Rice researchers earn $3 million for nanoparticle behavior tool
Researchers at Rice University, the University of Texas Health Science Center and Baylor College of Medicine, all in Houston, have received a $3 million grant from the National Institutes of Health for their work on developing a new method of tracking nanoparticles in living cells. According to Rice University bioengineering researcher Jennifer West, current use of nanoparticles is "hit or miss" due to their varying shapes, sizes, and composition. The funding will support a two-year study to chart the expected response to particles of a given size, type, and chemistry. The hope is to provide researchers with a tool that will help predict how a particular particle is likely to behave, which could lead to faster development of disease treatments, according to Rice Grand Opportunity grant investigator Junghae Suh. http://www.media.rice.edu/media/...

AHRQ seeks applicants for $48 million in grants
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) plans to award up to $48 million in grants for new ways of improving electronic methods of gathering and using clinical data for comparative effectiveness research. Up to five grants totaling $44 million will be awarded for the electronic methods gathering efforts, while another $4 million will go toward identifying barriers in use of the electronic data, according to AHRQ. The grants are being funded by the federal economic stimulus plan as part of AHRQ's Prospective Outcome Systems using Patient-specific Electronic data to Compare Tests (PROSPECT) program. Applications are due Jan. 20, 2010. More information may be found at http://grants.nih.gov. http://grants.nih.gov/grants/... http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/...

CMS awards $16 million for state Medicaid health IT planning
Six states and the U.S. Virgin Islands will share $16 million from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) as part of its electronic health record (EHR) incentive program for Medicaid providers. The recipients - New York ($5.91 million), Texas ($3.86 million), Georgia ($3.17 million), California ($2.48 million), Montana ($239,000), the Virgin Islands ($232,000) and Idaho ($142,000) - will use the funding to conduct an analysis of state health information technology activities, create a State Medicaid Health IT Plan, review provider eligibility requirements for incentive payments, and compile data on barriers to EHR adoption. The recipients join Iowa, which last month became the first state to receive CMS funds. http://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/...

Microprocessor-controlled knee offers new mobility to amputees
Patients at Walter Reed Army Medical Center's Military Advanced Training Center are testing a microprocessor-controlled prosthetic knee that could offer lifelike mobility. The project, administered by the Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research (ATR) Center, should provide an electronically controlled prosthetic knee joint that "meets the specific demands of military staff in real world activity," said Troy Turner, ATR Program manager. The X2 microprocessor knee by Otto Bock HealthCare in Minneapolis - developer of the C-Leg, the highest-technology prosthetic device for military amputees - would allow a soldier to run, as well as walk backward and forward, Turner said. The legs are being tested on 30 soldiers at Walter Reed and at Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, and should be widely available by 2011, he said. http://www.dvidshub.net/?script=news/...

Scooters for elderly will include tracking devices
Elderly and disabled people could be encouraged to leave their homes more often via a plan calling for installation of tracking technology in mobility scooters. Such a plan would eliminate the fear of getting lost for many otherwise mobility challenged persons, according to researchers at De Montfort University Leicester (DMU) and the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom. The "Integrating mobility vehicles and devices with smart homes" project uses mobile phone technology similar to that for tracking of elderly people within their home when they have a fall, according to Dr. Amr Ahmed of the University of Lincoln, co-lead on the project with DMU's Dr. Eric Goodyer. Goodyer said it is important that elderly people do not feel like their homes are prisons once they become disabled. http://www.lincoln.ac.uk/news/2009/12/160.asp

Robotic airway system can save lives of wounded soldiers
Cambridge, MA-based robotic design and software maker Energid Technologies has received a contract from the U.S. Army Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center (TATRC) to develop a handheld robotic system that can help wounded soldiers breathe while on the battlefield. According to Pablo Valdivia Y Alvarado, the project's principal investigator, the system will perform endotracheal intubation with a flexible tube manipulator that quickly and safely deploys inside a patient's airway. The mechanism integrates force feedback and video-tracking for real-time active motion compensation and control. It also provides needed feedback to the operator for correct intubation and active liquid clearance, and re-establishes the airway without damage to the patient's vocal chords. http://www.energid.com/pr_121020091/news-detail.htm

iSOFT secures first health IT contract in Germany
iSOFT Group Ltd., Australia's largest public health information technology company, has finalized its first contract for its new Picture Archiving and Communications System (PACS) in Germany, the company announced. The agreement - part of a three-contract, $2.2 million [USD] series of deals achieved by iSOFT last week - includes a $220,000 [USD] plan to implement PACS at The Diagnostische Zentrum am Vincentinum in Southern Germany. Peter Herrmann, managing director of iSOFT Central Europe, said the deals reflect the growing demand for lower-cost medical application systems by radiology centers and other groups. http://www.isoftplc.com/text/home/nm_latest_3483.asp

FDA to launch new drug safety and data tracking systems in 2010
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has three prescription drug safety and data tracking systems in the works for 2010, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office. The new Web-based MedWatchPlus system, scheduled for a summer 2010 launch, will improve the collection and processing of adverse prescription drug effect reports filed with FDA. MedWatchPlus will replace MedWatch, which collects data via the Web and on paper. A second tracking method, the FDA Adverse Event Reporting System, will become a more integrated and comprehensive version of an existing FDA storage system. And, a third program, Sentinel, will collect prescription drug safety information from various external data providers and will offer more data than currently available from adverse event reports filed in other databases, according to the report. http://fcw.com/articles/...

Doctors with EHRs more likely to report drug side effects
Physicians are more likely to report medical side effects through an electronic health records (EHR) system than with traditional paper methods, according to a survey by New York City-based medical products provider Pfizer Inc. Of 300 physicians surveyed, two-thirds used some form of an EHR system and one-third used a paper-based system. Half of all respondents and 60 percent of fully functional EHR users reported that they would be much more likely to submit information about adverse events using an EHR system. Of those still using paper-based systems, 80 percent cited cost as a deterrent to investing in an EHR system. The report also revealed that almost 60 percent of physicians who responded to the survey agreed that adverse event reporting through an EHR system would improve patient care. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/...

All Australians will have EHRs by mid-2010, minister vows
The Australian government plans to provide every citizen with an electronic health record by the middle of 2010, according to Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon. Such a system will allow health providers to share patient records and improve healthcare, and should also save the country $570 million [USD] in healthcare costs. Residents with a Medicare or Department of Veterans' Affairs treatment card will automatically receive an e-health number to use the system, while others will be assigned one on an individual basis, she said. The implementation date of mid-2010 is subject to legislation being passed by the Australian government, Roxon added. http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/...

Bill banning prescription data mining unveiled in Senate
Sens. Herb Kohl (D-WI) and Richard Durbin (D-IL) have introduced an amendment to the Senate health care reform bill (H.R. 3590) that would prohibit prescription drug data mining, or the sale of prescription records for marketing purposes. Data mining companies collect and sell electronic information about doctors' prescriptions; pharmaceutical firms can then tailor their sales pitches to a physician's particular prescribing habits. Data mining firms say the practice promotes efficient, targeted marketing. Opponents say it can drive up healthcare costs by encouraging physicians to prescribe more-expensive brand-name medications. http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/...