A Medical Device Daily

A newly released software program will let health authorities at the site of an infectious disease outbreak quickly analyze data, speeding the detection of new cases and the implementation of effective interventions.

The program, called TranStat, was developed by a team of epidemiologists and computer scientists from the Models of Infectious Disease Agent Study (MIDAS), an international program supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH; Bethesda, Maryland) to build computational models for studying disease spread.

“A main goal of MIDAS is to make the models developed by the researchers available to the public health community and policy makers,” said Jeremy Berg, PhD, director of the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, the NIH component that funds MIDAS. “TranStat is a great example of how MIDAS is providing tools to help communities prepare for emerging infectious disease outbreaks.”

Available for free and downloadable at http://www.midasmodels.org, TranStat can be used by public health officials to systematically enter and store infectious disease data. These data include details about the infected individuals, such as their sex, age and onset of symptoms; their close contacts; and any interventions they might have received.

The program also prompts the field personnel to enter details about exposed but uninfected individuals. The system does not collect names or other personally identifying information.

The computer program uses this information to statistically determine the probability that people contracted the disease from each other, a driving factor in the spread of infections. TranStat also estimates in real time the average number of people an individual could infect and the rate at which that infection occurs in a particular setting. This information can help health officials develop and swiftly implement strategies that thwart further spread while they conduct additional studies.

“We’ve made TranStat portable and easy to use, so field officers can enter, edit, and analyze data as an outbreak progresses,” said Diane Wagener, PhD, a program manager at RTI International (Research Triangle Park, North Carolina), an independent, nonprofit research organization that helped develop the user interface.

Ira Longini, PhD, a biostatistician at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center and the University of Washington (both Seattle), directed the research behind TranStat. He and his research team have used the underlying methods and software to determine that the H5N1 avian flu virus probably spread between members of an extended family in Indonesia in 2006. According to the results, the transmission was not sustained.

“The faster we learn about emerging infectious diseases and their characteristics, the quicker we can contain and mitigate them,” said Longini. “TranStat will help us do this by standardizing data collection and analysis.”

Conference set on incontinence

The Office of Medical Applications of Research and the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the NIH are conducting a free conference that will summarize the available evidence on prevention of fecal and urinary incontinence in adults.

The conference will be held next Monday through Wednesday at the Natcher Conference Center on the NIH Main Campus, Building 45.

Following a series of scientific presentations and open public discussions, an independent panel will issue a statement of its findings on the final day of the conference.

AdvaMed joins push on R&D tax credit

The Advanced Medical Technology Association (AdvaMed, Washington) has joined a coalition to call on Congress to make permanent the research and development (R&D) tax credit that was first ratified in 1981, and to provide parity in the formulation used in determining the percentage of credit that companies receive.

The tax credit, which is set to expire at year-end, provides assistance to companies engaged in R&D activities, which have increased 20% cumulatively each year since 1990.

“Extension of the R&D tax credit has unfortunately turned into a biennial event for the Congress, weakening its intent by interrupting on-going research and creating a sense of uncertainty, particularly for small and emerging growth companies,” said Steve Ubl, president/CEO of AdvaMed. “Small businesses are often the engines that drive innovation, and the R&D tax credit should be permanent so companies can have the full benefit of the credit for long-term planning and research projects.”

Ubl also highlighted the importance of making the R&D tax credit equitable for all companies. The current tax credit involves three formulations whereby some companies receive a higher tax credit and others received much less.

Groups back legislation on payments for tests

Several medical groups are supporting legislation that they say would fix Medicare’s outdated payment policies for diagnostic tests.

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-New York) has introduced legislation in the Senate to update and modernize Medicare reimbursement policies for laboratory testing.

“AdvaMed commends Sen. Schumer for his leadership in addressing this complex and very important health issue,” said AdvaMed’s Ubl. “Diagnostic tests provide tremendous value to physicians; they make up less than 2% of hospital costs yet their findings influence as much as 70% of healthcare decision-making.”

The legislation also has been introduced in the House of Representatives as the Medicare Advanced Laboratory Diagnostics Act (H.R. 1321), sponsored by Rep. Bobby Rush (D-Illinois), Rep. Michael Ferguson (R-New Jersey), Rep. Mike Thompson (D-California) and Rep. Phil English (R-Pennsylvania).

Ubl said the current Medicare reimbursement system provides few incentives to develop new tests, which, he said, are “critical to the future of healthcare.”

“This legislation is critical in correcting that and ensuring that all patients benefit from the promises of personalized medicine,” Ubl said.