• Affymetrix (Santa Clara, California) reported the full commercial launch of Affymetrix GeneChip command console (AGCC) software, one part of a software suite that enables researchers and clinicians to extract and analyze microarray data faster than ever before. The intuitive set of integrated instrument control and data organization tools supports all cartridge-based GeneChip arrays with a file-based system designed for easy data sharing, a streamlined workflow and ease of use. Affymetrix GeneChip command console software provides a set of tools for instrument control and data organization used in the processing of GeneChip probe arrays. AGCC calculates a single intensity value for each probe cell delineated by the grid (.CEL file generation), enables sample and array registration, instrument control for the Fluidics Station 450 and the GeneChip Scanner 3000 scanner as well as automatic and manual image gridding. Besides these core features, the flexible platform provided by AGCC enables customized, automated and integrated workflows with a variety of laboratory information management systems. Affymetrix makes technology for pharmaceutical, biotechnology and diagnostic companies.

• Align Technology (Santa Clara, California) reported the launch of Vivera retainers, a new subscription-based program that delivers clear, fresh retainers to orthodontic patients every three months for one year. The company said studies show that without retention, even perfectly aligned teeth can gradually revert to their pre-treatment state, and that dentition continues to change into aged 50 and beyond. Vivera retainers are made with the same technology as Invisalign aligners, which employ 3-D digital imaging, proprietary clear thermoplastic material and advanced fabrication technology to create a strong retainer with a precise, comfortable fit. Retainers need to be strong enough to maintain tooth position. Align said its lab tests show that Vivera’s thermoplastic material is more than 30% stronger than other leading clear retainer materials, with that strength a key to retaining teeth in their final position.

• Direct Medical Systems (San Francisco) has released a low-cost ultrasound system, the InNovaSound, a hand-held device that can be used during a typical outpatient visit. Immediate results can mean the difference between a prolonged life and a shortened one. The company said the InNovaSound system “represents progress and potential to improve the quality of the physician examinations, which has been virtually unchanged for 200 years.” It said the system can provide “truly portable” ultrasound to the patients’ bedside. InNovaSound also can be used to obtain more information before ordering other diagnostic tests, thus reducing the number of unnecessary tests, as well as increasing workflow efficiency and system utilization in imaging departments.

• Endocare (Irvine, California) said that the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has increased its hospital outpatient and ambulatory surgical center reimbursement rates for cryoablation treatments for prostate cancer. The new rates, which were proposed in August and will go into effect in 2008, were confirmed on Nov. 1 and will be published in final regulations documenting these payment increases in the Federal Register on Nov. 27. Cryoablation is a minimally-invasive treatment that uses the Endocare CryoCare surgical system to precisely target, freeze and destroy cancerous tissue. Endocare is focused on the development of minimally invasive technologies used by urologists and interventional radiologists for tissue and tumor ablation.