• CardioMEMS (Atlanta) reported that its wireless pressure sensor was surgically implanted into the wrist of three severely hypertensive patients at Hospital DIPRECA (Santiago, Chile) by cardio-thoracic surgeons, Miguel Berr, MD, and Michael Tuchek, DO. The wireless hypertension sensor is positioned just below the surface of the skin above the patient’s radial artery using a minimally invasive procedure. The sensor is designed to allow for a precise and accurate measurement of systemic blood pressure using the CardioMEMS electronics module. The sensor and electronics are designed to allow for additional blood pressure measurements to be taken by the patients at home and to transmit the data wirelessly to a secure database where it will become available for review on CardioMEMS’ patient management website. The wireless hypertension sensor and the related electronics are being evaluated as part of a clinical trial and are not approved for marketing.

• CISBIO (Saclay, France), a developer of assays for the quantification of tumor markers, reported that the Mesomark Assay — which it calls the world’s first in vitro test for managing patients with mesothelioma, an aggressive and deadly form of cancer — has been approved by the FDA. The Mesomark test is developed and manufactured by Fujirebio Diagnostics (Malvern, Pennsylvania), and CISBIO is the exclusive distributor in Europe, where it is undergoing evaluation for clinical use. The Mesomark test is now accessible to physicians across the U.S. for monitoring patients who have been diagnosed with epithelioid or biphasic mesothelioma. The minimally-invasive tool requires only a blood sample.

• Criticare Systems (Waukesha, Wisconsin) reported launch of the communication interface between Criticare’s VitalCare portable vital signs monitor and Sensitron’s careTrends software solution, developed to enable acute care customers to wirelessly transfer patients’ vital signs data into their network. This new interface was shown at the Sensitron booth at the annual Health Information Management Systems and Society (HIMSS) Conference in New Orleans last month. The integration will provide a wireless solution to transfer patients’ vital signs such as heart rate, blood pressure, temperature and respiration into a hospital’s electronic medical record (EMR). Criticare Systems manufactures monitoring systems for oral and maxillofacial surgery. Sensitron (San Mateo, California) develops wireless patient monitoring systems.

• Immucor (Norcross, Georgia), which provides automated instrument-reagent systems to the blood transfusion industry, said on Friday, the company submitted the 510(k) premarket notification submission for its Galileo Echo instrument to the FDA. Immucor makes a line of reagents and systems used by hospitals, reference laboratories and donor centers to detect and identify certain properties of the cell and serum components of blood prior to transfusion. Immucor markets a family of automated instrumentation for all of its market segments.

• IMPAC Medical Systems (IMPAC; Sunnyvale, California), a business of Elekta (Stockholm, Sweden) and a provider of information technology solutions for anatomic pathology and oncology care, introduced the PowerPath Advanced Materials Processing (AMP) module. AMP enhances patient safety with expanded use of barcode technology to track case materials from accessioning to sign-out. AMP provides laboratories with significant opportunities to improve workflow efficiency, accountability and responsiveness, potentially resulting in revenue increases and cost savings.