Cordis Corp. has launched the CYPHER SELECT Plus Stent, the first third-generation DES, in Western and Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific and the Middle East. The company expects to offer the CYPHER SELECT Plus Stent in most markets outside the U.S. and Japan within the next two quarters.

In addition to its flexible stent design and short tip, the CYPHER SELECT Plus Stent Delivery System features the CYPH 2ONIC Hydrophilic Coating Technology, which, Cordis says, making the significantly more lubricious than previous sirolimus-eluting stent delivery systems.

Drugs traditionally used for the treatment of gastric ulcers could have therapeutic potential in chronic heart failure, according to new research coming out of Japan.

One outcome showed that famotidine appears to reduce left ventricular end-diastolic (LVD-d) and end-systolic (LVD) lengths and reduce BNP (B-type natriuretic peptide) levels.

IMV ServiceTrak ranked GE Healthcare No. 1 for CT and MR Service in a comparison against five other manufacturers of the modalities.

An independent marketing research firm specializing in medical imaging, IMV conducts its assessment annually and focuses on service response, service quality and remote diagnostics.

Positive six-month results of Abbott's SPIRIT II clinical trial of the XIENCE V Everolimus Eluting Coronary Stent System were presented at the World Congress of Cardiology conference in Barcelona, Spain. XIENCE V, which has received CE Mark approval, is currently an investigational device in the U.S. and Japan — Abbott says it plans to initiate European launch of the coronary DES in October.

Siemens completed its acquisition of Diagnostic Products Corp. (DPC) in late July, marking a significant milestone for Siemens as it enters the in-vitro diagnostics (IVD) market. Together with DPC, Siemens Medical Solutions says it will become the first full service diagnostics company.