arm travels to the lungs, blocking the flow of blood and oxygen.

AMDA to study VeriMed system

VeriChip (Delray Beach, California) said that the American Medical Directors Association (Columbia, Maryland) will initiate a study of the company's VeriMed patient identification system.

The study will assess whether implementation of the VeriMed system can improve patient outcomes and medical information acquisition and documentation in transfers from long-term care facilities, including both skilled nursing facilities and assisted living facilities, to hospital emergency departments.

VeriChip makes RFID systems.

OrthoSynetics opens Dallas, Atlanta offices

OrthoSynetics (Metairie, Louisiana), a provider of business services to orthodontic and dental practices, has opened new offices in Dallas and Atlanta.

"These new regional offices confirm our operating principle that the heart of our organization is not at our corporate headquarters, but in the hundreds of practices we serve each day," said Chris Roussos, president/CEO.

Arterial Remodeling to launch stent facility

Arterial Remodeling Technologies (Paris) said that it has leased a manufacturing facility (20,000 square feet) as a result of mastering proprietary polymer-based manufacturing technology to produce bioresorbable stents. The company's bioresorbable stents are designed to dismantle in vivo over an optimized time horizon, thus allowing the body's natural arterial remodeling process to occur, which is normally restricted by the deployment of permanent metallic stents.

Arterial Remodeling makes bioresorbable peripheral and coronary polymer stents that promote the natural remodeling of an injured artery after angioplasty.