GE Healthcare to debut health IT at 2010 Winter Olympics
For the first time, GE Healthcare will provide health information technology imaging services at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games and Paralympic Games in Vancouver, the company announced. According to Dr. Jack Taunton, the two-week event’s chief medical officer, GE’s Centricity Radiology-IW product will allow the games’ two Polyclinics – two hours apart geographically – to exchange and view images with each other, as well as communicate virtually with hospitals in Vancouver proper. Centricity effectively provides an “electronic trading post” with its radiology and medical record transmission systems, Taunton noted. The IT solution will also create a paperless environment to manage medical images, and could eliminate the need to transport athletes to other facilities for medical advice, GE Healthcare IT Chief Executive Officer Vishal Wanchoo said. The Winter Olympics are Feb. 12-28. Full Story

Microsoft considers ways to put video games, cell phones to e-health use
Technology giant Microsoft is considering how products such as its popular Xbox and accelerometers in mobile phones can be used to improve healthcare. According to Eric Chang, Microsoft’s director of technology strategy at Microsoft Research Asia, a health-related spin can be placed on products now made by Microsoft for recreational purposes. For example, an application called MyLife, for Windows mobile phones, can help a user log health metrics such as blood pressure and weight, as well as monitor daily exercise activities. Meanwhile, Xbox video game units – less expensive than other hospital equipment – could be used in hospital rooms to feed information from electronic medical records to in-room display screens for patients. The efforts are “really going to allow us to have personalized medicine,” Chang said. Full Story

Patient monitoring to drive wireless data on Web to record levels by 2014
Internet usage for everything from checking e-mails to reviewing medical records is expected to skyrocket from now through 2014, according to a survey by network equipment giant Cisco Systems Inc. The San Jose, CA company’s Global Mobile Data Forecast for 2009 to 2014 projects worldwide mobile data traffic to reach 3.6 exabytes per month within four years, a 3,900-percent increase from 2009 levels, according to Cisco Senior Marketing Director Doug Webster. The growth has been driven by – and is expected to continue to receive the impact of – smart phones, Netbooks, e-readers, and machine-to-machine applications like e-health monitoring systems, Webster said. Companies such as AT&T, Verizon and Clearwire are investing billions to upgrade their networks, but the actions might actually draw even more traffic to the Web, Webster notes. Full Story

UnitedHealthcare launches first-ever cancer QOC database
UnitedHealthcare (UHC ) has launched a first-of-its-kind cancer care database designed to improve quality of care that cancer patients receive through evaluation of clinical and claims data. The Oncology Care Analysis (OCA) program will include data from 2,600 oncologists and 8,600 patients nationwide afflicted with breast, colon, or lung cancer, according to UHC Senior Vice President of Oncology Lee H. Newcomer, M.D. The patient’s coordinated electronic medical record and treatment regimen is then compared to existing National Comprehensive Cancer Network guidelines. The OCA electronic record also delivers patient information to physicians that they may not have in their existing medical records, such as patient compliance with medications or procedures performed by other specialists, including radiation oncologists and surgeons. Full Story

Columbia researchers invent imaging probe for synaptic activity
Columbia University researchers have developed a fluorescent probe for optical imaging and measurement that can provide an actual view of synaptic activity in the brain and help them better understand development of mental illness. According to Dalibor Sames, PhD, an associate professor in Columbia’s Department of Chemistry, researchers have previously been able to take images of neurotransmitters to measure post-synaptic neuronal activity but were not able to observe actual neurotransmitter release from individual synapses. But the school’s recently developed Fluorescent False Neurotransmitters provide sufficient resolution without interfering with normal synaptic function. Such function is the key to memory and decision-making processes. Full Story

Texas Instruments, S3 Group debut Continua telehealth platform
Dallas-based Texas Instruments Inc. (TI) and San Jose, CA-based healthcare technology solutions provider S3 Group have released the first Continua-Certified USB-enabled platform for building telehealth devices, the companies announced. The system, consisting of TI’s ultra-low power microcontroller and S3’s Embedded Agent Stack technology, will make it easier and faster for original equipment manufacturers to build Continua personal health devices, according to John Mulcahy, general manager of telehealth at S3 Group. Products based on this platform will be able to function as personal area network devices that can communicate with any Continua Application Hosting Device. Both companies are members of the Continua Health Alliance, a non-profit group of technology companies dedicated to creating a network of interoperable personal telehealth solutions. Full Story

