An innovative computer-aided solution for diagnosis of prostate cancer from ultrasound scans will be launched in the UK through urolology ultrasound specialist BK Medical UK Ltd.

Belgian company Advanced Medical Diagnostics SA (AMD) has appointed BK Medical UK Ltd as sole agent for its Prostate HistoScanning solution in the UK.

HistoScanning is a tissue characterisation technology based on analysis of ultrasound. It is designed to support doctors in diagnosis and treatment decisions. Prostate HistoScanning, already available in Europe, supports the diagnosis and management of prostate cancer.

As the UK agent for Prostate HistoScanning, BK Medical will be responsible for day-to-day management of sales and providing service support.

Advanced Medical Diagnostics SA and BK Medical UK Ltd have been working together to commercialise Prostate HistoScanning since its launch in 2008. BK has helped to place the systems in four major UK teaching hospitals, including Charing Cross Hospital in London.

Toby Hamblin, VP Sales of AMD, commented: “BK Medical, with its strong base in ultrasound urology in the UK, is very well placed to help us realise the full potential of Prostate HistoScanning and to provide the NHS and private clinics alike with the service and support that they, and this exciting new technology, deserve.”

Geoff Pick, Managing Director of BK Medical UK Ltd, added: “Prostate HistoScanning is an important product for us here in the UK and will help us maintain our position at the forefront of innovation in urology ultrasound technology. We are delighted that we will be able to provide our customers with this important technology and look forward to providing HistoScanning customers with the same excellent level of service that our current ultrasound users enjoy.”

Scottish upper-limb bionic prosthesis specialist Touch Bionics has won a 2010 International Business Award in the Most Innovative Company of the Year in Europe category.

The International Business Awards are the only global business awards that cover all areas of business.

The 2010 awards will be presented on 27 September in the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Istanbul, Turkey.

The winners were selected by business professionals worldwide from more than 1,700 entries, received from more than 40 nations. Other companies recognised as Distinguished Honourees in the category won by Touch Bionics included major brands such as H&M and Nestlé.

Touch Bionics was assessed on its innovation over the past year, which included the launches of its ProDigits partial hand solution and its new prosthetic hand, the i-LIMB Pulse.

“Winning an International Business Award is a demonstration of Touch Bionics’ outstanding innovation and business success over the past year, and to win ahead of some of the biggest names in global business is a tremendous achievement,” said Stuart Mead, CEO of Touch Bionics.

“Innovation is at the core of this company, and from the launch of our first product, the i-LIMB Hand, we have never stopped innovating to ensure we continue to lead the world in the field of commercial bionic technology.”

 
ProDigits partial hand

NHS organisations across London have teamed up to enhance the mammography facilities at the Whittington Hospital.

The new Hologic Selenia FFDM from MIS has been sourced through medical equipment solutions provider Asteral.

The Hologic scanner will improve workflow and image quality. As a dedicated screening unit, it complements the existing mammography unit provided by Asteral.

Jon Green, General Manager for Access, Diagnostics Services and Planned Care at the Whittington Hospital NHS Trust, said: “This is a great example of partnership working to bring real benefits for patients. We at The Whittington have come together with Islington PCT and the Central East London Breast Screening Service based at St Barts and the London NHS Trust to provide screening services to patients in a modern fixed location.

“Asteral were chosen to procure and then manage the new equipment because of the value, professionalism and extremely high standards they have consistently delivered as part of the major Managed Equipment Services arrangement we have with them.”

Asteral’s Sean Williams commented: “We were delighted to install this new equipment that brings additional capability to the hospital. As we are independent of equipment manufacturers we were able to give impartial advice on the best solution available, and we are confident that we will be able to deliver the same high standards maintaining this technology as we do with the rest of Whittington’s medical equipment.”

Based in reading, Asteral is the leading vendor-independent Managed Equipment Service provider to the NHS. Its track record of managing medical equipment for the NHS goes back 12 years.

 
Whittington mammography launch: Rachel Tyndall, North Central London NHS Chief Executive, with actress Michelle Collins

A bariatric device from Leeds-based company Surgical Innovations Group has received 510(k) clearance from the FDA for sale in the US.

The LogiFlex device is used in gastric band deployment and associated procedures. Its sterile insert allows the surgeon to fix gastric bands around the top of the patient’s stomach.

A ‘resposable’ instrument, LogiFlex combines a reusable handle and a single-use insert. The US market traditionally uses disposable instruments for these procedures, but increasing pressure to reduce costs means that LogiFlex will appeal as a cost-effective alternative.

