•Direct Medical Systems(San Ramon, California) reported it has received clearance to market its DMS-C800 Computed Axial Tomography Scanner and the DMS-880P Portable B/W Ultrasound system from the FDA. DMS is a joint venture company between several manufacturers in China and the Chinese government.

• Medtronic (Santa Rosa, California) said that enrollment has begun in its ENDEAVOR IV clinical trial, the final phase of its ENDEAVOR clinical program to be used in support of premarket approval in the U.S. The first patient implant in the trial was performed by Charles O’Shaughnessy, MD, at EMH Regional Medical Center (Elyria, Ohio). ENDEAVOR IV is a randomized, single-blind trial evaluating the safety and efficacy of the Endeavor drug-eluting coronary stent as compared to the Taxus paclitaxel-eluting coronary stent system from Boston Scientific (Natick, Massachusetts). The ENDEAVOR IV study will include about 1,548 patients randomized one-to-one against the Taxus stent and will be performed at about 80 centers in the U.S. and Canada. The primary endpoint of the trial is target vessel failure at nine months, with a secondary endpoint of major adverse cardiac events at 30 days. The trial includes angiographic and Intravascular Ultrasound follow-up at eight months for a subset of 328 patients.

• Varian (Palo Alto, California) said its Salt Tolerant Cold Probe yields more than 20% higher sensitivity in salty samples that mimic physiological conditions. At higher salt concentrations, the sensitivity gain can be even greater. The Salt Tolerant Cold Probe initially is geared for 500 MHz and 600 MHz nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrometers. The Salt Tolerant Cold Probe retains all the features and benefits of a standard cold probe, including three to four times more sensitivity than a room temperature probe. The Salt Tolerant Cold Probe and cryogenic systems are compatible with the company’s new Varian NMR System and are currently available for order.