PainCare offering joint program

PainCare Holdings (Orlando, Florida) said it is offering an ancillary service designed to address severe knee pain and stiffness caused by osteoarthritis (OA). The Intra Articular Joint Program (IAJ) will be integrated into the service offerings provided by each suitable physician practice in PainCare's national organization. The program also will be marketed nationally to non-affiliated physician practice groups under a management agreement.

The IAJ program is a non-operative knee treatment protocol that combines a five- to six-week series of strategically targeted injections of Hyalgan — the first FDA-approved hyaluronan therapy to treat OA knee pain in the U.S. — with synergistic orthopedic rehab procedures designed to strengthen blood flow to the knee.

Hyalgan, from Sanofi-Aventis (Le Plessis Robinson, France), is a sterile, highly purified mixture that is chemically similar to the hyaluronan found in the knee joint. When injected into the knee's joint space, Hyalgan bonds with joint fluid naturally present in the knee to create a lubricating and cushioning layer, thus reducing inflammation, swelling and prevailing pain and stiffness.

Under the IAJ program, physicians inject Hyalgan into a patient's knee under fluoroscopy every seven to 10 days until up to five injections have been administered. The patient also executes a specialized physical therapy program based on an exercise algorithm created to enhance strength and mobility of the knee.

Analogic gets Nasdaq extension

Analogic (Peabody, Massachusetts), a manufacturer of health and security imaging equipment, reported that the Nasdaq Listing Qualifications Panel has granted the company an extension until Jan. 31 to file its annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended July 31, and its quarterly report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended Oct. 31.

Analogic reported on Nov. 2 and Dec. 23 that it had received notices from Nasdaq that it was not in compliance with the requirements for continued listing as a result of its failure to file those forms and therefore was subject to delisting. Analogic appealed the decision to delist its stock and requested an extension until Jan. 31 to file both its annual report and its quarterly report.

The company said that work “remains to be done in connection with the completion of [our] financial statements“ for the periods covered by those reports and the audit and review of those financial statements by PricewaterhouseCoopers. While noting that “it is possible that Analogic will not be able to complete and file those reports by that date [Jan. 31],“ it said it believes it will be able to do so.

Spacelabs to offer Masimo SET

Spacelabs Medical (Issaquah, Washington), a global manufacturer of patient monitoring systems, and Masimo (Irvine, California), the developer of Signal Extraction Technology (SET) pulse oximetry, reported an alliance in which SET will be integrated with Spacelabs' patient monitoring systems, including its Ultraview bedside monitors.

Dave Tilley, president and COO of Spacelabs, cited SET pulse oximetry “delivering high performance and minimizing false alarms.“

Joe Kiani, Masimo CEO, added, “We are happy to partner with Spacelabs to create patient monitoring solutions that combine the strengths of both companies to best meet the needs of clinicians and the patients they treat in healthcare institutions around the world.“

Spacelabs manufactures patient monitoring systems for critical care and anesthesia, wired and wireless networks and clinical information connectivity solutions, ambulatory blood pressure monitors and medical data services.