The Open eHealth Foundation (OeHF), an open source initiative for the efficient exchange of medical information based on existing standards, is officially registered as a nonprofit organization in Delaware. This milestone enables the foundation (which was launched at HIMMS 2008 by Agfa HealthCare, InterComponentWare and Sun Microsystems) to begin operations.

Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE: PHG, AEX: PHI) announced the latest addition to its HD ultrasound family of products. The Philips HD15 ultrasound system provides physicians with superb imaging and workflow performance in a cost-effective system.

BASF SE and Transinsight GmbH, a provider of semantic search technologies for Web 2.0, have agreed to establish close cooperation in the area of semantic analyses to search for alternatives to animal testing. Together with the German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment, both companies will expand the first specialized semantic search engine for this research area called www.Go3R.org to become a global internet platform.

Microsoft announced the European availability of Microsoft Amalga, the new unified intelligence system that allows hospital enterprises to unlock the power of all their data sitting in isolated clinical, financial and administrative solutions. Microsoft is also implementing a European Amalga early adopter customer programme, in which it will work with health providers to implement and deploy Amalga in various healthcare scenarios.

Philips significantly strengthened its presence in two key emerging markets through the acquisition of Brasilian patient monitoring an critical care company Dixtal Biomedica e Tecnologia and Chinese patient monitoring company Shenzhen Goldway Industrial. This represents a further step towards the creation of a low-cost global supply base for value-segment products.

A new study reveals that, with dual-source computed tomography (DSCT), the effective dosage for a heart examination can be significantly lowered, in comparison to conventional computed tomography (CT). The study also demonstrated that stenoses can be diagnosed with the same high accuracy as with invasive x-ray angiography.

The International Health Terminology Standards Development Organisation (IHTSDO) announced a global effort to improve access to tools needed to develop, maintain, and enable the use of SNOMED CT in health systems around the world. This effort is part of an Open Health Tools Charter Project jointly sponsored by IHTSDO, the National Health Service in the UK and Australia's National e-Health Transition Authority.