Breast cancer treatments:
Patients are not receiving recommended treatments
Radiation treatment administered to women following mastectomy operations can be lifesaving. Unfortunately, research from the United States of America, suggests that many women with advanced breast cancer are not receiving the recommended treatment.  More >

Genes and stress
Japanese researchers discover a link
A new study suggests that the genetic impact of 'stress' can be passed on from one generation to the next. Researchers at the Riken Tsukuba Institute, Japan, have found the genetic mechanism that can pass on the genetic changes resulting from stress.  More >

American Device Companies and GPOs:
Might a battle be looming?
Earlier this year, Medtronic announced it was canceling five cardiovascular and orthopedic contracts-reported to be worth $2 billion a year-with GPO Novation, which negotiates deals on behalf of more than 1,600 hospitals. The action has the potential to change how product contracts with hospitals are negotiated, but at this point, it is hard to say if it represents a burgeoning trend that others will follow or just another mêlée in the long history of turbulent device manufacturer/GPO relations. More >Global_GPO_battle_looming.html

Medicall Expo 2011
Chennai hosts India's largest medical expo
Medicall 2009, India's largest medical equipment expo, was launched at Chennai at the Chennai Trade Centre in  2009. Medicall 2011 Chennai is one of the leading events dedicated to medical equipment sector. The show has been organized to meet the requirements of hospitals. The expo will provide a unique opportunity for the industry professionals to interact with doctors. An interesting conference on equipment purchase will also be held along with the exhibition. The fair will enable the attendees to discover an array of product collection and up to date technological advances in the healthcare market. The 7th Medicall 2011 will be a must-attend show for all the manufacturers, traders and distributors of medical equipment willing to obtain unique opportunity for business development and profitable business deals. More>

Cutting edge capsule endoscope
Stomach examinations will never be the same
Thanks to a new technology first introduced to the public at a gastroenterology trade show in Barcelona in October 2010, stomach examinations will never be the same. Jointly developed by Siemens and Olympus, the technology features a miniature capsule which is swallowed by a patient and is then navigated with a joystick and a magnetic field through the stomach. The capsule then wirelessly transmits images from inside the stomach to an image processing system on which a doctor views the images. More >

Swiss medtech clusters
Agressively gobbling up global market share
Like Swiss chocolate, Swiss medtech is rapidly becoming a global brand unto its own. In just a few decades, Switzerland has bulled its way onto  the global medical technology market, using, an approach championed by Dr. Arthur Carty, Canada’s former national science and technology advisor and the former president of the National Research Council of Canada. More >

FDA reviews medical devices
US agency will be implementing 25 changes in 2011
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has just unveiled a plan containing 25 actions it intends to implement during 2011 to improve the most common path to market for medical devices. These actions will result in "a smarter medical device program that supports innovation, keeps jobs here at home, and brings important, safe, and effective technologies to patients quickly," said Jeffrey Shuren, M.D., J.D., director of the FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH). More>

Pocket CPR
Emergency rescuers now have an electronic coach
When a person experiences sudden cardiac arrest, chances of survival drop 7 to 10% with each minute that passes without CPR and defibrillation, according to the American Heart Association. Because there’s no time to waste, it’s critical that the rescuer achieves the target rate and depth of chest compressions. More >

Innovative devices
US cardiac device market yeilds innovative solutions
At the heart of Minnesota’s medtech industry is the cardiac device market. Home to global industry giants Medtronics (Minneapolis) and St. Jude Medical Inc. (St. Paul), the Twin Cities area has cultivated an active supplier base and innovative R&D environment for supporting the design and development of cutting-edge cardiac devices. Catering to this local market, the MD&M Minneapolis trade show will, for the first time, feature a series of presentations focused exclusively on innovative solutions for cardiac device manufacturers. More >

UFI for medical devices
Device manufacturers preparing the way for bar coding
A significant percentage of medical device manufacturers are bar coding their products at some level, which could encourage hospitals to invest in scanning technologies, according to an AdvaMed survey. AdvaMed conducted the survey as a follow-up to its discussion with FDA about whether bar codes should be required on devices. FDA mandated them for prescription pharmaceuticals but heeded AdvaMed's recommendation not to do so for devices. The organization argued that it would be too cumbersome to put them on lower-risk devices, and the patient-safety benefits of doing so were unclear. More >

Spain's healthcare system
One of the world's leading edge systems
While the mere mention of its name conjures up images of Moorish temples, ancient windmills and Flamenco dancers, Spain is also a country which has been modernizing rapidly and is now on the leading edge in many sectors of the world economy. More >
 

Israel
How a nation turned into a hotbed of entrepreneurism
It has few people, no resources and lots of hostile neighbours–so how did Israel become a hotbed of entrepreneurism? Long before Israel was a state, there was already isolation. An early economic boycott can be traced back to 1891, when local Arabs asked Palestine’s Ottoman rules to block Jewish immigration and land sales. In 1922, the Fifth Palestine Arab Congress called for the boycott of all Jewish businesses. More >