A Medical Device Daily

Researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC; Charleston, South Carolina) will continue their fight against heart disease with a $10.8 million grant from the National Institutes of Health 's (NIH; Bethesda, Maryland) Center for Biomedical Research Excellence (COBRE) program.

The five-year renewal of a program described as “unique in the Southeast” will enhance the Center for Developmentally Based Cardiovascular Diseases (CDBCD), a five-year old partnership between MUSC and the University of South Carolina (USC; Columbia) aimed at promoting cell and molecular understanding of the common pathways that lead to cardiovascular disease.

According to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, cardiovascular disease is South Carolina's leading killer for both men and women among all racial and ethnic groups. More South Carolinians die from cardiovascular disease each year than the total number of people who died from all cancers, pneumonia, influenza, and car accidents combined, DHEC officials said.

Eastman Kodak 's (Rochester, New York) Health Group has signed a multimillion-dollar order for its digital medical image capture and information management solutions — and its new Business Diagnostics Services — with Erlanger Health System (Chattanooga, Tennessee).

Erlanger ordered a Kodak PACS for review, storage and distribution of 300,000 patient radiology imaging studies captured each year at its five hospitals and one outpatient imaging center. The healthcare provider also purchased Kodak Carestream Enterprise Information Management, which will enable centralized management of images and information from radiology, cardiology and other clinical and business areas on the healthcare provider's existing IBM storage area network (SAN).

Delcath hopes for resolution with Laddcap

Delcath Systems (Stamford, Connecticut) reported that it is maintaining its efforts to reach an amicable resolution with Laddcap that is in the best interest of all shareholders.

“We have always been open to a reasonable compromise with Laddcap,” said M.S. Koly, president/CEO of Delcath. “In a press release this morning, Laddcap, for the first time since the Consent Solicitation began, publicly indicated that it might be willing to consider something less than control of the Delcath board of directors.”

As previously reported, a federal judge has ruled that Delcath has demonstrated a “likelihood of success on the merits” of its federal securities claims against Laddcap and certain related entities (the “Ladd Defendants”), and also “irreparable injury” because Delcath's shareholders have been “deprived of their statutory right to receive accurate information and to be free from deceptive information bearing on their investment and voting decisions.”

On Aug. 29, the judge granted Delcath's application for a temporary restraining order preventing Laddcap from acting on any consents it receives until the judge rules on Delcath's application for a preliminary injunction. Delcath may not act on any consent revocations it receives for the same period of time.

Delcath develops perfusion technology for organ or region-specific delivery of therapeutic agents.