A Medical Device Daily

Medical Care Corp. (MCC; Irvine, California), a provider of diagnostic tools that enable professionals to detect early stage memory loss, reported reaching agreements that will mark its expansion into Japan.

Licensing agreements have been signed with three Japanese healthcare companies — Toyaku, Saint-Care and Millennia, giving them rights to commercialize MCC's technology to deliver what the U.S. firm characterized as “a comprehensive range of dementia-care services,“ including prevention, early detection, accurate diagnosis and care management.

MCC's electronic Dementia Care System gathers, organizes and synthesizes patient and treatment information so that healthcare providers are equipped to provide care at the highest possible level. It said its Mental Skills Test is “the most sensitive tool available for the detection of early stage memory loss.“

The company said each of the firms to which it has licensed its technology is “uniquely positioned to address a specific segment of the Japanese market.“

Toyaku, for instance, is a rapidly growing company whose retail pharmacy chains provide what MCC said is “an extensive array of prevention and lifestyle counseling services for patients.“

Publicly traded Saint-Care operates the third-largest home healthcare service in Japan and Millennia is “a pioneer in medical data management and objective measurement of treatment efficacy,“ MCC said.

The companies will use MCC technologies to expand existing services into cognitive health with what it termed “the aim of raising the standard of care in the dementia field.“

Dennis Fortier, MCC president and CEO, said, “The higher average life expectancy in Japan, coupled with a prevention-oriented public healthcare system, make Japan an attractive market for [our] technology.“

He said that, while research into new Alzheimer's treatments is essential, “many patients can be helped immediately if healthcare providers have the tools to ensure early detection of a problem followed by an accurate diagnosis and proper treatment of any underlying medical conditions.“

U.S. subsidiary for dbMotion

dbMotion Ltd. (Ra'anana, Israel), a developer of clinical information integration solutions, has established a North American subsidiary, dbMotion Inc., located in the Philadelphia area. dbMotion Inc. is headed by Peter van der Grinten as general manager and Mark Gross, senior vice president of strategy and business development.

van der Grinten has held senior management positions at numerous healthcare software and services companies, and Gross has 30 years of experience in healthcare information technology in the U.S., Canada and Europe.

The dbMotion Solution enables clinical information to be gathered from a variety of computer systems to create a complete picture of a patient's medical history, in real time and regardless of where the clinical data is collected and stored. The resulting medical picture contains the patient's entire medical history, including test results, treatments administered, hospitalizations, patient complaints, etc.

Implementation of dbMotion's solution enables authorized medical staff to retrieve clinical information on demand, subject to the appropriate access authorizations. The company said the deployment of its solution is achieved without the necessity of replacing existing information systems in hospitals, clinics and institutes where it is installed.

dbMotion has been implemented for more than four years in Israel's largest HMO, Clalit Health Services, which provides health services to 3.7 million patients through 14 hospitals, 1,200 clinics and 80 laboratories. That network was recently joined by Sheba Medical Center in Tel Aviv, and Rambam Medical Center in Haifa, both government-operated organizations.

Chinese distributor for Zynex Medical

Zynex Medical (Littleton, Colorado) has named Jilin Universal Medical Technologies distributor of its line of electrotherapy products in China.

Thomas Sandgaard, president and CEO, said, “China has the world's largest population and, with its explosive growth in many sectors, is becoming a significant potential market for our products.“ He said Jilin Universal Medical is an established distribution channel in that country, adding: “We expect much from this relationship in the years to come.“

Zynex is a provider of electrotherapy devices for patients with functional disability. Utilizing a combination of electromyographic (EMG) technology with a system of instruction and reinforcement, including electrical muscle stimulation, the company offers what it terms “new treatment options“ to post-stroke and spinal injury patients.