The United States Food and Drug Administration has given the marketing clearance to Imaging Therapeutics’ OsDx™ Hip Bone Mineral Density (BMD) system. Designed to estimate the BMD of the proximal femur with the use of standard antero-posterior hip or pelvis radiographic images, the stand-alone X-ray image-processing software will assist physicians in assessing osteoporosis. The system will help in making BMD testing more accessible. Earlier detection will facilitate early drug intervention to treat fractures.

GE Healthcare has introduced Discovery PET/CT 600, the company’s latest PET/CT (positron emission tomography/computed tomography) system. Designed for faster and more accurate diagnosis, the scanner will emerge as a useful tool for cancer testing. The device has the highest sensitivity in the industry and includes a scintillator with a proven track record. GE’s BGO technology improves detetion of lesions, reducing dosage.

A study conducted at the PLA 301 Hospital in Beijing has found that Medipattern’s B-CAD Version 2 increases precision in diagnostic process significantly, when used on lesions smaller than 1 cm. A 44 % improvement was recorder in accuracy of the diagnostic process. The company has been developing software solutions for medical use, bringing about advancements in the imaging field. The recent finding reinforces the capability of its products to detect small cancers.

A research conducted at University of California Irvine Medical Center has developed a new therapy that, if delivered endoscopically, in combination with radiation therapy and chemotherapy, can prove beneficial for patients suffering from advanced esophageal cancer. The new biological therapy (TNFerade), in which an agent preventing tumor is injected, was tried on 24 patients of the highly fatal form of cancer. The treatment has a non-replicating virus, engineered to deliver the gene for a protein that fights cancer.

A recent study conducted at Fox Chase Cancer Center, Philadelphia indicates that men with early prostate cancer whose PSA (prostate-specific antigen) levels have doubled within 6 months of radiation therapy benefit significantly from a hormonal therapy, if initiated sooner. The findings of the research team suggest that the benefit of immediate use of androgen deprivation therapy (ADT) was more in patients whose PSA doubled within 6 months than in patients whose PSA had longer doubling times.