West Africa's Ebola outbreak is an "extraordinary event" and a public health risk to other states, according to a new statement from the World Health Organization (Geneva). The agency said the possible consequences of a further international spread of the outbreak, which has killed almost 1,000 people in four West African countries, were "particularly serious in view of the virulence of the virus, the intensive community and health facility transmission patterns, a coordinated international response is deemed essential to stop and reverse the international spread of Ebola." .

Toshiba America Medical Systems (TAMS; Tustin, California) said it is making it possible for clinicians to use ultrasound to see the smallest vessels in and around areas like tumors and lymph nodes, giving them a new way to diagnose disease faster and noninvasively.

The Ebola epidemic has generated a considerable amount of fear. One medical device company is trying to do its part to help hospitals prevent this and other deadly infections from spreading. These technologies may also have applications for Ebola drug developers concerned with lab infection control.

This Ebola epidemic that started in March in West Africa, and the two Americans infected with the virus, has attracted attention and generated a considerable amount of fear. It's been dubbed the worst Ebola outbreak in history and has killed at least 887 people already, according to the World Health Organization. One medical device company is trying to do its part to help hospitals prevent this and other deadly infections from spreading.

A nose device designed to target nerve trunks and stimulate the brain structures that control memory and cognition is catching attention as a potential new therapy for central nervous system diseases, including Alzheimer's.

The best medical innovations are often those born from limitations of existing technology. Such was the case for Steven Frank, a radiation oncology expert, back in 2006 when he became interested in using post-implant MRI scans for prostate cancer patients treated with brachytherapy.

The medical device industry is no stranger to whistleblower lawsuits. In fact, these cases are so commonplace that most of the time they don’t even make the front page. I wouldn’t go so far as to say the industry is “extraordinarily corrupt” as one watchdog group claimed a couple years back (MDD, May 8, 2012), but it doesn’t help the image when almost all the leading device companies have been accused at one time or another of offering kickbacks. The latest such scandal involves Acumed, a company in the Portland area, accused of making bogus payments to doctors and overseas...