It is estimated that 250,000 anti-obesity procedures are performed annually in the US, where obesity affects more than 60 million people.

Graham Bowland, CEO of SI Group, said: “We are delighted to be able to announce this approval, which will see the pioneering device now being sold into the US. The majority of surgical instruments in the US are single use; however with growing financial constraints being placed on hospital budgets, procurement managers are continuously looking for cost-effective instrumentation and LogiFlex offers the ideal high-quality, cost-effective solution.”

SI Group manufactures devices for use in minimally invasive surgery. It has pioneered ‘resposable’ instrumentation with single-use and reusable components, delivering an optimum performance to cost ratio.

Based in Leeds, SI sells in all major medical markets including North America and Europe through a network of distribution partners. The Group sells its own branded instruments as well as being an OEM provider to major medical device companies, including Olympus and CareFusion.

LogiFlex

A West Midlands company has created hospital signs and floor logos for a popular BBC television series.

Wolverhampton-based MediFilm was offered a contract to provide floor graphics and hand-washing signs for a new Clinical Decisions Unit shown on Casualty.

MediFilm has created special products for the long-running medical drama, depicting the logo of the Holby City hospital. This is part of the programme’s effort to display products used in real NHS hospitals.

The company specialises in ward management graphics that map out the sites of vital equipment items so they can be replaced correctly.

Based around the Well Organised Ward, a concept developed by the NHS Institute for Innovation, the graphics improve a department’s efficiency by making equipment easier to locate.

Ed Taylor, Director of MediFilm, said Casualty’s producers contacted the company after seeing bespoke logos in a Midlands Trust hospital. “It’s a testament to the work we have done with over 75 UK hospitals to have our products used in this way,” he said.

“Casualty has been a television favourite for 25 years and has always sought to represent a true-to-life A&E department. We are also currently speaking to the producers of Holby City to use our products as well.”

More MediFilm products will be launched into (real) healthcare environments in the coming months.

 
MediFilm graphics at Holby City

A cost-effective technology for relief of bedsores or pressure ulcers from a UK company will be made available to over 2 million sufferers in the USA through a new distribution agreement.

Hampshire-based APA Parafricta has signed an exclusive agreement with Invista, the company responsible for the Lycra brand.

Invista has formed a specialist team comprising US and UK staff, including a US marketing expert with medical experience, to promote the Parafricta range.

The global distribution agreement covers the products within the Pf Fragile Skin Protection System. The Parafricta low-friction fabric helps to prevent ‘stiction’ (skin tears caused by fabric movement) that can lead to or aggravate bedsores. The fabric is incorporated in durable, affordable clothing items that can be washed at high temperatures.

The need for a reduction in bedsore incidence in hospital and residential care and homecare has been shown by NHS initiatives such as ‘No Needless Skin Breakdown’ (Patient Safety Federation).

“This extended distribution agreement is very important for us to reach the US healthcare markets at a critical time,” said Mike Clark, Chairman of APA Parafricta Ltd. “Recent policy changes by Medicare and Medicaid mean that ‘institution acquired’ problems such as pressure ulcers will no longer be covered. We will work with Invista to expand the product reach, providing an economical solution to this critical problem.”

Cortlandt Minnich, New Business Development Director of Invista, commented: “We look forward to launching Parafricta products in the US, bringing an elegantly simple solution to an old problem. Our capabilities in distributing technical fibers combined with the experience that Parafricta has gained in the UK are a great foundation for this launch.”

APA Parafricta is based in Newport Pagnell.

 
Parafricta bootee

A new heart-lung support system for mobile applications promises to make life-saving treatment more accessible to patients within and outside hospitals.

The portable Cardiohelp system from German company Maquet Cardiopulmonary AG replaces and controls the patient’s circulatory and pulmonary functions from outside the body.

The system has gained CE Mark approval following trials in 18 hospitals, in nine countries. It is now available worldwide.

Many patients with heart and lung disease experience a dangerous lack of oxygen supply to vital organs. Their lives can be saved by rapid connection to a mechanical circulatory support. Before now, this could only be provided by 250kg heart-lung machines.

Cardiohelp weighs only 10kg and is the size of a piece of hand luggage. It is approved for ground and air transport, and can be carried by a single person. It is suitable for use in cardiac surgery, cardiology, intensive care and emergency treatment.

The new system is more cost-effective than conventional heart-lung machines, but creates new possibilities for protective ventilation: the volume of blood outside the body is minimised, so less strain is put on the patient.

