Covidien to buy Somanetics for $250 million, move into patient monitoring
Medical device maker Covidien plc plans to buy patient monitoring equipment maker Somanetics Corp. for $250 million, the companies announced. According to Pete Wehrly, president of Covidien's respiratory and monitoring solutions unit, Covidien will pay $25 in cash per Somanetics share. The deal is expected to close July 31, pending shareholder approval. The merger will "expand Covidien's presence in the operating room," Wehrly said. Somanetics had sales of $50 million in 2009 and has 150 employees. The Troy, MI-based company makes a patient monitor that measures blood oxygen levels in the brain and in the body of patients who are at risk for restricted blood flow allowing clinicians to detect and correct various life-threatening complications. Covidien, based in Ireland, has 42,000 employees worldwide in more than 60 countries and posted revenue of $10.7 billion in 2009. Full Story

Philips Research expands research on wearable patient health sensors
Philips Research is exploring the benefits of wearable sensors that measure an increasing number of vital signs. According to Steve Klink, spokesperson for Philips Research in Eindhoven, The Netherlands, the work is part of an effort to define new consumer systems and services that can lower cost and improve quality of healthcare through at-home patient monitoring. Technology underway includes the MyHeart program, which uses a belt of sensors worn around the waist to measure heart beat and send electric signals through the torso to detect fluid in the lungs; Handheld Cardiac Diagnostics, which takes and analyzes blood samples for heart conditions, then reports results back to care providers via a portable device; and Auto Alert, a patient fall alert necklace with an accelerometer and other sensors that automatically call for help if the patient does not or cannot do so. Auto Alert has been on the market since March; MyHeart and Handheld Cardiac Diagnostics are expected on the market by 2013, Klink said. Full Story

European Union to invest $61.7 billion on health IT projects through 2013
The European Union has launched 27 e-health projects this year in compliance with its new EU Framework Programme 7. The framework, currently funded until 2013 at a cost of $61.7 billion [USD], will focus on Information and Communication Technology projects for personal health systems, for patient safety, and international cooperation on virtual physiological human. The personal health systems include key technologies, such as biosensors and secure communications, which can be built into "smart clothes," and implants which help patients and their doctors monitor and manage their health status. Patient safety projects address developments around software tools to help health professionals obtain the greatest possible information whenever they make decisions that may impact on patient safety. The virtual physiological human is a network of bio-informatics, genomics, and neuro-informatics researchers to help create a new generation of e-health systems to assist them in disease prevention, diagnoses and treatment. Full Story

Doctors use robotics to perform kidney transplant on obese patient
Surgeons at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) have performed the first successful robotic kidney transplant in a morbidly obese patient. According to Dr. Enrico Benedetti, head of surgery at UIC, the university surgical team used the da Vinci Robotic Surgical System to transplant the kidney, which functioned immediately after transplantation with no postoperative complications. Transplant centers typically avoid listing morbidly obese patients for kidney transplantation due to the increased risks associated with surgery, graft survival and patient safety. But robotic surgery on these persons can be accomplished safely and allows minimally invasive access without the visual and technical limitations of laparoscopic surgery, said Dr. Pier Cristoforo Giulianotti, professor of surgery at UIC. Six other robotic kidney transplants have been performed to date, but none in obese patients. The study appears online in the American Journal of Transplantation. Full Story

Halt Medical electrosurgical ultrasound tool receives approval from FDA
California-based Halt Medical Inc. has received clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to market its Halt 2000GI Electrosurgical System in the United States. Halt 2000GI provides soft tissue ablation using radiofrequency energy. According to Gordon Epstein, M.D., Halt Medical's chief technology officer, Halt 2000GI offers a very precise, minimally invasive procedure where a slender probe is inserted into the target tumor under ultrasound guidance. Once in position, the system delivers a specified amount of energy to the tissue. The heat generated in the process destroys the tumor, allowing it to be absorbed by the body. RFA therapy is rapidly becoming the "treatment of choice" among surgeons seeking minimally invasive solutions for relieving debilitating symptoms caused by a variety of diseases such as tumors of the liver, breast, prostate, bone, and kidneys, Epstein said. Full Story

Implanted electrode process can help treat pancreatic cancer
Researchers at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill have designed an implant that uses an electrical field to supply chemotherapy drugs to hard-to-reach pancreatic cancer tumors. According to Joseph DeSimone at UNC's DeSimone Lab in Chapel Hill, an electrode carrying a reservoir of the drugs is implanted directly into the pancreas. When a second electrode is pinned to the side of the body or implanted inside, an electric field can be generated, driving the drugs out of the reservoir and into the tumor. Tests on pancreatic tumors in mice showed promising results, and the team hopes to publish its findings in the coming months, DeSimone said. Full Story

Continua, Vignet to develop medical reference software for smartphones
The Continua Health Alliance (CHA) and Washington, D.C.-based Vignet Corp. are partnering to develop new mobile, medical record reference software for various smartphone platforms for Continua members. According to CHA Executive Director Chuck Parker, the program will grant members access to a reference library, enabling them to use devices that provide individuals mobile access to care, potentially improving healthcare outcomes and delivering more affordable healthcare solutions. The project will also enable Continua to have a "significant immediate impact" on roll-out of mobile connected healthcare systems by providing reference platforms and expanding the reach of standards-based connected health solutions, spurring innovation and removing barriers to global implementation and adoption, Parker said. Full Story

