POINT Biomedical has closed $25 million, the first tranche of a $50 million private equity financing led by Vedanta Capital.

Boston Scientific reported an increase in overall revenue for itsfiscal 2007 fourth quarter (end-Dec. 31, 2007), coupled with net lossesfor the period and year-end.

Probabilistic maps, or atlases, are powerful tools in medical imagingthat can help clinicians quantify the extent of disease andprognosticate treatment options. These atlases rely heavily on imagingdata compiled from a clinical population. Until recently, maps ofcerebral artery territories were limited to injection studies incadavers.

The goal of evidence-based medicine is to integrate clinical expertisewith the best available research evidence and patient values to makeinformed care decisions for an individual patient. Although cardiac CThas seen an increasing role in medical practice, concerns remain aboutits clinical utility beyond traditional cardiovascular risk factors. Inparticular, questions have been raised about the variability of CTmeasurements of calcified plaque on repeated scans.

The Ross procedure uses a pulmonary autograft to conduct aortic valvereplacement while a homograft valve is inserted in the pulmonaryposition. This procedure is frequently performed in the pediatricpopulation with satisfactory long-term survival. However, the longevityof the homograft valve in the pulmonary position is reported to belimited owing to frequent homograft stenosis. This stenosis is the maincause for reoperation after a Ross procedure.

The safety maintenance that caused last year's shutdown of Chalk River's NRU reactor in Ottawa, and led to a Canadian Act of Parliament to restart it, has been completed.

The FDA today approved the first new drug-eluting stent since2004, Medtronic's Endeavor zotarolimus-eluting coronary stent system tobe used in the treatment of coronary artery disease.

C. R. Bard, a medical device maker, reported an increase in net income for its fourth quarter fiscal 2007 results.