Healthcare IT companies will again converge this winter to measure their ability to integrate with each other during the IHE North American Connectathon, an annual event that takes place prior to the national meeting of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society. The e Connectathon will be held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Chicago, IL, the week of January 15-19, 2007. Completed applications were due on Sept. 15, 2006.

Agfa HealthCare has signed a multi-million dollar deal with Thomas Memorial Hospital in South Charleston, WV and will provide Agfa’s IMPAX 6.0 PACS and the newest version of Agfa reporting solution, TalkStation 3.1. The multi-million dollar deal also includes six DX-S CR systems, which feature Agfa’s unique DirectriX needle-based detector technology and Scanhead line-to-line CR stimulation and light collection technology, for improved image quality and workflow.

TeraRecon Inc. and Commissure, Inc. have announced a partnership to integrate and deliver seamless workflow orchestration that leverages advanced visualization tools independent of the combination of modalities, RIS and PACS deployed in a given institution.

The FDA has granted approval to Cook Inc. for its new 36mm Zenith FLEX AAA Endovascular Graft for the treatment of abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA), according to Cook press release. The state-of-the-art aortic endograft is designed to provide an effective, minimally invasive treatment option for patients with large abdominal aortic neck diameters who previously may not have been candidates for endovascular aortic repair (EVAR).

A subset analysis of diabetic patients in the SPIRIT II Clinical trial of the XIENCE V Everolimus Eluting Stent System showed nearly identical rates of in-stent late loss at six months in diabetic patients as those observed in the overall study patient population, according to new results presented at TCT last week.

Abbott also presented new positive nine-month safety data from the SPIRIT II trial, which showed no additional occurrences of MACE (Major Adverse Cardiac Event) or stent thrombosis between six and nine months.

British researchers have concluded that counseling and education aimed at preventing coronary heart disease have no impact on mortality and little effect in terms of clinical events, reports “heartwire.” Dr Shah Ebrahim (London School of Tropical Medicine, UK) and colleagues report their findings in the Oct. 18, 2006 Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews.

Cardium Therapeutics and its subsidiary InnerCool Therapies reported on preclinical data demonstrating a new and expanded benefit of early rapid cooling for the potential treatment of acute myocardial infarction (heart attack), as presented at the Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) 2006 Annual Meeting in Washington, DC. The companies also announced their plans for a new clinical study to further assess the safety and potential usefulness of early cooling for heart attack patients, which is expected to be co-sponsored in Sweden and to begin within the next several months.

Early clinical results from Abbott's ongoing ABSORB clinical trial, the world's first study to evaluate the safety and performance of a fully bioabsorbable drug-eluting stent platform for the treatment of coronary artery disease in humans, were presented during the 18th annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) scientific symposium in Washington, D.C.

A stent designed to dissolve after it completes its task of propping open narrowed heart arteries is being tested by scientists.

The first human experiment with the dissolving stent is being conducted with 26 patients at hospitals in New Zealand and Europe, the Associated Press reported. The study is designed to test whether the stent is safe enough to be used in larger studies.

GlaxoSmithKline and Flamel Technologies announced FDA approval of once-a-day Coreg CR (carvedilol phosphate) extended-release capsules for the treatment of high blood pressure; a heart attack that has reduced how well the heart pumps (known medically as post-myocardial infarction left ventricular dysfunction); and mild to severe heart failure.

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