Physio-Control (Redmond, Washington) said that the Lifepak 1000 defibrillator has been deployed on the International Space Station (ISS) as the first automated external defibrillator (AED) in space. AEDs have become common in places such as airplanes, health clubs, and schools and now the Lifepak 1000 AED will be available for NASA crew members should someone experience sudden cardiac arrest in space.

The ISS has used manual defibrillators in the past, but Physio-Control said NASA decided to now deploy an AED because it requires less training and maintenance, better enabling astronauts to respond to a medical emergency. The small size and light weight of the Lifepak 1000 also helped minimize hardware mass and volume onboard the Space Station.

"We are honored NASA selected the Lifepak 1000 defibrillator to protect the lives of crew members onboard the International Space Station," said Brian Webster, president of Physio-Control. "The 1000 is used by thousands of emergency responders worldwide and was designed for use in the harshest environments and situations; it's proven to be one of the most reliable products Physio-Control has ever developed. This 'space first' is especially exciting for us, as it underscores the many reasons customers choose Lifepak defibrillators for emergency medical use."

Physio-Control, a subsidiary of Medtronic, specializes in defibrillation technology.

Zynex petitions AMEX for listing

Zynex (Littleton, Colorado), a maker of pain management systems and electrotherapy products for medical patients with functional disability, said that it has filed its application to obtain a listing on the American Stock Exchange (AMEX).

CEO Thomas Sandgaard said, "We believe it will be in the interest of all our shareholders to have the stock traded on a stock exchange, such as the AMEX. Such listing allows for the opportunity to attract the attention of more potential investors, analysts and brokers. There are brokers and bankers who have policies currently preventing them from dealing with a stock unless listed on a stock exchange such as the AMEX."

Zynex said it has recently experienced a strong growth in orders, revenue and profit. Zynex has not yet finalized its results for 2Q08. Zynex will state these results in the Forms 10-Q for that quarter.

Study backs ER physicians' heart attack diagnosis

A study out of Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center (Winston-Salem, North Carolina) demonstrates emergency room doctors are correctly identifying patients who are having a heart attack, even when laboratory tests haven't yet confirmed it.

The study used data from a registry called i*trACS, and analyzed patients with heart attack symptoms who were admitted to emergency departments (EDs) in eight participating U.S. centers.

The findings were released in the Emergency Medicine Journal.

"One of the most common complaints we see in the Emergency Department is chest pain," said Chadwick Miller, MD, lead author and assistant professor of emergency medicine at Wake Forest Baptist. "That's why it is so important to figure out if we're doing a good job of diagnosing and treating heart attacks, or if there's a better way to do it."

The i*trACS registry was compiled over a period of 26 months. More than 17,000 patients were enrolled. However, only 4,136 of those patients were included in the analysis, primarily because patients had to have two troponin results within 12 hours to be included. Patients were also excluded from the i*trACS registry if they were pregnant, or under 18 years old.

The i*trACS registry was supported by an educational grant from Millenium Pharmaceuticals and Schering-Plough Pharmaceuticals.

Iris BioTechnologies now trades on OTC

Iris BioTechnologies (Santa Clara, California), a theranostics company focused on providing patients, doctors, and clinicians with improved methods of identifying effective treatment solutions, said it has commenced trading on the Over-the-Counter (OTC) market.

"We are excited the OTC marketplace will list our trading activity," said Simon Chin, founder, chairman, and CEO of Iris BioTechnologies. "We look forward to broadening our investor base, increasing shareholder, and delivering on corporate growth milestones."

Tenet Healthcare to move corporate headquarters

Tenet Healthcare (Dallas) said it will move its corporate headquarters from North Dallas to Fountain Place at 1445 Ross Avenue. Most of the corporate functions currently performed at Tenet's existing headquarters at 13737 Noel Road will systematically be transferred to downtown Dallas in 4Q09. The balance of the functions will move to a yet-to-be-determined satellite office elsewhere in the Dallas area.