Industry roundup: Acusphere, Del, Eclipsys, Elekta, EnovateIT, Fujifilm, NovaRad, TechniScan, Viztek
Acusphere has hired Dennis Bucceri as senior vice president of Regulatory Affairs. The company is currently preparing for the regulatory evaluation stage of its lead product candidate, Imagify, a cardiovascular drug for screening of coronary artery disease, and evaluates development of other potential product candidates. Bucceri brings to Acusphere experience and leadership in support of regulatory affairs. He has been responsible for submitting and securing approval of over 35 NDAs (new drug applications) during his career.
 
Bucceri comes to Acusphere from Genzyme Corporation where he was vice president in charge of Regulatory Affairs for the Therapeutics Group for six years. His responsibilities covered broad regulatory supervision of submissions, manufacturing, marketing and drug registration. Prior to Genzyme, Bucceri served at Hoechst-Roussel for 20 years in roles of increasing responsibility including vice president, Regulatory Affairs.
 

Eclipsys Corporation announced that Bob Elson, MD, MS has been appointed as the company’s new chief medical officer. Elson will work with Eclipsys senior executives to set the company's long-term clinical strategy and short-term priorities, as well as assuming responsibility for executive-level and physician sales support. Most recently, Elson was the founder of Clinical Systems Design, LLC, a healthcare information technology consultancy specializing in clinician adoption, computerized physician order entry (CPOE), ePrescribing, and health information exchange. Elson’s academic background includes recently serving as the senior researcher in Clinical Informatics at the MetroHealth Center for Healthcare Policy and Research in Cleveland.
 
Former Eclipsys CMO, Diane Gilbert Bradley, MD, now serves as the company's chief quality and outcomes officer, focusing on helping customers track and improve care quality and other outcomes.   


Elekta announced an order from Landeskrankenhaus Feldkirch, Austria that includes two Elekta Synergy, advanced treatment systems for intensity modulated and image-guided radiation therapy (IMRT & IGRT). The order also includes MOSAIQ, the comprehensive oncology information management software suit from Elekta-owned IMPAC Medical Systems. The total contract is valued at more than $10.3 million (USD) and includes a service contract spanning over the equipment’s entire expected lifetime. The radiation oncology department at Landeskrankenhaus Feldkirch offers high-level radiation therapy for about 1,000 patients annually. With the installation of the two new Elekta Synergy systems equipped with integrated high-resolution 3D X-ray volume imaging capability for IGRT along with advanced IMRT, the radiation oncology department in Feldkirch will be able to offer these new and innovative methods for irradiating tumors with higher precision and accuracy. The initial order was booked by Elekta last month, and the installation will begin near the end of 2007.
 

Mobile computing system provider EnovateIT announced that Los Angeles-based HealthCare Partners Medical Group has deployed a new wall mount computer solution to complement its upgraded electronic health record system. EnovateIT’s wall mount solution consists of PC blades mounted on the wall in each exam room with an extendable and height adjustable PC arm.
 
By automating the patient information collection process with electronic health record software in each exam room, HealthCare Partners was able to increase data efficiency and accuracy, secure sensitive patient information, allow for a more personal interaction between clinician and patient, and free up valuable work space in their exam rooms.
 
“Our purpose in designing and consulting with HealthCare Partners on this project was to help their clinicians work smarter by facilitating real-time data entry, therefore improving efficiency and accuracy, and allowing clinicians to spend more time with their patients,” said Linda Novotny, regional sales manager, EnovateIT.
 
The PC blade solution provides security for sensitive patient information, a paramount concern to HealthCare Partners, which operates numerous outpatient care centers throughout the greater Los Angeles area. Each exam room is outfitted with a thin client device with no hard drive. The thin client routes data back to a PC rack equipped with PC blades. This rack can exist offsite in a secure location, greatly decreasing the possibility of theft or loss of sensitive patient information.
 

Fujifilm Medical Systems USA has promoted two executives based in the company’s Stamford, Conn., headquarters.  Kazuhiro Hishinuma has been named vice president of Engineering and Steven Haberlein has been appointed vice president of Eastern Sales. Hishinuma began his career with Fuji Photo Film (now known as Fujifilm Corporation) in Tokyo in 1981 and has since held various positions of increasing management responsibility in the areas of engineering, marketing and operations. Most recently he held the position of director of engineering. In his new role, Hishinuma will assume responsibility for all software development efforts for imaging and information products, including Synapse, to meet the needs of customers both in the United States and globally.
 
Steven Haberlein, joined Fujifilm Medical Systems in November 2002 as northwest regional general manager. In March of 2006 he was promoted to executive director of Channel Sales and Operations, assuming responsibility for the development and implementation of strategies for the rapidly-growing private practice market and other valued channel outlets, as well as for managing Fujifilm’s key business relationships with partners including Siemens Medical Systems and Stryker Orthopedics. In his new rolen Haberlein will lead all field sales activities in the eastern half of the United States while continuing to oversee Channel and Sales Operations.
 

Three Texas facilities are have installed NovaRad Corporation’s NovaPACS, bringing the total number of NovaPACS installations in Texas to 13. The three facilities include:
  • 25-bed Baylor Medical Center at Frisco in Frisco;
  • 49-bed Reeves County Hospital in Pecos; and
  • 25-bed Red River Regional Hospital in Bonham, an Attentus Healthcare facility.

Salt Lake City-based developer of ultrasound technology for breast imaging TechniScan Medical Systems announced the successful completion of its Series D Preferred financing of $6.4 million. The recent funding comes on top of a $2.8 MM Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program grant from the National Cancer Institute (NCI)/National Institutes of Health (NIH) awarded in late 2006, the company said. TechniScan is a private company that grew out of the University of Utah’s Department of Bioengineering.

“TMS is rolling into its commercialization phase with significant funding from the private sector and important support from NCI/NIH, whose SBIR funding was awarded to fewer than one in nine companies in 2006,” TMS CEO and President David C. Robinson. 

TechniScan’s UltraSound CT (USCT) provides diagnostic information that could help radiologists distinguish between cancers and benign conditions. Additionally, the technology uses a breast cancer diagnostic exam that is not painful or uncomfortable. This new imaging system is intended to aid physicians in diagnosing breast cancer in conjunction with traditional mammography by providing detailed information about the anatomy and tissue properties of the breast in ways not previously possible. The goal of the USCT system is to characterize the ultrasound properties of normal, benign and malignant tissues in the breast which could enable physicians and radiologists to more easily recognize the presence of cancer and provide more effective management, the company said.


Viztek Imaging of Jacksonville, Fla., and Del Medical Imaging Corp. of Franklin Park, Ill., announced a partnership for the distribution of Viztek’s line of computed radiography (CR) systems and select specialty medical imaging software applications through Del Medical’s  America’s distribution channels in a full range of medical specialties.  The new agreement will enable Del Medical to expand and diversify the solutions offered through its dealer network, while providing Viztek with new distribution channels.
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