A Medical Device Daily

Delphi Medical Systems, a subsidiary of Delphi (both Troy, Michigan), signed an exclusive worldwide agreement with Norway-based PremaCare to develop and start production of a neonatal intensive care incubator.

The incubator is designed to provide more comfort to the infant through "a better-controlled environment, with full visibility for the caregiver, and better and easier access to the patient," according to Delphi Medical.

Christophe Sevrain, managing director of Delphi Medical, said, "From better humidity and temperature control to better ergonomics, and other state-of-the-art features, this patented incubator is full of innovative features that will be offered at a very competitive price given its design, which leverages Delphi's technologies."

He said that "surveyed healthcare providers" raised concerns regarding certain characteristics of traditional incubators. Among the improvements the PremaCare incubator is expected to deliver is controlled temperature. A double-wall dome keeps the air flow warm at a steady temperature, keeping the baby warm even when access is needed and the doors are open.

In other award news:

• GE Healthcare (Waukesha, Wisconsin) said that it has received a contract award from HealthTrust Purchasing Group (HPG; Brentwood, Tennessee), a healthcare group purchasing organization, to make GE Healthcare's imaging technologies available to patients served by HPG members.

GE Healthcare said it has signed three "significant" agreements with HPG and will be a contract vendor for HPG's more than 1,500 hospitals, surgery centers, diagnostic imaging centers and physicians. The agreements, each three years in length, cover mammography, ultrasound, computed tomography, MRI, positron emission tomography, nuclear medicine, angiography labs, cardiac cath labs, portable and general X-ray, and radiography and fluoroscopy systems.

The agreements add to the existing radiology, cardiology, bone mineral densitometry, surgical C-arms, anesthesia, infant care, and monitoring products and services that GE already supplies to HPG members under other agreements.