Diagnostic News and Research

RSS

Fainting may point to more serious, underlying cardiovascular condition

For those who suffer from fainting spells, the mysterious episodes can be quite scary. Far too often, fainting is chalked up to stress or other mental health issues. However, medical experts at Rush University Medical Center say that reoccurring fainting spells, also known as syncope, could be an important symptom that can point to a more serious, underlying cardiovascular condition.

10 Aug 2009

Decode Genetics announces Q2 2009 financials

deCODE genetics (Nasdaq: DCGN) today announced its consolidated financial results for the quarter ended June 30, 2009. A conference call to discuss these results and recent developments in the company's business will be webcast live tomorrow, Tuesday, August 11, at 8:00am Eastern Daylight Time/12 noon GMT/1pm British Summer Time (details below).

10 Aug 2009

Mindray Medical International announces Q2 2009 financials

Mindray Medical International Limited (NYSE: MR), a leading developer, manufacturer and marketer of medical devices worldwide announced today its selected unaudited financial results for the second quarter and first half ended June 30, 2009.

From Mindray 10 Aug 2009

Improved management reduces mortality rates in endocarditis

A clinical study carried out at Hôpital de la Timone in Marseille has demonstrated that a standardized management protocol for patients with infective endocarditis can dramatically reduce mortality rates.

10 Aug 2009

AHRA and Toshiba partner on putting patients first program

Patient safety and quality care continue to be important issues for hospitals and imaging centers. To help these facilities start new or build upon existing programs, AHRA: The Association for Medical Imaging Management announces the second year of its Putting Patients First grant program.

10 Aug 2009

CHRISTUS Health strikes partnership with Elsevier for implementing CDS solutions at 25 hospitals

Elsevier has announced that Dallas-based CHRISTUS Health, one of the top 10 Catholic health systems in the U.S., will install five of Elsevier's online clinical decision support (CDS) solutions to meet the diverse and evolving clinical decision support needs of its physicians, nurses and pharmacists.

10 Aug 2009

Understanding emotional reactions for negative services

Service quality beliefs are usually positively related to customer satisfaction - the higher the perceived service quality, the higher the customer's satisfaction. However, an article published in the August issue of the Journal of Service Research finds this relationship may be more complicated in "negative service environments" (i.e., services that consumers would prefer not to have to use), such as health screening, diagnostic tests, or even auto repair.

9 Aug 2009

Merge Healthcare to acquire Confirma

In order to combine forces on expanding CAD technology, Merge Healthcare Incorporated, a leading health IT solutions provider, and Confirma, Inc., the largest privately-held developer of computer assisted detection (CAD) software for medical imaging, announce that they have entered into a definitive agreement for Merge to acquire Confirma in an all-stock transaction. This acquisition brings Confirma’s patented and proven technologies to Merge’s multiple market channels and international markets, and provides a mechanism to expand adoption of this important technology.

9 Aug 2009

GE Global Research Biosciences technology celebrated fifth anniversary

From creating a new business in digital pathology to developing next generation diagnostic imaging agents and life sciences tools that are breaking new ground in the detection and treatment of disease, the Biosciences technology organization at GE Global Research today celebrated its fifth anniversary.

6 Aug 2009

Reversible cell-specific drug delivery with aptamer-functionalized liposomes

For cancer drug developers, finding an agent that kills tumor cells is only part of the equation. The drug must also spare healthy cells, and - ideally - its effects will be reversible, to cut short any potentially dangerous side effects.

6 Aug 2009

Discovery of 'tell-tale' viral signature in blood that identifies underlying viral infection

Scientists have identified a genomic "signature" in circulating blood that reveals exposure to common upper respiratory viruses, like the cold or flu, even before symptoms appear.

6 Aug 2009

Pattern of gene expression in blood provides clues to etiology of respiratory infections

Scientists have shown that they can identify and characterize an individual's response to a respiratory viral infection by examining the pattern of gene expression in their blood.

6 Aug 2009

BIO urges Supreme Court to overturn decision on Bilski v. Doll

In an amicus brief filed today, BIO urged the Supreme Court to overturn the decision of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit in Bilski v. Doll.

6 Aug 2009

BD expands portfolio of tools to prevent and control infectious diseases

BD Diagnostics announced today the expansion of its portfolio of tools to prevent and control infectious diseases by adding software systems for the surveillance of infections and associated risk factors among patients and healthcare workers, and in the community.

6 Aug 2009

J. Craig Venter Institute offers new Affymetrix array for faster identification of E. coli and shigella

Affymetrix, Inc. and the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)-supported Pathogen Functional Genomics Resource Center (PFGRC) at the J. Craig Venter Institute (JCVI) today announced the launch of the Affymetrix FDA-ECSG custom microarray for identifying and discriminating between different strains of E. coli and Shigella.

6 Aug 2009

Importance of increased funding for molecular diagnostics

On July 9, 2009, the Society for Women’s Health Research convened experts on Capitol Hill to educate lawmakers on the importance of increased funding for new medical tests, called molecular diagnostics.

6 Aug 2009

Iowa funds swine vaccine research

A grant from a state economic development fund will help Iowa State University researchers develop and evaluate a vaccine designed to protect swine from novel H1N1 and other strains of influenza.

5 Aug 2009

Links between major depression and coronary artery disease studied

Major depression and coronary artery disease are only modestly related throughout an individual’s lifetime, but studying how the two interact over time and in twin pairs paints a more complex picture of the associations between the conditions, according to a report in the August issue of Archives of General Psychiatry. For example, the association between coronary artery disease onset and major depression risk is much stronger over time than vice versa.

4 Aug 2009

Tuberculosis drugs under development could have large impact on the disease

The latest drug regimens, vaccines and diagnostic tools under development to combat tuberculosis could have a potentially large impact on the disease once they become available, according to research findings published in the Aug. 3 early edition online of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

4 Aug 2009

Digital mammography increases cancer detection rates

The use of digital mammography equipment alone is responsible for an increased number of breast cancers detected at a community-based mammography facility, according to a study performed at San Luis Diagnostic Center in San Luis Obispo, CA.

3 Aug 2009