Maquet Cardiopulmonary AG is based in Hirrlingen, Germany. Maquet UK is based in Sunderland.

 
Cardiohelp

Siemens Hearing Instruments has appointed a new UK Product and Marketing Manager.

Mark Laben will be responsible for planning and implementing all marketing and product-related activities, as well as managing the Systems and Applications Services Team.

Mark has spent nine years as a Global Account Director at Knowles Electronics, when he was responsible for all Knowles’ business activities with a major hearing product OEM. His previous experience includes electrical, production and process engineering and account management for two automotive component suppliers to major car manufacturers.

“I have joined Siemens Hearing Instruments at a particularly exciting and busy time with the recent launch of our BestSound Technology range, plus the news that we have been placed on contract as one of the main suppliers on the NHS Supply Chain’s National Framework,” Mark said.

“We are currently carrying out new product and accessory introductions, and our goal is to be our customers’ preferred business partner for both workflow and product solutions.”

Based in Crawley, West Sussex, Siemens Hearing Instruments provides a range of digital hearing instruments and software, patient management systems and audiology equipment to the NHS and retail dispensers in the UK.

 
Mark Laben

The proposed abolition by the Government of health watchdogs such as the Health Protection Agency (HPA) and the National Patient Safety Association (NPSA) has met with concern from health experts.

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has announced a review of the UK’s health arm’s length bodies (ALBs) that will reduce their number from 18 to between 8 and 10, delivering savings of over £180m by 2015.

The review calls on arm’s length bodies “to exploit commercial opportunities and maximise commercial discipline,” reflecting a growing role for the private sector in delivering NHS functions.

The decision to abolish the NPSA has led to concerns over patient safety, while the transfer of the HPA’s role to the DH has been criticised as reducing its independence. The abolition of the NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement (NIII), responsible for improving the uptake of new technologies, may raise issues for the medtech industry.

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley said: “In order to secure every possible means to promote greater value for money and efficiency, we have acted decisively to ensure that our ALB sector remains fit for purpose and affordable.

“In line with the efficiency savings being made across the health sector, remaining ALBs will be required to deliver their functions effectively and efficiently, taking full advantage of commercial opportunities.”

NICE will be placed on a stronger statutory footing, with its remit expanded to include social care. Monitor will be retained and will become an economic regulator. MHRA will be retained, but is expected to operate more cost-effectively.

The functions of the HPA, which has handled public health hazards (such as swine flu) since 2003, will be transferred to the Health Secretary as part of the new Public Health Service. The safety functions of the NPSA will be transferred to the National Commissioning Board. The functions of the NIII will be divided between the NCB and private sector organisations.

Fertility watchdog the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) will be abolished by 2015, with its main functions transferred to the new Care Quality Commission. The HFEA has been criticised by Lord Winston and others for excessive regulation of fertility treatments.

The proposed ALB cull is widely recognised as promising to reduce bureaucratic red tape and unnecessary expense. However, some concerns have been raised. Peter Walsh, Chief Executive of the charity Action against Medical Accidents, said: “There is no denying that there is scope for bringing some of the quangos together, however we must avoid the danger that work on patient safety could be watered down in the new arrangements.”

Hugh Pennington, Emeritus Professor of Bacteriology at Aberdeen University, criticised the transfer of the HPA’s functions: “The HPA is an absolutely essential national resource,” he said. “It’s quasi-independent and a degree of separation between it and the rest of government gives it more scientific freedom and independence.”

The increased use of medical devices by young people in the community is linked to a high level of acute device-related complications, a new study in the US has shown.

The first detailed national estimate of device complications in young people outside hospital by the FDA found that over 70,000 children and teenagers per year visited a hospital emergency room for complications of medical device use.

About 25% of the problems are eye infections or abrasions in contact lens wearers. Other common problems include puncture wounds from broken hypodermic needles; infections in young children with ear tubes; and skin tears from pelvic devices used during gynaecological exams.

The most serious problems involved implanted devices such as brain shunts, chest catheters and insulin pumps. Infections and overdoses are among the problems associated with these devices.

General reasons found for the complications included device malfunction and device misuse. Dr. Steven Krug, Head of Emergency Medicine at Chicago’s Children’s Memorial Hospital, said the study highlighted a trade-off between the benefits and risks of using medical devices to treat chronically ill children at home or in the community. “Healthcare providers need to be aware of these kids and their devices and how to recognise or diagnose problems,” he noted.

The researchers analysed medical records from visits to the ER departments of 100 hospitals. They estimated that 144,800 medical device complications occurred nationally during 2004 and 2005.