Browsing: NEWS

Irvington-NY based Electro-Optical Sciences (EOS), developer of The MelaFind System, a handheld imaging device that detects melanomas at an early stage, announced last week that its pivotal trial is over two-thirds complete. Six study sites are currently active, with an additional seventh and final site expected to come online in the coming weeks. MelaFind is a non-invasive, point-of-care instrument that emits various wavelengths of light up to 2.5mm deep into the skin in order to capture images of suspicious pigmented skin lesions. This data is then analyzed against a database of melanomas and benign lesions. As early-stage melanomas often appear…

High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) is competitive with currently accepted non-surgical standards of care, such as radiotherapy, but results in milder side effects, reveals the first long-term study of HIFU for the treatment of localized prostate cancer. In an editorial accompanying the published article, Dr. Vincenzo Ficarra from the University of Padua, Italy said, “These oncologic results can be considered competitive with those reported after radical prostatectomy or external-beam radiation therapy. Beyond the oncologic outcomes, the article by Blana et al confirmed the very promising functional data of HIFU treatments in terms of urinary continence and recovery of erectile function.”…

Irvine, California-based NeoMatrix offers the HALO Breast Pap Test, a fully automated, noninvasive breast disease screening device designed for use in a primary care setting. HALO is FDA approved for the collection of nipple aspirate fluid for cytological evaluation. The collected fluid is used to determine and/or differentiate normal, pre-malignant and malignant cells. If made a part of routine check-ups, NeoMatrix believes HALO would enable physicians and patients to monitor cellular changes within breast ducts earlier, before they develop into larger, potentially cancerous lesions discovered by via conventional breast cancer screening modalities like mammography or manual breast examination. Over 40,000…

Buoyed by a recent stock offering, the Inverness Medical machine continues to gobble up companies as they consolidate the disease and health management service space. The most recent acquisition of ParadigmHealth will cost the company $230 million in an all cash deal. Paradigm offers disease management services for the acutely ill, with a focus on newborns and cancer patients. The company, founded in 1991, reported $60 million in revenues over the past twelve months. Inverness said it is buying the ParadigmHealth as part of an expansion into disease-management services from medical testing and diagnostics. Inverness has been on a buying…

Last week GE Healthcare announced would it would be incorporating iCAD’s SecondLook technology into its line of Senographe Full-Field Digital mammography systems. iCAD shares opened 10% higher on the news; shares have continued to climb to a high of $2.39 today. SecondLook is a computer aided detection (CAD) technology that helps distinguish cancers from other anomalies in the breast. SecondLook is able to detect up to 72% of actionable missed cancers an average of 15 months earlier. The software integrates seamlessly with DICOM systems – a standard adopted by most medical digital imaging device manufacturers. iCAD will develop a customized…

Aethlon’s prospects seem to be growing brighter by the minute. Last week I reported that the company had initiated a research collaboration to study the in vitro effectiveness of clearing HIV from blood. This Monday, Aethlon announced that researchers have documented Hemopurifier’s ability to remove the immunosuppressive activity normally found in the fluid of cancer patients. In studies led by Dr. Douglas Taylor at the University of Louisville, Hemopurifier captured tumor secreted exosomes that inhibit the immune system’s ability to combat cancer. Exosomes are released by solid tumors, lymphomas, and leukemia. They induce T-cell apoptosis (programmed cell death), and block…

ReBuilder Medical Technologies, a Charles Town, WV, company that manufacturers a device for treating peripheral neuropathy, is making a big investment in customer service. The company is hiring licensed medical professionals to take calls from potential and existing customers. “In our five years of marketing the ReBuilder System on the Internet and handling call-in inquiries, we found that when a person calls in and can speak one-on-one with a medical professional, the closing ratio increases significantly,” said ReBuilder CEO David Phillips, in a statement. ReBuilder’s flagship product is the FDA-cleared ReBuilder System, for treating peripheral neuropathy. It’s a portable, battery-…

Ventana Medical Systems, in the midst of a hostile takeover bid by Roche, finally has something to smile about: The firm is the highest-ranking med tech firm, at number 17, on Forbes’ 200 Best Small Companies in America list, released last week. The Tuscon, AZ-based company markets automated diagnostic systems to the anatomical pathology market. In early 2007, Ventana received FDA approval for the use of its PATHWAY HER-2/neu (4B5) Rabbit Monoclonal Antibody as an aid in the assessment of breast cancer patients for whom Herceptin treatment is an option. According to Forbes, Ventana had sales of $261 million for…