• Alerion Biomedical (San Diego) said results using its two new contrast agents for microCT and CT (computed tomography) imaging were featured in eight abstracts and presentations by researchers during the Academy of Molecular Imaging annual meeting in Orlando, Florida, which ended yesterday. Compatible with both microCT and standard CT imaging systems, Fenestra allows researchers to view anatomy and function in a wide range of animal models. Fenestra can be administered repeatedly to the same animal, eliminating the need to sacrifice and assay multiple animals at various time points in longitudinal studies. Fenestra LC provides both prolonged contrast enhancement of the entire hepatobiliary system as well as functional imaging information about the liver and biliary tract in pre-clinical animal studies. Fenestra VC provides sustained contrast enhancement of the entire vascular tree from a single administration.

• AngioScore (Alameda, California), a developer of angioplasty tools for interventional cardiologists and radiologists, reported the completion of the U.S. clinical trial for its flagship AngioSculpt Scoring Balloon Catheter in coronary lesions and the conclusion of follow up on the 200 patients in the trial. The multicenter clinical trial is a pros-pective clinical study of the safety and efficacy of the AngioSculpt scoring balloon catheter in 200 patients undergoing angioplasty to treat coronary artery disease. The study examines acute outcomes when the AngioSculpt scoring balloon catheter is used for the treatment of a hemodynamically significant coronary artery stenosis, including in-stent restenosis, for the purpose of improving myocardial perfusion. Principal Investigator Martin Leon, MD, associate director of Cardiovascular Interventional Therapy at Columbia University Medical Center and chairman of the Cardiology Research Foundation (both New York), said, "The AngioSculpt Scoring Balloon Catheter is a promising new approach to dilatation of challenging lesions and potentially a valuable adjunct to drug-eluting stents, facilitating precise stent placement and complete expansion."

• ArcSight (Cupertino, California), a leader in Enterprise Security Management (ESM), reported the introduction of ArcSight ESM Healthcare Edition. ArcSight ESM Healthcare Edition allows healthcare payors, providers and clearinghouses to streamline security management practices for their unique environment. The Healthcare Edition melds ArcSight ESM's security management, reporting and workflow capabilities to the healthcare provider and insurance industries' specific regulatory and security requirements. ArcSight ESM enables the collection of security log information from the entire infrastructure. ArcSight ESM Healthcare Edition reports are tailored to generate HIPAA relevant statements that can be disseminated to compliance stakeholders and kept on record as proof of due diligence toward compliance with the HIPAA Security Standard.

• Daou Systems (Exton, Pennsylvania), a provider of IT consulting and management services to healthcare organizations, reported the launch of a new service offering in the design and implementation of enterprise-wide mobile health strategies for healthcare providers, and the signing of a contract with Southern Regional Health System (Riverdale, Georgia). The contract includes a comprehensive needs assessment and development of vision and strategy that will serve as a roadmap for mobile health innovations at Southern Regional, and for ensuring that those innovations have the proper infrastructure to support them.

• Enpath Medical (Minneapolis) reported that it has received CE approval from the European Union to begin marketing its steroid epicardial lead in Europe for one of its two contract customers for this product. It said it expects sales to the European market to commence immediately. The company anticipates CE approval on a second version of the steroid epicardial lead for its other contract customer in the next several weeks. Enpath also reported that the FDA has indicated it will require prospective human clinical data prior to approving the company's submission of its steroid epicardial lead.

• Medical Care Corp. (MCC; Irvine, California), a developer of knowledge-ware that enables identification and treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD) and related disorders, said a study published in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences showed that by applying statistical modeling to the neuropsychological test battery used by the National Institute of Aging's Disease Research Centers, the overall accuracy for distinguishing normal aging from the mildest stage of AD increased to 97%. The statistical model allows doctors to more accurately detect patients with mild cognitive impairment, a condition that precedes dementia caused by AD, enabling patients to start treatment at an earlier, more beneficial stage. The study was conducted over the course of 15 years and included 471 subjects. MCC developed the analytical technology used in the study.

• Medtronic Vascular (Santa Rosa, California) said that it has obtained CE mark approval on its Valiant Thoracic Stent Graft with Xcelerant Delivery System for commercial release in Europe. Valiant is a robust, next-generation stent graft built on the company's thoracic endovascular clinical history, which includes more than 16,000 implanted grafts. The Valiant system is more conformable than earlier-generation devices and the new delivery system enables precise transluminal deployment of the stent graft. It also offers more size and end configuration options. The Valiant thoracic system also will offer covered graft lengths of up to 20 centimeters for maximum lesion coverage and the use of fewer graft segments to complete procedures. The company said its commercialization of the Valiant system outside the U.S. would be phased in over the spring and summer.