St. Jude receives EU approval for Merlin home monitoring adaptor
St. Paul, MN-based St. Jude Medical Inc. has received the CE Mark of approval from the European Union to market a USB cellular adaptor for its Merlin@home transmitter in Europe. According to Eric S. Fain, M.D., president of the St. Jude Medical Cardiac Rhythm Management Division, Merlin@home allows important patient data from an implantable cardiac device to be wirelessly downloaded and securely transmitted via telephone for review by a physician. The new USB adaptor allows patients using a Merlin@home transmitter to transfer data to their physician over the cellular network, in addition to the existing landline service previously available. The certification expands the product to a new market for St. Jude, as 1 in 4 European households have only mobile phone access, the company notes. Full Story

New 3D medical imaging product gets clearance from U.S. FDA
Caesaria, Israel-based Shina Systems has received 510(k) approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to market its 3Di medical imaging advanced visualization software in the United States. According to Shina Systems Chief Executive Officer Naor Shina, 3Di delivers imaging data, advanced reformatting and viewing tools, as well as powerful image processing on demand. It also allows the sharing of medical imaging studies among hospitals, physicians, and patients. Fully secure to support HIPAA compliance, 3Di allows users to upload studies from any location and share them with authorized users anywhere, Shina said. Full Story

VA asks employees for ways to improve health IT usage
The Department of Veterans Affairs is holding a contest among its federal and contract employees to generate ideas on how to best use health information to improve the agency’s healthcare practices and treatments. According to Dr. Gerald Cross, acting VA undersecretary for health, employees have until Feb. 21 to submit ideas, comment on other submissions and vote on the best proposals regarding ways to aid healthcare providers, engage veterans in their care, improve workflow and increase transparency. The department will select 100 of the best ideas and ask the submitters to present full proposals, Cross said. Full Story

FDA considers toughening medical device approval process
It could soon be harder and more expensive for medical device makers to market new products in the United States, as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) reviews the way it grants commercial sales approvals for new medical products. According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, the FDA plans to toughen up review of products applying for 510(k) approval, the designation that allows those items to be sold in the United States. The current process has drawn criticism for its leniency and could face a significant overhaul, the WSJ notes. This could slow arrival of medical devices to the market and take a financial toll on their makers, analyst Larry Biegelsen noted. Full Story

More physicians using e-mail to communicate with patients
Most doctors still do not communicate with patients via e-mail, secure messaging portals or instant messaging, but it is no longer unusual if they do, according to a study by New York City-based Manhattan Research. Thirty-nine percent of physicians now have some type of electronic communications with their patients, up from 14 percent in 2006, the report notes. This growing acceptance of online communication could bode well for the current push to adopt electronic medical records, according to Manhattan Research’s Director of Research Erika S. Fishman. Dermatologists and medical oncologists are most likely to communicate online with patients; neurologists and specialists in infectious diseases also rely heavily on electronic communication, the report notes. Full Story

Dan Lemaitre, formerly with Medtronic Inc. and CoreValve, Inc., has joined Essex Woodlands Health Ventures to start up an investment fund focused on medical devices…Adam Bosworth, CEO of Keas, which offers mobile healthcare plans, announced it is consulting with Health and Human Service’s Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology to discuss strategy and distribution of federal stimulus dollars for the healthcare industry…Scott Simmons, director of telehealth at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, and Anne Burdick, associate dean for telehealth and clinical outreach at the Miller School, have launched a telemedicine technology initiative with the University of Miami’s 240-bed tent hospital near the airport in Port-au-Prince, Haiti…S. Ward Casscells, a Houston cardiologist and former assistant secretary of defense for health affairs, is urging the U.S. military to provide telemedicine equipment and training for Haitian medical professionals when the U.S. military leaves the country…Miguel Cubano, surgeon general of the U.S. military’s Southern Command is in discussions with the Haitian government to have a long-term presence in Haiti, including possible telemedicine consultations with the Center for the Intrepid, a military rehabilitation hospital in San Antonio…Jon Linkous, Chief Executive Officer of the American Telemedicine Association, was quoted in the February 8 New York Times article on telemedicine in Haiti…Steven Normandin, president of AMD Global Telemedicine, Inc., announced it would be setting up New England headquarters in Chelmsford, MA…Mehran Mehregany, with The West Wireless Health Institute (San Diego, CA), announced they plan to launch applications for the iPhone and Google’s Nexus One that will record snoring to detect sleep apnea, as well as other activity and caloric monitors…Les Lane, business manager of The Murdi Paaki Regional Enterprise Corporation (Australia), announced that the company is seeking funding to launch a telemedicine trial for remote areas of Goodooga, Australia…Craig Ochikubo, vice president and general manager of Broadcom’s Wireless Personal Area Networking announced the expansion of Broadcom’s portfolio of Bluetooth system-on-a-chip (SoC) solutions that will allow mobile phones and other devices to wirelessly track and monitor health and fitness indicators…Please send us your news on Movers and Shakers in the field.