DOBI retains Bio-Imaging Technologies

DOBI Medical International (Mahwah, New Jersey) said that it has retained Bio-Imaging Technologies (Newtown, Pennsylvania), a provider of medical image management services for clinical trials. Bio-Imaging will manage clinical study image data for the ComfortScan system, DOBI Medical's Dynamic Optical Breast Imaging (DOBI) technology.

DOBI said it recently entered a clinical trial which will be the subject of the fifth and final module of its premarket approval application to the FDA and is currently enrolling patients for a multi-center study to determine the efficacy of the ComfortScan system as an adjunct to screening mammography.

OmniCorder becomes Advanced BioPhotonics

OmniCorder Technologies (Bohemia, New York) said that the company's shareholders approved a proposal to change its name to Advanced BioPhotonics at its recent annual meeting of shareholders. The company's Over-the-Counter Bulletin Board ticker symbol is now ABPH.OB.

"Biophotonics is the science of utilizing photonic activity within tissue to detect, diagnose and treat diseases in a way that is non-invasive to the body. We were early pioneers in this field and our new name; Advanced BioPhotonics Inc., better defines the nature of our core medical imaging technology," said Denis O'Connor, president and CEO. "This name change also symbolizes the transformation the company is undergoing as we progress from a research and development-stage company to a commercial organization."

Advanced BioPhotonics develops functional medical imaging applications using infrared focal plane arrays.

Siemens ultrasound ranked No. 1

Siemens Medical Solutions Ultrasound Division, part of Siemens (Malvern, Pennsylvania/Erlangen, Germany) reported that it has been ranked the No. 1 ultrasound company for revenues in the U.S. for the fifth year in a row, by Klein Biomedical Consultants' (KBC; New York) 2004 annual report, followed by Philips Medical Systems (Andover, Massachusetts) and GE Healthcare (Waukesha, Wisconsin), respectively.

"Even without growth in the U.S. ultrasound market, Siemens Ultrasound was able to increase its cardiology market share in total sales from products and options, taking it to No. 1 in the U.S. cardiology market," said Harvey Klein, PhD, founder and president of KBC. "The company remained strategically focused in its business performance and, as a result, was able to advance its position in cardiology and maintain its leadership in radiology."

KBC is a strategic marketing firm that tracks the ultrasound market. The KBC 2004 report also ranks Siemens No. 1 in both cardiology and radiology markets for ultrasound units and total revenues, including options.