New Today Mar 7, 2008

Superbug-Testing Market Grows

Mar. 5--Critics say that the move toward MRSA screening is being driven not by science but by corporate marketing and a political response to public fear. They say screening and isolation are costly and logistically difficult, and that it is better to take steps, like encouraging hand-washing, that fight all infections.
Patients might not particularly like the new admission procedure at a growing number of hospitals: having an elongated cotton swab stuck up their noses. More…

Loma Linda University Medical Center Opens Doors to its Online Health Library

Mar. 6--World-renowned for its innovation, Loma Linda University Medical Center (LLUMC) chose A.D.A.M., Inc. (NASDAQ: ADAM: 6.73, -0.06, -0.88%), a leading provider of consumer healthcare information, to provide an extensive array of health content and imagery for the hospital's website. The partnership offers patients and community members a comprehensive platform for health and wellness information. More…

Health Michigan: A more gentle way to treat cancer patients

Mar. 6--While the concept of doorless entryways is not new, Bichay's earned a patent because the maze corridor takes up about half the distance of previous designs. It also mitigates the $120,000-plus cost of the steel doors and cuts maintenance costs. More…

Pharos Innovations Announces First Recipient of National Award for Achievements in Chronic Care Programs and Research

Mar. 6--Today Pharos Innovations, a remote patient monitoring company specializing in the management of chronic care conditions, announced the first recipient of a new award honoring individuals for their breakthrough contributions in transforming the health of populations with chronic care conditions. More..

Giving It Away

Mar. 5--There is a philanthropic convergence at the head of this year's billionaires' list. Warren Buffett, who tops the rankings, has pledged to turn over most of his fortune to the charitable foundation hitherto funded by the fortune of the man he replaces at the top, William H. Gates III. This combination puts the pair at the forefront of a new wave of entrepreneurial philanthropists..More…

Protecting against biological attacks
BioBlower passes federal tests; patent to be issued soon

Mar. 6--A powerful air sterilization technology developed at UB has killed every biological agent with which it has been challenged, including airborne spores, viruses and bacteria in independent tests conducted for the U.S. Department of Defense. More..

Swallow-able solutions: Pill-sized camera helps detect America’s fastest rising cancer

Mar. 7--Called the tethered capsule endoscope (TCE), this camera is not only the smallest of its kind, but is also an innovative tool for the early detection of esophageal cancer, which is currently America’s fastest growing cancer. More…

Satellite Telemedicine System For Children’s Medical Centre

Mar. 7--Intelsat and iDirect have jointly announced that they have deployed an international satellite-based telemedicine network to improve medical treatment processes in the Kingdom of Morocco. Doctors at Children's National Medical Center can now provide clinical information, share medical advancements and conduct training sessions with healthcare professionals in the African nation. More..

New Clinical Studies Presented at the 14th World Congress of Anesthesiology Demonstrate Masimo Advancements in Patient Care

Mar. 6--Masimo, the inventor of Pulse CO-Oximetry(TM) and Measure-Through Motion and Low Perfusion pulse oximetry, reported that multiple clinical studies demonstrating the accuracy and clinical effectiveness of the Masimo Rainbow SET platform were highlighted earlier this week to over 8,000 anesthesiologists at the 14th World Congress of Anesthesiology (WCA) in Cape Town, South Africa. In addition, WCA attendees from all over the world were able to preview noninvasive total hemoglobin (SpHb(TM)) and oxygen content (SpOC(TM)) as part of the Rainbow SET platform (pending FDA clearance). More…

Welch Allyn First to Offer Wireless Vital Signs Data Delivery from Hospital Bedsides

Mar. 6--Welch Allyn, a leading manufacturer of frontline medical products and solutions, today introduced the Spot Vital Signs(R) LXi with wireless data transfer, making it the first company to offer wireless vital signs transmission capabilities from the bedside. Dubbed the industry's fastest multi-parameter spot-check device, the Spot Vital Signs LXi now offers the fastest way to send patient information to electronic health records (EHRs.) More…

