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The Radiology department at King’s College Hospital is now benefiting from enhanced ultrasound image quality and optimised workflow following the installation of an ACUSON S2000™ from Siemens Healthcare. The hospital also uses the S2000’s Virtual Touch™ application for Acoustic Radiation Force Impulse (ARFI) imaging to assist with scanning the liver.

A new blood test used in combination with a conventional prostate-specific antigen (PSA) screening sharply increases the accuracy of prostate cancer diagnosis, and could eliminate tens of thousands of unneeded, painful, and costly prostate biopsies annually, according to a study led by researchers at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. At the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology in Orlando, Fla., William K. Oh, M.D., and Robert W. Ross, M.D.

Covidien (NYSE: COV, BSX: COV), a leading global supplier of healthcare products, today announced the global launch of its Alarm Management System for the Nellcor(TM) OxiMax(TM) N-600x(TM) pulse oximeter. The OxiMax N-600x pulse oximeter is a full-featured, flagship oximeter that delivers accurate, reliable readings even during low perfusion and signal interference. Oxygen saturation is a critical measure in patients experiencing respiratory depression.

A procedure that uses heat generated by radio waves to treat Barrett’s esophagus, a condition caused by acid reflux (severe heartburn), can eliminate signs of the potentially cancer-causing disorder and reduce the risk that the disease will progress. Findings from the first multicenter trial of the procedure, called radiofrequency ablation, could mean patients have an alternative to surgery for treating Barrett’s esophagus.

Assisted reproductive technology (ART) is responsible for an estimated 219,000 to 246,000 babies born each year worldwide according to an international study. The study also finds that the number of ART procedures is growing steadily: in just two years (from 2000 to 2002) ART activity increased by more than 25%.

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Competitive Technologies, Inc. (NYSE Amex: CTT) announced today that CTT’s pain therapy medical device will be used by clinical investigators at the Virginia Commonwealth University Massey Cancer Center for a Phase II independent clinical study. The study will examine the ability of CTT’s U.S. FDA-cleared device to decrease pain associated with chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN).

FDA on Tuesday posted on its Web site advertising guidelines for drugmakers and medical device manufacturers, offering suggestions on how to present risk information to health care professionals and consumers, the Wall Street Journal reports.

People with type 1 diabetes who have already been successful in achieving recommended blood sugar goals can further benefit from using continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) devices, according to results of a major multi-center clinical trial by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. Findings of the study were published online by the journal Diabetes Care, available here.

Effective 1 July 2009, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) will establish nine new Collaborative Research Centres. This decision has just been made by the responsible Grants Committee of the DFG at its spring session in Bonn. The new centres will initially be funded for four years with a total of 73.6 million euros. In addition to this, the DFG will also provide 20 percent overhead funding for each centre for indirect costs incurred by the research projects.