A Medical Device Daily

Longport (Glen Mills, Pennsylvania), a firm specializing in high-resolution ultrasound imaging, reported receiving a $1.7 million National Institutes of Health (NIH; Bethesda, Maryland) grant application for a three-year collaborative study of pressure ulcer development using its Episcan I-200 technology.

The principal investigator, Dr. Courtney Lyder of the University of Virginia (Charlottesville, Virginia), in collaboration with Emory University and the Georgia Institute of Technology (both Atlanta), will explore methods for improved detection of pressure ulcer risk and development in people of color. The research will use the Longport Episcan I-200 to identify ultrasound findings associated with pressure ulcer development to determine more appropriate assessment methods for improved identification of risk for people of color and ultimately to eliminate the current disparity.

Lyder's motivation for this project is based on his knowledge of research that indicates a significant disparity whereby black and Hispanic elders are more likely to develop full thickness skin loss (Stage III and Stage IV pressure ulcers) as compared to their Caucasian counterparts.

According to Lyder, this disparity is likely due to the difficulty of detecting the skin changes associated with pressure ulcer development in individuals with darkly pigmented skin.

Lyder is a professor of nursing, internal medicine and geriatrics and the inaugural holder of the University of Virginia Medical Center professorship in nursing.

Instrumentation Laboratory (IL; Lexington, Massachusetts) reported being awarded a three-year contract as a preferred vendor of its critical care portfolio with Resource Optimization & Innovation (ROi), the group purchasing organization of the Sisters of Mercy Health System (Mercy; Chesterfield, Missouri). The contract covers IL's critical care analyzers, reagents, consumables and service, including its GEM Premier 3000 analyzer for blood gas, electrolyte and metabolite testing.

The analyzer features Intelligent Quality Management (iQM), a real-time, automated, quality assurance system that helps ensure the quality of every test result and reduce costs and time. iQM, coupled with its cartridge-based technology and ease of use, allows the GEM Premier 3000 to be used throughout the hospital, at the point of care and in the lab.

Gary Kane, vice president of group purchasing at ROi, said, "Our partnership with IL will provide Mercy with savings of approximately $47,000 annually."

IL manufactures in vitro diagnostic instruments, reagents and controls for use in hospitals and independent clinical laboratories.

Implant Sciences (Wakefield, Massachusetts), a manufacturer of products for national security, medicine and industry, reported executing an agreement with Rapiscan Systems, a subsidiary of OSI Systems (both Hawthorne, California) responsible for the manufacture and marketing of security equipment. The agreement establishes an alliance between Implant enabling bundling of Implant's QS trace explosives detection equipment with Rapiscan's suite of security and inspection products.

Under terms of the agreement, Rapiscan will sell and service Implant's technology under the Rapiscan label while permitting Implant to sell and service its existing equipment to its own customers.