PANTHER sensor from MIT Lincoln Laboratory quickly detects pathogens

Mar. 7--Researchers at MIT Lincoln Laboratory have developed a powerful sensor that can detect airborne pathogens such as anthrax and smallpox in less than three minutes. More…

NewCardio Receives European Patent For CardioBip

Mar. 7--The CardioBip is a unique, hand-held device that provides a solution to the problem of urgent ECG telemonitoring. The CardioBip is capable of providing truly comprehensive and accurate ECG data that is being transmitted wirelessly. What makes CardioBip unique is the extreme ease of use, combined with the ability to generate a standard 12 lead ECG recording. More…

Spanish Hospital deploys wireless tracking

Mar. 7--Spain’s AT4 wireless has completed a project in Southern Spain to allow wireless tracking of nursing staff, improvement staff safety and tracking of equipment at the Hospital Alta Resolucion (Benalmadena).
Ekahau, a Finnish specialist in Wi-Fi-based Real Time Location Systems (RTLS), partnered with wireless firm AT4 to deliver the combined asset and staff tracking system which operates across an advanced Wi-Fi network. The system allows staff, and valuable portable medical equipment, to be tracked across the hospital campus and includes a staff alarm facility. More..

PA Medical School Implements Handheld Network

Mar. 7-- An academic health center in Philadelphia, has deployed a wireless system that includes voice coverage and mobile broadband access. In a statement, Provider AT&T said it is supplying 150 Palm Treos, 30 Blackberry devices, and more than 150 Push to Talk handsets, which operate on the in-building wireless system and AT&T's third-generation (3G) BroadbandConnect network, to physicians and staff members. More..

Sensor Necklace Records When Pill In Swallowed, And Prompts Patient When It Is Time To Take Another

Mar. 7--Researchers now have a possible solution for the one in three adults who fail to take their medicines as prescribed by their doctors, as well as for everyone else who occasionally forgets: a sensor necklace that records the exact time and date when specially-designed pills are swallowed, and reminds the user if any doses are being missed. More…

Paperless patients

Mar. 7--A patient walks into a doctor's office for the first time and immediately is handed a clipboard holding a form asking for all sorts of information on that person's health status and medical history.
NoMoreClipboard.com, a Fort Wayne medical technology startup, hopes to tap into consumers' frustration with all that medical paperwork to become a player in the fragmented and competitive market of personal health records. More…

Six Health 2.0 firms reinvent doctor-patient ties

Mar. 6--The just-concluded Health 2.0 Conference in San Diego showcased some 30-odd startups and Web sites — with dozens more in the audience — all intent on using the Internet to improve patient care, streamline healthcare practices and bolster the ability of individuals to take charge of their own medical treatment. More…

Google and Quest Diagnostics collaborate to provide online access to diagnostic test results

Mar. 6--Quest Diagnostics Incorporated (NYSE:DGX), a leading provider of diagnostic testing, information and services in the US, and Google have agreed to collaborate to facilitate communications between doctors and patients using Google's online health record system, Google Health.
The aim is to provide patients with secure online access to their diagnostic laboratory test results through the more than 100,000 doctors in the US who are already electronically connected to Quest Diagnostics. More…

'Get Connected' Program Encourages Electronic Prescribing
Federal Deadlines Create Sense of Urgency

Mar. 6--On March 4, the AAFP and four other national physician organizations launched a new program designed to help physicians send prescriptions to pharmacies electronically. The "Get Connected" program features a Web site where physicians can assess their e-prescribing readiness and learn, step-by-step, what needs to be done to make e-prescribing a reality in their practices.
"This initiative focuses first and foremost on physicians who have the EHR (electronic health record) technology at their fingertips but aren't utilizing their e-prescribing functionality," said Steven Waldren, M.D., director of the AAFP's Center for Health Information Technology. In a press release announcing the new program, Waldren estimated that less than 30 percent of AAFP members who have fully implemented EHRs are electronically transmitting patients' prescriptions. More…