• Iapyx Medical (San Diego) Thursday introduced its Iso-Line Suction Wand Holster System, an infection control product designed to isolate suction wands to minimize the transmission of pathogenic organisms (viruses, bacteria, and fungi) in a hospital setting. According to a study published in the American Journal of Infection Control, 80% of oral suction wands can be contaminated with highly pathogenic bacteria and fungi which can contribute to serious hospital-acquired infections. Typically, these wands are placed under the patient’s pillow or on other hospital equipment increasing the risk of infection to both patients and healthcare workers. The Iso-Line is mounted onto the patient’s bedrail, hospital stand or ventilator, and includes a rigid disposable holster that isolates the suction wand from surface contact, thereby reducing the transmission of infectious pathogens. The holster is designed with a secretion reservoir that allows blood and mucus to drain away from the tip of the suction wand. Iapyx Medical produces single-use medical devices designed to combat hospital-acquired infections.

• Illumina (San Diego) reports that the next BeadChip in its Infinium product family will profile over one million genetic variants. The Human 1M BeadChip combines a level of content for both whole-genome (WG) and copy number variation (CNV) analysis, along with additional unique, high-value genomic regions of interest – all on a single microarray chip. Illumina also announced that it plans to introduce the Human 450S BeadChip, which will enable customers using Illumina’s HumanHap550 BeadChip to further extend their genetic studies to include the one million content level. The Human 1M and Human 450S BeadChips will be powered by Illumina’s Infinium Assay. Both products are expected to enter the market by the close of the second quarter, 2007. Illumina makes tools for the large-scale analysis of genetic variation and function.

• Medtronic (Minneapolis) reported the release of its newest version of the Paceart System. The latest edition of Paceart further supports clinicians with solutions designed for the management of patients with cardiac rhythm disease. The system consolidates detailed data from in-clinic device interrogations from the major implantable cardiac device manufacturers, and also remote management technologies. Paceart supports the management of data for more than 1,000 implantable cardiac devices. In addition, Paceart serves as a single integration point, reducing the number of interfaces and information technology resources needed to share information electronically with other systems.