• Avantis Medical Systems (Sunnyvale, California) reported commencement of the first clinical study of its Third Eye Retroscope, a new device for colorectal cancer screening and surveillance. Used during colonoscopy, the Third Eye Retroscope is an auxiliary imaging device that provides an additional view to reveal polyps, cancers and other lesions that might be hidden from the lens of the traditional forward-viewing colonoscope. The device is passed through the instrument channel of a standard colonoscope until it extends beyond its tip. As it emerges, the device automatically turns 180 degrees to aim backward toward the tip of the colonoscope. Then, as the colonoscope is withdrawn from the colon, the Third Eye comes along with it, providing a continuous retrograde view. Avantis manufactures catheter-based endoscopic devices used to detect and treat gastrointestinal cancers.

• Epocal (Ottawa) has received FDA 510(k) clearance for its enterprise point of care (EPOC) blood analysis system. EPOC is a blood analyzer that performs a panel of acute care tests at the bedside. The product features diagnostic test cards and a portable PDA analyzer with wireless connectivity to the hospital information system. Epocal develops blood analysis systems.

• GE Healthcare (Chalfont St. Giles, UK) has introduced an ultrasound system designed to deliver the technology in a smaller, streamlined package. The LOGIQ P5 provides the same image quality, productivity capabilities and reliability of GE's LOGIQ systems. The LOQIG P5 is the next-generation portable addition to the LOGIQ family, and includes advanced applications and mid-size maneuverability for smaller space constraints. The system also includes GE's patented High Definition Speckle Reduction Imaging (HD-SRI) feature, which heightens visibility of organs and lesions with improved, high-definition contrast resolution that suppresses speckle artifact while maintaining true tissue architecture; CrossXBeam spatial compounding, which enhances tissue and border differentiation with an exclusive spatial compounding acquisition and processing technique; and 4D Imaging, which acquires three-dimensional images in real time to reveal the anatomical details. GE Healthcare is a $15 billion unit of General Electric Company.

• Invirion Diagnostics (Oak Brook, Illinois) reported the release of its newest reagent kit, ViroTech HCV In-Cell Detection Kit. The kit is intended for researchers studying cells infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV). The ViroTect HCV is intended use in detecting HCV RNA in cells from individuals infected with HCV or in cell lines infected with HCV. With the ViroTech HCV, the company aims to provide new insights into the pathology of the disease and into the efficacies of the drugs that are being developed to treat hepatitis C. Invirion develops molecular virology technology.

• Luna Innovations (Roanoke, Virginia) has introduced Emergency Noninvasive Tissue and Compartment Testing, an ultrasonic device intended to non-invasively and quickly measure and monitor intramuscular and intracranial pressures. The device uses algorithms for tracking tissue motion to the sub-micron range, allowing it to accurately reproduce the pressure waveforms that create this motion. The portable system can be operated by a non-specialist with minimal training making it ideal for traumatic injuries, sports medicine, and military combat situations in which compartment syndrome and traumatic brain injury are common, Luna said. The device is currently labeled for investigational use only and Luna is accepting orders for research purposes.

• ONI Medical Systems (Wilmington, Massachusetts) reported the addition of Versatile, Spectrometer & Protocol Engineered Coils to its MSK Extreme dedicated MRI device. The MSK Extreme with V-Spec uses a set of six specialized removable transmit/receive coils designed to optimize system performance for peripheral scans. With six coils, the device optimizes image contrast and resolution while boosting signal-to-noise ratios by up to 80% for the best image quality in the shortest scan time. The device will be presented at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America from Nov. 26 to Dec. 1 in Chicago. ONI develops and markets extremity MRI systems.