FEI (Hillsboro, Oregon) reported the launch of its new scanning/transmission electron microscope (S/TEM), the Titan 80-300, dedicated to corrected microscopy. The new S/TEM system yields atomic-scale imaging with resolution below 0.7 Angstrom. The Titan 80-300 is designed as a dedicated and upgradeable, aberration-corrected system that will enable corrector and monochromator technology to enter into mainstream nanotechnology research and industrial markets. The Titan S/TEM system features unparalleled overall stability to break the 1-Angstrom barrier, FEI said. Corrector upgrades can be added for higher resolution, extending the point resolution down to the information limit for accurate interpretation of atomic structures. The system will be fully available for demonstrations after Titan's official launch at the 2005 Microscopy and Microanalysis meeting in Honolulu in August.

iCAD (Nashua, New Hampshire), a provider of computer-aided detection (CAD) for the early identification of cancer, reported submitting a 510(k) application with the FDA for marketing its first product for use in the detection of lung cancer. As an image processing application intended to support computed tomography (CT) review workstation software, iCAD's lung cancer detection product is designed to make the medical review of lungs in CT scans more productive. The solution identifies roughly spherical objects in the lung that meet radiologist-specified size, shape and brightness criteria, enabling healthcare professionals to improve workflow by spending more time reviewing potential areas of lung cancer concern. Distribution agreements for iCAD's lung cancer detection products already are in place with TeraRecon (San Mateo, California) and Viatronix (Stony Brook, New York), both to begin product marketing following FDA clearance and product development and release plans are completed. ICAD's submission was made to Underwriters Laboratories under the FDA Accredited Persons Program.

SpectruMedix (State College, Pennsylvania), a manufacturer of high-throughput capillary electrophoresis instrumentation for genetic analysis, reported the launch of a new application package to the Reveal Genetic Analysis System human bacterial and viral pathogen (HBVP) detection and identification. The Reveal HBVP System will include complete chemistry and instrumentation methodology for accurate, low cost, high throughput detection and identification of bacterial and viral pathogens. The first set of assays include Chlamydia trachomatis, Bordetella pertussis, Bordetella parapertussis, Staphlocococcus mecA, E. coli Shiga like toxin II, herpes simplex virus, cytomegalovirus and Varicella-zoster virus. This new technology expands the functionality of the Reveal Genetic Analysis System, which the company said is known for DNA variant discovery and identification, fragment analysis and sequencing. The HBVP System takes advantage of the ability to use intercalating dyes to detect unlabeled double-stranded DNA.