Actress Jennifer Lopez's Maribel Foundation to provide telemedicine for kids
Singer and actress Jennifer Lopez and her sister, Lynda Lopez, have launched a telemedicine-based healthcare foundation aimed at providing global medical care to children. According to "J-Lo," The Maribel Foundation in Los Angeles will remotely link up physicians and specialists with children who need care. Lopez told news commentator and television host Larry King that the Foundation became a personal goal after she and her sister each became pregnant. "Obviously, when you become a mom, your perspective and your whole kind of view on life change," she said. "It is a very big dream, which is to bring the best, most advanced healthcare to every child in the world, on the planet." The foundation is named after her husband's sister, who died of a brain tumor at age 9. Full Story   Further Information

Ontario Telemedicine Network posts 91 percent user gain in one year
In just four years, the number of patients using the Ontario Telemedicine Network (OTN) has surpassed the 100,000 mark, the Canadian medical agency reported. According to OTN Chief Executive Officer Dr. Ed Brown, the network has helped generate 102,781 patient consults in fiscal 2009-10, a 91 percent increase in one year. Available in every hospital and hundreds of other healthcare locations across the province, OTN is one of the largest and most comprehensive telemedicine networks in the world, Brown said. Reaching 100,000 consults is a "significant milestone" and is "proof positive that telemedicine is becoming a mainstream channel for healthcare delivery," Brown added. Full Story

'BRIC' telemedicine market to reach $418.4 million by 2014
The telemedicine market in Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRIC) is expected to reach a market size of $418.4 million by the year 2014, according to a report by Dallas-based MarketsandMarkets. The report notes that the BRIC telemedicine market was at $200.5 million in 2009; and is expected to grow exponentially by 15.8 percent annually through 2014, largely due to an increase in the number of patients suffering from chronic diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, chronic heart failure, asthma, hypertension, and diabetes, and an increase in information technology spending. The biggest benefactors are expected to be healthcare service providers such as hospitals, medical centers, software and hardware developers, information technology and telecommunication companies, and medical device manufacturers, the report adds. Full Story

Few Americans use EMRs or contact doctors with e-mails, poll finds
Less than 1 in 10 American adults now use electronic medical records or turn to e-mail to contact their doctor, and nearly half aren't aware if their doctors use such technology, according to a new poll by Harris Interactive. Most of those polled would like their doctors to have that type of access to their records, but not their health insurers, according to Harris Poll Chairperson Humphrey Taylor. The poll also notes that public attitudes toward electronic medical records haven't changed much over the past few years, despite efforts by President Obama to expand the use of EMR technology. This year, as in 2009, 78 percent of adults indicated that they "strongly" or "somewhat" agree that doctors should have access to their EMRs. In 2007, 80 percent were in agreement on physicians' access to those records, the poll notes. Full Story

Temporary EHR certification program rule to be released Thursday
The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT has released a final rule establishing a temporary electronic health records (EHRs) certification program per the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA). Under ARRA, healthcare providers who demonstrate "meaningful use" of certified EHRs will qualify for federal incentive payments. The rule does not deem the Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT) as a temporary certifying body. It also does not grandfather-in existing EHRs as "Certified EHR Technology," even if the products are CCHIT-certified. A final version of the temporary certification rule is scheduled to be published on Thursday; a final rule for a permanent certification program is expected to be published in October. Full Story

Adam B. Kaufman, PhD, has been named president of Los Angeles-based healthcare software company, DPS Health...Julius Genachowski, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, announced that the FCC and the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) plan to take a team approach to regulating wireless telemedicine and telehealth systems...Kim Pemble, executive director of the Wisconsin Health Information Exchange, announced the results of a survey by the Medical College of Wisconsin that found that Emergency Department doctors with electronic access to patient data via a health information exchange spend less time gathering information and make better-informed clinical decisions...Joel E. Barthelemy, managing director of GlobalMedia, announced that they are the first telemedicine company to become a member of the Emergency Department Practice Management Association...James Ahrens, chair of the Veterans Rural Health Advisory Committee, called for an expanded telemedicine program and a stronger relationship between the VA and Indian Health Services while testifying before the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs...Robert Jesse, MD, PhD, Acting Principal Deputy Under Secretary for Health at the Veterans Health Administration, appeared before the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs to describe how telehealth is helping veterans in rural areas...Paul Evans has been named General Counsel of Santa Barbara-based InTouch Technologies, which develops telemedicine products for the healthcare industry... Please send us your news on Movers and Shakers in the field.

• Seventh Annual Healthcare Unbound Conference & Exhibition
  July 19-20, 2010 - San Diego, CA
  Networks, platforms and applications for technology-enabled participatory medicine. Special focus on remote monitoring, home telehealth, mhealth and ehealth for chronic care management and wellness promotion. Featuring an aging services educational track. Supporting organizations include: AAHSA, CAST and DMAA: The Care Continuum Alliance. www.tcbi.org



• Global TeleHealth 2010
  November 10-12, 2010 - Perth, Western Australia
  More Info
  

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