December 6, 2007 - Boston Scientific Corp. welcomed the recommendation of a FDA advisory panel to approve with conditions the PROMUS/ XIENCE V everolimus-eluting coronary stent system, marking a significant step toward making Boston Scientific's two-drug program a reality in the U.S.

The PROMUS and XIENCE V stent systems are identical products, sold respectively by Boston Scientific and Abbott in international markets. Both stent systems would be covered by the same FDA approval.

December 6, 2007 — The Circulatory System Devices Advisory Panel to the FDA has recommended approval for the XIENCE V Everolimus Eluting Coronary Stent System, a next-generation drug eluting stent intended for use in the treatment of coronary artery disease.

The FDA advisory committee voted to recommend the XIENCE V stent system for approval with conditions related to post-marketing study requirements and language related to dual antiplatelet therapy.

By Nadim Daher, Industry Analyst - Medical Imaging, Frost & Sullivan

December 6, 2007 - At this year’s RSNA more PACS vendors were showing off the expanded 3D capabilities of their PACS offering and highlighting some of their partnerships with third-party vendors, particularly the more productive ones that have led to deeper levels of integration.

By Nadim Daher, Industry Analyst - Medical Imaging, Frost & Sullivan

December 5, 2007 - Bristol-Myers Squibb will divest its medical imaging division as part of an initiative to maximize the value of its healthcare group.

As part of the restructuring, Bristol-Myers Squibb will cut personnel by 10 percent, possibly resulting in pretax cost savings of $1.5 billion by 2012. It will focus its activities on such key growth products as specialty and biologic medicines and cardiovascular and metabolic drugs.

The downsizing of its labor force started in November and will continue for three years, the company announced.

December 5, 2007 - The United Kingdom's Department of Health said today it will begin a new stroke strategy in which anyone in a higher-risk group who suffers a minor stroke will receive an MRI scan within 24 hours to accelerate the emergency response.

The department hopes the new strategy will help prevent up the 6,800 deaths and cases of disability, which occur due to strokes in the U.K. annually. A further 1,600 strokes may also be averted through preventative work, the department said.

Starion Instruments' TLS3 Tissue Ligating Shears feature Starion’s proprietary thermal welding technology, focusing thermal energy to simultaneously seal and divide soft tissue, reducing thermal spread and collateral damage.

December 4, 2007 - ELA Medical Inc. intiated U.S. enrollment in the OPTION study (Optimal Anti-tachycardia Therapy in ICD Patients without Pacing Indications), which will evaluate therapies and advanced algorithms in optimizing treatment and managing ICD patients.

December 4, 2007 - SRSsoft today announced the Cardiovascular Institute of the South (CIS) has selected SRSsoft Clinical Manager as it transitions to a paperless chart environment.

CIS has 45 providers and more than 475 dedicated team members in 11 locations throughout southern Louisiana. The specialty practice includes cardiologists, cardiovascular surgeons and thoracic surgeons who represent nearly every specialty in heart and vascular medicine.

December 4, 2007 - InSite One’s InDex Archive surpassed 1.5 billion individual images and over 20 million studies stored for over 500 sites nationally, equating approximately three percent or 9 million of the U.S. patient population.

InSite One offers an out-sourced archiving service, which on a weekly basis reportedly receives 12 terabytes of medical information in its Tier-4 data centers.

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