• Banyan (Los Angeles), franchisors of nationally branded Chiropractic USA clinics and owner of Premier Medical Group and Virtual Medical Systems (VMS), reported its initial results since it launched its newest medical device, the VT3000, to physicians nationwide. The VT3000 is an electro-diagnostic testing machine that pinpoints problems related to nerves, muscles, spinal cord or the brain. The VT3000 can be operated in doctors offices, with live viewing by a certified technician and rapid reading service from VMS physicians. The company reported initial sales of 50 machines, with sales of 50 additional machines expected within the next 90 days.

• EDDA Technology (Princeton Junction, New Jersey) said it has received FDA clearance to market its IQQA-Liver software, an image analysis system that provides diagnostic decision support for physicians’ evaluation of hepatic lesions using multiphase Multi-Detector CT (MDCT). According to EDDA, IQQA-Liver is the first diagnostic analysis system that provides real-time decision support for managing four dimensional patient live image data (3 spatial dimensions, plus time). IQQA-Liver further provides segmentation and measurement tools for the visualization and analysis of liver lesions, hepatic vascular structures, as well as liver lobes, the company said.

• Interact Medical (Natick, Massachusetts) reported the launch of the Intact Advance, a bladed-tip design now available as a successor to the company’s radio frequency precursor tip. The Intact Advance wand — available in 12mm, 15mm, and 20mm diameter sizes — features a precision cutting blade for positioning the wand within the breast for optimal access to the lesion of interest. The Intact Advance has FDA 510(k) clearance for the complete or partial removal of an imaged abnormality. The bladed tip Intact Advance wand is designed to make the Intact Breast Lesion Excision System more intuitive to users familiar with vacuum-assisted core needle biopsy devices, Interact Medical said.

• McKesson (Pittsburgh) has reported the general availability of the IntelliShelf-Rx system for hospital pharmacies. Powered by the same workflow software found in McKesson’s market-leading ROBOT-Rx, IntelliShelf-Rx is equipped with radio frequency identification and bar-coding technologies designed to enable hospitals to automate existing medication dispensing processes without reengineering the entire pharmacy. McKesson provides pharmaceutical and medical-surgical supply management across the spectrum of care.

• OrgisMedical (Lake Forest, California) reported that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has granted the company its 13th patent, “Implantable Heart Assist System and Method of Applying the Same.” The patent covers the miniaturization of the company’s Cancion and Exeleras systems for direct placement of a pump, blood flow conduits and pump control electronics directly into the vasculature of congestive heart failure patients. The Cancion system is being studied in the MOMENTUM pivotal trial and the first clinical use of the Exeleras system is expected next year.

• Royal Philips Electronics (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) reported that its Medical Systems division is introducing the Philips asset tracking solution, a turn-key solution used for locating hospital assets and improving efficiencies. Using Wi-Fi based technology by AeroScout, the asset tracking solution is designed around the hospitals’ existing 802.11 wireless infrastructure, allowing hospitals to leverage investments they have already made in their wireless technology. The Philips asset tracking solution is designed around each hospital’s specific use cases to help solve problems such as productivity, regulation requirements, utilization, theft, and loss.

• Spire Biomedical (Bedford, Massachusetts), a provider of surface modification services, was featured at the 39th annual “Renal Week 2006” meeting of the American Society of Nephrology Nov. 14-19 in San Diego. Spire introduced the Decathlon Gold End-Point, a bonded heparin-coated catheter, which received clearance earlier this year from the FDA for use in long-term hemodialysis treatment. The catheter’s heparin coating has been effective on a range of medical devices, including vascular grafts, coronary stents, ventricular assist devices and blood oxygenators. The coating is bonded to both the internal and external catheter surfaces and has been shown to maintain 100% of its bioactive properties for a minimum of 90 days.