Saturday, October 4, 2008

Siemens Healthcare has signed a contract with the US Defense Advance Research Projects Agency

Siemens Healthcare has signed a contract with the US Defense Advance Research Projects Agency to develop a life-saving ultrasound device called the deep bleeder acoustic coagulation cuff (DBAC) that limits blood loss from the limbs of injured soldiers.
Partners at the University of Washington's Center for Industrial and Medical Ultrasound , the Texas A&M University's Institute for Preclinical Studies and Siemens Corporate Research will work together with Siemens Healthcare to achieve DARPA's goal of producing a prototype of the device in 18 months.
The DBAC is designed to limit blood loss from penetrating wounds to limbs, significantly reducing the risk of limb loss and death resulting from irreversible haemorrhagic shock.
Once applied to the limb, the cuff will be able to automatically detect the location and severity of the bleeding within it using ultrasound technology.
This will then trigger the cuff to emit and focus high-power energy towards the bleeding sites, speeding coagulation and halting bleeding.
The device is intended to be used by minimally-trained operators, curtailing bleeding in a minimal amount of time with automatic treatment and power shut-off.
The researchers will work in collaboration with the Combat Casualty Care Group at the US Army Medical Research and Material Command, surgeons from the Madigan Army Medical Center, and the US Army Institute for Surgical Research to develop the system.

Covidien Introduces the SprayShield TM Adhesion Barrier System to the European Marketplace

Covidien (NYSE: COV, BSX: COV), a leading global provider of healthcare products, today announced that its Surgical Devices business unit has introduced the SprayShield TM Adhesion Barrier System throughout Europe. The SprayShield Adhesion Barrier System offers surgeons a unique synthetic, sprayable hydrogel that provides a strong barrier between tissue and organ planes that helps reduce the development of post–surgical adhesions. The SprayShield Adhesion Barrier System, which has received CE–Mark, is indicated for use in both open and laparoscopic abdominopelvic surgical procedures as an adjunct to good surgical technique.
"The SprayShield Adhesion Barrier System represents yet another innovative solution delivered by our BioSurgery team," said Scott Flora, President, Surgical Devices, Covidien. "Like our other recent product introductions, including PleuraSeal TM lung sealant and VascuSeal TM vascular sealant, the SprayShield Adhesion Barrier System gives surgeons a new solution to help address an unmet clinical need," he added.
Adhesions frequently occur after surgery due to tissue trauma that forms connective tissue bridges, or internal bands in the body, that can connect internal structures and organs that normally are separated. Adhesions have been associated with post–operative complications such as pelvic pain, infertility and small bowel obstruction that may require additional surgery to resolve. A long–term comprehensive study of women who had prior pelvic surgery showed that approximately 35% were readmitted an average of 1.9 times over a 10–year period due to adhesion–related complications. Even during routine surgical procedures, the need to remove adhesions extends operating room time and can lead to increased blood loss and other complications.
The SprayShield Barrier technology is a synthetic, absorbable hydrogel delivered by an air–assisted sprayer. The device can be stored at room temperature and prepared in less than two minutes. The SprayShield Adhesion Barrier polymerizes within seconds when sprayed, enabling site–specific application, and is blue in color, allowing the surgeon to see the coverage and thickness of the material upon application. Post–operatively, the SprayShield Barrier continues to separate tissue and organ planes as healing progresses under the gel. After several days, the hydrogel breaks down into water–soluble molecules that are absorbed and cleared through the kidneys.
In addition to Europe, the SprayShield Adhesion Barrier System is available in certain Middle East markets and South Africa. It is not available in the United States at this time.

European co expresses interest in biotech co Omrix

Among the possible candidates to acquire Omrix is German giant Bayer.
Sources inform that a European company is interested in acquiring Israeli biosurgical and immunotherapy products maker Omrix Biopharmaceuticals Ltd. , and that it is offering a substantial premium on the company's $320 million market cap. The company is reportedly conducting due diligence.
Among the possible candidates to acquire Omrix is German pharmaceuticals giant Bayer AG (XETRA; BAY; LSE: BYR). Bayer markets products of Omrix competitor ZymoGenetics Inc. (Nasdaq: ZGEN) and is a partner of Omri, a company owned by Omrix CEO Robert Taub, who owns 15.7% of Omrix.