Coma: Nerve Activity Can Predict Life Or Death
Even when patients are unable to respond, physicians can get valuable information from nerves that can assist in determining whether the patient will live or die in nontraumatic comatose patients.
Even in a comatose state, electrically induced nerve responses can be interpreted because the nerve responses are not affected by therapeutic muscular paralysis that occurs when sedatives are given at high dosage. In a recent study, evoked nerve responses were studied to correlate the nerve activity with the likelihood of survival.

Researchers studied 47 nontraumatic comatose adults. 188 somatosensory evoked potential (SEP) measurements were taken from comatose patients within five days after they became comatose. Eight patients (17 percent) had bilateral loss of cortical SEPs from the scalp. Despite long term intensive care unit (ICU) treatment, all eight of these patients died.

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GE Healthcare IT introduced Centricity® PACS-IW version 3.7.1., the first major solution to derive from GE’s Dynamic Imaging . Providing an intuitive platform for radiologists, the solution has made significant strides to improve performance, interface navigation and ergonomic design.

The recent installment of GE’s Centricity PACS-IW expands acclaimed Web-based PACS technology and delivers additional innovative tools aimed to sustain flexible IT models for outpatient imaging centers, virtual radiology practices, physician offices, and hospitals.

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Royal Philips Electronics announced that customers have again rated Philips Healthcare No. 1 in overall service performance for Ultrasound All Systems, comprising Radiology/OB-Gyn and Cardiology instruments, in the annual IMV ServiceTrak™ surveys.  The results of the 2008 IMV analysis also show Philips earning a No. 1 ranking in overall manufacturer satisfaction and a No. 1 ranking for probability of repurchase for ultrasound.  “Focusing on the needs of our customers is the number one priority for our service organization, and this top ranking for ultrasound customer service underscores our customer commitment,” said Tom Kirkland, senior vice president of customer services, North America, for Philips Healthcare. 

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Covidien held a meeting for the investment community where it highlighted the strengths, strategies and innovations that will drive the Company's growth in 2009 and beyond.
President and Chief Executive Officer Richard J. Meelia spoke about the Company's accomplishments since the spinoff in mid-2007 and the key challenges Covidien faces in the increasingly competitive global medical products marketplace. "During our first year as an independent company, we successfully accomplished many of our objectives. We accelerated the sales growth rate, launched an unprecedented number of meaningful new products, improved gross margin and made planned incremental investments in selling, marketing and research and development," Meelia said.

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