Focused ultrasound takes aim at bone cancer
U.S. facilities have begun clinical testing of MR-guided ultrasound to relieve pain caused by bone metastases. Conducted at 15 sites across the nation, the tests involve InSightec's ExAblate system, which received FDA approval in 2004 to treat symptomatic uterine fibroids. Over 4000 women worldwide have undergone treatment with ExAblate for this condition. The palliative treatment of bone metastases represents a major opportunity to broaden the technology's clinical utility. After the lungs and liver, bone is the third most common tissue to which cancer spreads.
CAD Sciences merges into iCAD
The acquisition of privately held CAD Sciences by computer-aided detection pioneer iCAD is complete. The Nashua, NH-based company announced July 21 the closure of the deal valued at $5 million, which included $2 million in cash and slightly over one million shares of iCAD common stock. The merger broadens iCAD's reach beyond mammography CAD to breast and prostate MRI analyses.
fMRI maker upgrades platform
Functional MRI vendor NordicImagingLab has released nordicICE version 2.3, a software platform designed to allow the routine use of fMRI methodologies. The module-based software can be configured to support BOLD, diffusion tensor imaging and perfusion MRI for stroke evaluation. The new BOLD module and DTI Wizard simplify and optimize workflow and analyses. An integrated multiplanar reconstruction and 3D visualization interface allows the combination of functional activation maps and white-matter fiber tracts on a structural image volume.
