Health Imaging & IT - March 2008 - (Page 10)

NEWS UPDATE In the Courts Tyco, Mallinckrodt being sued over gadolinium-based MR The law firm of CofmanTownsley has filed a complaint against Covidien, formerly Tyco Healthcare Group, and its subsidiary Mallinckrodt on behalf of a plaintiff who alleges she was overexposed to the metal gadolinium while being administered OptiMark, a contrast agent used during MRI and MR angiography (MRA) scans. The complaint alleges that as a result of being administered OptiMark by her physician three times during October 2004 and once during December 2004, the plaintiff was also overexposed to gadolinium, which can be found in the contrast agents injected into some patients before MRI scans and all patients before MRA scans.  BUSINESS BUZZ Google, Cleveland Clinic partner for EHR pilot program Cleveland Clinic and Google are considering to pilot features and services of a new health offering from Google. The Google offering will assist providers to create a new kind of healthcare experience that puts the patient in charge of his or her own health information.  Nuclear commission investigates Covidien isotope unit Federal regulators from the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) are inspecting Mallinckrodt, a business unit of Covidien that makes products used in nuclear medicine, after high levels of a nuclear isotope were extracted from its generators. The NRC said it sent a letter and inspectors to Mallinckrodt, confirming its investigation into a problem identified with isotopes extracted from generators used for diagnostic imaging by nuclear pharmacies and hospitals. Canadian nuclear safety agency chief fired over isotope shortage The federal government of Canada fired Linda Keen as president of the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission. The government directly blamed Keen for closing of Chalk River nuclear reactor and the resulting domestic shortage of life-saving medical isotopes for cancer and cardiac diagnoses. DatCard files patent infringement suit against Codonics DatCard Systems has filed suit in federal court to prevent Codonics from infringing its patent, which is directed at systems that distribute and record DICOM medical image data onto CDs or DVDs that can be read without specialized viewing software. The patent was awarded in November 2007.  NC BCBS posts medical costs Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association of North Carolina has published a price list of available services online which enables members to calculate the costs for drugs, office visits, prescriptions, medical procedures and other services. The Health Cost Estimator includes a comprehensive listing of total average costs related to diseases and conditions of any health insurance plan. MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS GE ups digital mammo capabilities GE Healthcare acquired Image Diagnost International, a provider of IT systems used for diagnosing breast cancer. GE did not disclose the terms of the transaction. The acquisition will expand GE Healthcare’s capabilities in breast cancer detection, offering clinicians and national screening services.  Bayer unit Medrad to acquire Possis Medical for $361M Medrad, an affiliate of Bayer HealthCare, plans to acquire Possis Medical in a cash tender offer for approximately $361 million. Possis Medical is a provider of mechanical thrombectomy devices used to treat narrowed or blocked arteries and veins. GE Healthcare combines Eastern, African market regions GE Healthcare has combined the Eastern and African growth markets (EAGM) region into a single International Diagnostic Imaging operation. The EAGM pole has been created to support four large regions—the Middle East, Africa, Turkey, Central Asia, Russia and Countries of Independent States. RadNet acquires imaging centers for $15M RadNet, a diagnostic imaging services provider, has acquired the Rolling Oaks Radiology imaging centers, consisting of five radiologists who staff two facilities, in Thousand Oaks, Calif. The purchase price consisted of approximately $5.9 million in cash and the assumption of approximately $5.9 million of debt. STAY CONNECTED: For daily news, log onto HealthImaging.com 10 Health Imaging & IT | March 2008 HealthImaging.com http://HealthImaging.com http://HealthImaging.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Health Imaging & IT - March 2008

Health Imaging & IT - March 2008 Table of Contents On the Web The Enterprise: Communicating Better News Update Critical Test Results Management: The Human Touch The Changing Face of the Cath Lab Cardiovascular CT: A Clinical Boon Cardiology PACS: Solutions to Fit Your Needs ACC 08: Building Quality & Value Together Picking the Perfect PACS Displays PET/CT: A Game-Changer in Cancer Patient Management DR: You Gotta Have IT – Delivering Speed, Efficiency, Savings Laser Imagers: Answering the Call for Hard Copy Reader's Resources Stat Sheet

Health Imaging & IT - March 2008

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