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Medicare fee payments for outpatient care to go up 1.9 percent; payments for home health will drop

Hospital operators such as Tenet Healthcare Corp. (THC) will get higher federal payments for emergency room visits, diagnostic imaging and other outpatient services in 2012 under U.S. rules. Medicare payments for outpatient services will rise 1.9 percent to $41 billion and dialysis clinics, cancer centers and ambulatory surgery facilities also are scheduled to receive modest fee increases from the U.S. health program for the elderly and disabled under regulations issued yesterday.

3 Nov 2011

TriVascular receives FDA approval for Ovation stent graft system to treat AAA

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a stent graft system that provides patients with small arteries the option of less invasive surgery to repair their potentially life-threatening abdominal aortic aneurysm.

3 Nov 2011

Ocrelizumab drug holds promise for multiple sclerosis

An experimental drug called Ocrelizumab has shown promise in a Phase 2 clinical trial involving 220 people with multiple sclerosis (MS), an often debilitating, chronic autoimmune disease that affects an increasing number of people in North America.

2 Nov 2011

Potential drug therapy for Hutchinson Gilford Progeria Syndrome

Researchers have identified a potential drug therapy for a premature ageing disease that affects children causing them to age up to eight times as fast as the usual rate.

2 Nov 2011

MIT develops new software to speed up MRI scans

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) devices can scan the inside of the body in intricate detail, allowing clinicians to spot even the earliest signs of cancer or other abnormalities. But they can be a long and uncomfortable experience for patients, requiring them to lie still in the machine for up to 45 minutes.

2 Nov 2011

Hippocampus supports both recollection and familiarity memories

Human memory has historically defied precise scientific description, its biological functions broadly but imperfectly defined in psychological terms. In a pair of papers published in the November 2 issue of The Journal of Neuroscience, researchers at the University of California, San Diego report a new methodology that more deeply parses how and where certain types of memories are processed in the brain, and challenges earlier assumptions about the role of the hippocampus.

2 Nov 2011

Knife-edge scanning microscopy rapidly maps new blood vessels in organs

Like normal tissue, tumors thrive on nutrients carried to them by the blood stream. The rapid growth of new blood vessels is a hallmark of cancer, and studies have shown that preventing blood vessel growth can keep tumors from growing, too. To better understand the relationship between cancer and the vascular system, researchers would like to make detailed maps of the complete network of blood vessels in organs. Unfortunately, the current mapping process is time-consuming: using conventional methods, mapping a one-centimeter block of tissue can take months.

1 Nov 2011

Senior Scientific's nanomagnetic technology more sensitive in detecting breast cancer

Manhattan Scientifics announced today that "Breast Cancer Research," an international, peer-reviewed online journal, has published results of a study using Senior Scientific's nanomagnetic technology.

1 Nov 2011

FDA approves expansion of MRI use with Cyberonics' VNS Therapy System

Cyberonics, Inc., a global leader in medical devices for the treatment and management of epilepsy, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a significant expansion of options for Magnetic Resonance Imaging use by patients who have the VNS Therapy System.

1 Nov 2011

Targeted brain stimulation increases cigarette cravings

Targeted brain stimulation increases cigarette cravings, a new study in Biological Psychiatry has found, which may ultimately lead to new treatments that reverse these effects. Cues associated with cigarette smoking, such as watching someone else smoke, elicit craving and may provoke relapse when smokers are attempting to quit.

1 Nov 2011

Deficits in endocannabinoid function may contribute to eating disorders

A new report in Biological Psychiatry suggests that deficits in endocannabinoid function may contribute to anorexia nervosa and bulimia.

1 Nov 2011

NCI awards ImaginAb $2.3M grant to develop PET diagnostic imaging agents

ImaginAb, Inc. is pleased to announce that it has been awarded a total of $2.3 million in funding from the National Cancer Institute's Small Business Innovation Research program to help further develop diagnostic imaging agents for Positron Emission Tomography.

1 Nov 2011

iCAD, Hitachi enter distribution agreement for MRI breast cancer diagnosis and guided biopsy solution

iCAD, Inc., an industry-leading provider of advanced image analysis, workflow solutions and radiation therapies for the early identification and treatment of cancer, today announced that it has entered into a distribution agreement with Hitachi Medical Systems.

31 Oct 2011

Centracare chooses Merge's iConnect for image interoperability, informatics strategy

Merge Healthcare, a leading provider of enterprise imaging and interoperability solutions, today announced that Centracare Health System's St. Cloud Hospital, the largest healthcare provider in the St. Cloud, MN region, has selected Merge's iConnect VNA (vendor neutral archive) and iConnect Share for their image interoperability and informatics strategy.

31 Oct 2011

COPCP chooses eClinicalWorks comprehensive EHR solution

eClinicalWorks, a market leader in ambulatory clinical systems, today announced that Central Ohio Primary Care Physicians (COPCP), the second largest privately-owned primary care group in the United States, has chosen eClinicalWorks comprehensive electronic health records (EHR) solution for its 230 physicians across 44 practices.

31 Oct 2011

The West Clinic to partner with Methodist for cancer care

Methodist Healthcare and The West Clinic have entered into a partnership, effective January 1, 2012, to transform cancer care in the Mid-South area. The West Clinic, the region's premier cancer practice and a nationally-recognized leader in cancer research, is joining forces with Methodist to create a comprehensive, fully integrated cancer service for the benefit of Mid-South residents.

29 Oct 2011

LCA hails NCCN for lung cancer screening guidelines

Today Lung Cancer Alliance (LCA) hailed the leadership of the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) for being the first professional society to recommend low-dose CT screening for high risk individuals and to develop comprehensive clinical practice guidelines on lung cancer screening.

29 Oct 2011

Varian to supply TrueBeam treatment systems to Lund University Hospital

Varian Medical Systems has been awarded a contract to supply four TrueBeam treatment systems to Lund University Hospital in Sweden, one of the country's largest radiotherapy departments. The order, confirmed in September, is aimed at cutting treatment waiting lists in the Skane region of Sweden and includes an option to acquire two further TrueBeam systems in 2014.

28 Oct 2011

DFG to equip nine universities with major instrumentation systems

In the life sciences, imaging methods such as microscopy play a central role. The technique of imaging mass spectrometry is a new and analytic method in this field that promises many benefits. This is the reason why in October 2011 the Joint Committee of the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft has decided, as part of the "Imaging Mass Spectrometry in the Life Sciences" initiative, to equip nine universities with appropriate major instrumentation systems.

28 Oct 2011

DiaGenic reports operating revenue of NOK 276 thousand for third quarter 2011

DiaGenic has successfully finalized the first clinical study in collaboration with Pfizer, the market leader for Alzheimer's therapeutics sales and Pfizer has confirmed DiaGenic's findings resulting in a press release October 14th.

28 Oct 2011