• ChiroSoft (El Dorado Hills, California), offering customized software for chiropractortic practices, said it has released the latest version of its Practice Management software. Version 9 is compatible with the most recent Microsoft Windows operating system, brings the company's client base into compliancy with increasing HIPAA standards, and implements the components necessary to be proactive with future industry standards.

• Ellex Medical Lasers (Adelaide, Australia), a manufacturer of laser systems for the ophthalmic industry, reported that it has received 510(k) clearance for the Integre Duo, the first solid-state red and green photocoagulator. The Integre Duo uses a dual-wavelength laser cavity enabling ophthalmologists to better treat challenging retinal conditions, often caused by age or diabetes. The Integre Duo has already been approved for sale in Japan where the first customer units will be installed in April. Ellex expects the first customer units to arrive in the U.S. market in July.

• Neuroscience Therapy (San Dimas, California), a developer of technology to relieve pain, reported that it has received FDA approval to begin marketing its primary device P-Stim in the U.S. P-Stim, which has been used to treat more than 7,500 patients in Europe, is a miniaturized electro-stimulation device that operates on the principle of auricular acupuncture. Micro-processor controlled, it generates a low frequency electrical pulse which is transmitted to the peripheral nerve endings in the ear. This stimulation results in the release of endorphins, substances that have an analgesic effect. P-Stim is placed behind the ear with an adhesive and the pulses are transmitted via stimulating needles in the ear muscle to the nerve endings in this muscle. P-Stim allows a continuous therapy over several days.

• Questra (Redwood City, California), a developer of intelligent device management products, reported the availability of its next-generation solution for managing software on remote equipment. Questra SoftwareDirector 5.1, a key application in the Questra IDM Application Suite, gives equipment manufacturers an automated, hassle-free means of tracking and updating valid and desired combinations of software and hardware at a distance. The new version of Questra SoftwareDirector reduces the cost associated with managing complex software requirements on remote equipment, making it easier for manufacturers to deploy more equipment, more quickly, without risking equipment safety or effectiveness. Questra SoftwareDirector 5.1 offers configuration management, dynamic grouping and performance enhancements.