Tumors: Biomaterial Improves Imaging

A new material developed at the University of Virginia "an oxygen nanosensor that couples a light-emitting dye with a biopolymer" simplifies the imaging of oxygen-deficient regions of tumors.

Such tumors are associated with increased cancer aggressiveness and are particularly difficult to treat. Oxygen nanosensors are powerful new research tools that one day may also be used for the diagnosis and detection of diseases and for planning treatment strategies.

The new material is based on poly(lactic acid), a biorenewable, biodegradable polymer that is safe for the body and the environment, and is easy and inexpensive to fabricate in many forms, including films, fibers and nanoparticles. It is useful for medical research as well as environmental research, sustainable design and green products, too.

Chemists at the University of Virginia developed the material and consulted with cancer researchers at the U.Va. Cancer Center and Duke University Medical Center to determine possible applications.

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Royal Philips Electronics is to unveil its latest advance in heart disease detection, the PageWriter TC50 cardiograph, which uses gender-differentiated criteria to assist in the diagnosis of heart disease in women, where symptoms may be different from men1. The PageWriter TC50 will have its global launch at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress 2009.

Cardiovascular disease is the main cause of death in women in all countries of Europe2. One in five European women die from coronary heart disease each year2 and by 2020 coronary heart disease among women globally will have increased by 120 percent from the levels of 19903. Women are more likely than men to have a second heart attack within six years of the first and are 50 percent more likely than men to die in the first year after a heart attack4.

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For the fourth consecutive year, Abbott has been named one of the "50 Best Places to Launch a Career" by BusinessWeek magazine. The list highlights companies that excel at offering a superior workplace for entry-level employees. This year, Abbott moved up to No. 13, and was once again the top-ranked health care company on the list. Abbott has been included on the list every year since BusinessWeek initiated the list in 2006.

"In today's economy, graduates are looking for companies that can offer a long-lasting career with strong growth and leadership opportunities," said Stephen Fussell, senior vice president, Human Resources, Abbott. "While other companies are significantly cutting back on hiring, we see the current economy as an extraordinary opportunity to continue to bring in the best entry-level talent, and to help connect new employees with their potential in ways no other company can."

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eClinicalWorks, based in Westborough, Mass., has announced that Correctional Medical Services, Inc., a provider of health services for prisons and jails throughout the country, will implement the company’s electronic medical records (EMR) solution in affiliated correctional facilities.

Greenway Medical Technologies of Carrollton, Ga., has announced a partnership with RelayHealth, a McKesson subsidiary based in Atlanta, to integrate RelayHealth’s Virtual Information Exchange platform with Greenway’s PrimeSuite electronic medical records solution, allowing PrimeSuite users to have access to lab results, radiology reports and transcribed documents from their community health system.

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A 22-year-old cancer patient battling for her life after contracting H1N1 swine flu recovered fully after doctors took the unorthodox approach of giving her the antiviral drug Relenza intravenously.
The British physicians who treated the woman said this last-resort approach may need to be considered for others as swine flu sweeps the globe. Relenza is licensed in pill form and as an inhaled powder, but not as an intravenous medication.

In this woman's case, neither Relenza nor a similar H1N1-fighting drug, Tamiflu, could reach her severely affected lungs when taken orally or inhaled, the physicians report in the Sept. 4 online issue of The Lancet.

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