Convera Corporation (NASDAQ: CNVR), a leading provider of search technologies for publishers, announced the launch of SearchMedica France. The specialized search engine, built for doctors in France, was developed by CMPMedica, Convera and medical experts from Le Quotidien du Médecin, a popular daily medical journal published by CMPMedica. CMPMedica, a division of UBM plc, is a global provider of healthcare information and education.

The USB Implementers Forum, Inc. (USB-IF) announced the formation of the Personal Healthcare Device Working Group. The group's initial goal is to define a USB Personal Healthcare Device Class specification. The new specification will enable health-related devices, such as blood pressure cuffs and exercise watches, to connect via USB to consumer electronic products, such as PCs and health appliances.

In what could prove to be a turning point in diagnosis and therapy for millions of patients suffering from neurological diseases, stroke and cancer, Siemens Medical Solutions showed a prototype for the world’s first fully-functioning imaging system capable of performing simultaneously Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Positron Emission Tomography (PET). Testing of this new prototype MR-PET will start before the end of 2007.

Telemedicine Clinic, the leading European provider of radiology reporting services, has been awarded a large contract with the UK public healthcare system for PET/CT reporting services. PET/CT is a new and very advanced radiology examination to detect cancer.

With this contract, Telemedicine Clinic will be the largest PET/CT centre in Europe. Thanks to high case volumes, it will be possible to build up a sub specialised reporting solution with very skilled medical experts.

The ISPro GmbH, Germany, Hattingen, and MEDNOVO GmbH & Co. KG Medical Software Solutions, Germany, Berlin, agreed in April 2007 to cooperate in coupling the telemarketing platform jesaja.net and the picture and finding documentation system MediColor.

As point of this cooperation MediColor will provide hospitals examination data such as pictures, videos, measuring data or test results for the referring physician portal jesaja.net.

The College of American Pathologists (CAP) is renaming its SNOMED International division. The division will now be called SNOMED Terminology Solutions and follows last week's announcement regarding the formation of the International Health Terminology Standards Development Organisation (IHTSDO) that acquired the intellectual property rights of SNOMED Clinical Terms® (SNOMED CT®) and its antecedents from the CAP.

The newly-formed International Health Terminology Standards Development Organisation (IHTSDO®, also known as SNOMED SDO®) has acquired the intellectual property rights of SNOMED Clinical Terms (SNOMED CT®) and its antecedents from the College of American Pathologists (CAP) for $7.8 million, marking a milestone in the international standardization of health data.