A Medical Device Daily
Hamilton Thorne Biosciences (Beverly, Massachusetts) and CogniScent (Weston, Massachusetts) reported a collaborative relationship for development and marketing of CogniScent’s “Electronic Nose” device.
CogniScent has granted Hamilton Thorne worldwide exclusive marketing rights in key areas, and the companies are working together to produce the next generation of sensors that will increase the capability and sensitivity of artificial nose devices.
CogniScent’s Electronic Nose uses an artificial olfactory neuronal network that mimics more aspects of the highly developed scent recognition abilities of animals than any other device presently available, resulting in an extremely sensitive detection system.
The technology, which combines an array of optically based chemosensors with pattern recognition, works by producing a “digital signature,” or pattern, of the specific odor and then comparing it to patterns stored in its odor database. The use of an artificial neural network allows the unit to “learn” new odors and store response patterns for future comparison.
“We are very pleased to work with CogniScent to offer a sophisticated, yet easy-to-use, on-site monitoring device for the detection and measurement of the levels of damaging fungal organisms,” said Meg Hamilton, CEO of Hamilton Thorne Biosciences. “The ability for the unskilled user to perform on-site screening for fungal organisms represents the first line in the battle to reduce the litigation, clean-up costs and structural damage caused by toxigenic molds.”
Hamilton Thorne Biosciences is a privately held automated instrumentation and DNA-technology company.
In other grants/contracts news:
• Alliance Medical (Alliance; Phoenix), a reprocessor of single-use devices (SUDs), reported signing a three-year agreement with MedAssets (Atlanta), a supply chain management company.
The agreement is projected to save MedAssets’ members $40 million through non-labor, supply-cost reductions over the term of the new agreement, and eliminate more than 240,000 pounds of medical waste. MedAssets members will have access to Alliance’s full complement of reprocessing services and its AIM program consultation services.
Mark Miriani, vice president of the Materials Management Division of MedAssets Supply Chain Systems, said, “By partnering with Alliance, MedAssets is able to provide significant savings to our members. This initiative directly translates into money hospitals can utilize to maintain and enhance patient care while reducing unnecessary medical products in our local landfills.”
Reprocessing, regulated by the FDA, allows single-use devices to be cleaned, checked for functional integrity and sterilized according to all of the regulatory requirements currently applicable to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), Alliance said.
• Philips Medical Systems (Andover, Massachusetts) reported that it has been awarded diagnostic imaging contracts from HealthTrust Purchasing Group (HPG; Brentwood, Tennessee), a healthcare purchasing organization. The agreements will provide Philips access to HPG’s more than 1,500 members.
The three-year agreements between Philips and HPG will cover ultrasound, computed tomography (CT), MRI, positron emission tomography (PET), PET/CT, nuclear medicine, angiography labs, cardiac cath labs, general X-ray, and radiography and fluoroscopy systems.
The latest agreements add to existing agreements covering patient monitoring and resuscitation productts.
Randy Rountree, senior vice president of sales, North America, for Philips Medical Systems, said, “Combined, these awards place virtually all Philips medical equipment lines under contract with HPG for the first time in our history.”
• Cyberkinetics Neurotechnology Systems (Foxborough, Massachusetts) reported that it has contracted with Alpha-Omega to serve as a non-exclusive distributor for the company’s line of neuroscience research products.
Alpha-Omega is a supplier of neuroscience systems to the research community both in the U.S. and Europe, with product offerings that are complementary to Cyberkinetics’ research products. The supply and distribution agreement will provide Cyberkinetics with access to a wide group of neuroscientists in the U.S. and Europe through an established channel.
Timothy Surgenor, Cyberkinetics’ CEO, said, “Alpha-Omega is a strong partner in the scientific equipment market, and we believe this supply and distribution agreement will help us build our research business revenues, both domestically and internationally.”