At the European Congress of Radiology, Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG; AEX: PHI) has launched Philips Utilization Services to help healthcare providers provide enhanced patient care by pinpointing and reducing unproductive time in imaging departments.

Nuance Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: NUAN), a leading supplier of speech solutions, announced that its SpeechMagic technology has been rolled-out at 12 sites of HCA International, central London's premier healthcare facility.

Carestream Health announced the signing of a contract with Diakonische Dienste Hannover GmbH and the Röntgenpraxis am Marstall X-ray Clinic for one of its largest PACS installations in Germany to-date. Diakonische Dienste Hanover is one of Germany's largest welfare institutions and includes the Annastift, Friederikenstift and Henriettenstiftung Hospitals representing a total of 1026 hospital beds.

Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI) announced that its Brilliance Workspace computed tomography (CT) workstation was recognized in the 2008 Top 20 Best in KLAS Awards: Software & Professional Services report.

Bulgarian Minister of Health Dr. Evgenii Zhelev, MD and Minister for State Administration and Administrative Reform Nikolay Vassilev have issued the country's first personal health records. The "Electronic Personal Ambulatory Book" was developed by eHealth specialist InterComponentWare (ICW) and Kontrax, a Bulgarian provider for medical practice management systems.

Themed "Ask the ultimate Power in Imaging", Siemens Healthcare will present its latest imaging innovations at the European Congress of Radiology 2009 (ECR 2009), including the new computer tomograph Somatom Definition Flash, the world's first molecular CT - the biograph mCT - and the next generation of breast magnetic resonance tomography - the Magnetom Espree-Pink.

Siemens Healthcare recently introduced the Acuson S2000 Automated Breast Volume Scanner (ABVS), the first multi-use ultrasound breast system that automatically acquires volume images of the breast. Thanks to the user-independent, standardized image acquisition, the system is ideally suited for early detection and diagnosis of breast cancer with ultrasound - especially for women with dense breast tissue.