Nowruz is the traditional Iranian festival of spring which starts at the exact moment of the vernal equinox, commencing the start of the spring. It is considered as the start of the New Year among Iranians. The name comes from Avestan meaning "new day/daylight". Noruz is celebrated March 20/21 each year, at the time the sun enters Aries.  Noruz has been celebrated for at least 3,000 years and is deeply rooted in the rituals and traditions of the Zoroastrian religion. Today the festival of Noruz is celebrated in Iran, Iraq, India, Afghanistan, Tajikestan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan.

The Zoroastrian Parsis of India celebrate Noruz twice, firstly in common with their Iranian brethren on the vernal equinox as Jamshedi Navroz (also referred to as the Fasli New Year) and secondly on a day in July or August, depending upon whether they follow the Kadmi or the Shahenshahi calendar. This is because the practice of intercalation in the Zoroastrian calendar was lost on their arrival in India. The Kadmi New Year always precedes the Shahenshahi New Year by 30 days. In 2005, Noruz is celebrated on August 20 (Shahenshahi).

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General Electric Company, and Qatar Foundation today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to create a partnership covering a range of healthcare business and research initiatives.  Building on GE’s strong existing partnership with Qatar Science & Technology Park (QSTP), Qatar Foundation’s research accelerator, the parties plan to develop and deliver next-generation healthcare technologies and build local research and development capabilities aligned with regional and global healthcare needs.

Key elements of the partnership include:

Healthcare Information Technology (HCIT) for the Middle East and Africa.  GE Healthcare and Qatar Foundation will expand GE Healthcare’s IT business in the Middle East and Africa through the creation of a joint venture headquartered at QSTP in Doha, Qatar.   The joint venture will be the headquarters for GE’s Healthcare IT business in the Middle East and Africa, developing healthcare IT solutions specifically adapted to meet local needs, as well providing marketing, sales and distribution services in partnership with GE Healthcare’s existing infrastructure across the region. 

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 Innovations for Women’s Health with the Magnetom Espree - Pink, the new dedicated MR breast scannerSiemens Healthcare exhibits its latest solutions in the field of Magnetic Resonance (MR) for Oncology at the European Radiology Congress ECR 2009 in Vienna. The Syngo TimCT Oncology application enables not only comprehensive patient examinations within an extreme short examination time, it can also eliminate the need for multiple examinations with other modalities. The Syngo Tissue 4D software supports tissue differentiation of prostate cancer. In addition, Siemens presents innovative technologies in the area of Women's Health: dedicated breast coils for 1.5 Tesla (T) and 3 Tesla systems as well as the new breast scanner Magnetom Espree - Pink. The 1.5T system combines a 70cm Open-Bore design with a dedicated breast care solution. Specifically designed for obese and claustrophobic patients, the large bore makes examinations more comfortable than with previous systems, or, in some cases, it makes them possible for the first time ever. Supplementary software packages such as Syngo Grace allow for the biochemical detection of lesions that go beyond imaging.

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At the European Congress of Radiology, Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG; AEX: PHI) today launched Philips Utilization Services to help healthcare providers provide enhanced patient care by pinpointing and reducing unproductive time in imaging departments.

Developed by Philips and based on its understanding of the complexities that hinder healthcare professionals from delivering patient-centered care, Philips Utilization Services enable clinicians and managers to make the best use of imaging technology. Philips’ workflow experts analyze information on how imaging technology is used, such as the length of time that scanners are idle, the time between scans, and how long patient changeovers take. Using this information they help imaging departments develop and implement sustainable solutions that maximize the potential of a department’s technology resources.

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 As healthcare facilities continue to look for the best value in imaging, Toshiba America Medical Systems, Inc.'s Service organization continues to deliver on the company's dedication to top-tier service and customer satisfaction. Once again, this dedication is being recognized by an independent healthcare market research firm – IMV, Ltd., which provides independent analysis of service trends in the imaging industry. In IMV's 2008 ServiceTrak™ Imaging on CT system service, Toshiba received more top rankings than any other imaging vendor. In fact, Toshiba CT received the top ranking in 21 out of 34 service attributes, including overall OEM service performance, overall satisfaction with a manufacturer, reliability of hardware and overall value.

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  A comprehensive analysis published today in The Lancet, one of the world's leading medical journals, from the ABSORB clinical trial demonstrated that Abbott's bioabsorbable drug eluting stent, currently in development, successfully treated coronary artery disease and was absorbed into the walls of treated arteries within two years. The two-year data also demonstrated that after the bioabsorbable device was absorbed, the treated blood vessels appeared to move and function similar to unstented arteries. Preliminary findings from the 30-patient ABSORB trial were presented in October 2008 at the Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics annual meeting in Washington, D.C.

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