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Franken To Be Seated As Minn. Senator, Will Serve On HELP, Judiciary Committees
The Minnesota Supreme Court on Tuesday unanimously voted to uphold Al Franken"s (D) win in the 2008 U.S. Senate election in Minnesota, effectively clearing the way for Franken to become the state"s newest senator, the Wall Street Journal reports. His election gives Democrats in the Senate a 60-vote supermajority, which could help the party pass health care reform legislation, according to the Journal. Following the ruling, opponent Sen. Norm Coleman (R-Minn.) conceded the election, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) said that he would certify the result Tuesday.Franken is expected to be seated next week. He will join the Senate Judiciary Committee, where he will vote on the Supreme Court nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor, and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, which is completing its draft of health care reform legislation (Bendavid/Hitt, Wall Street Journal, 7/1).
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Health Subcommittee Considers Bill To Eliminate Pre-Emption For Medical Devices
The House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee on Tuesday heard testimony on the Medical Device Safety Act of 2009 (HR 1346), which would allow consumers to sue medical device manufacturers in state courts, CQ HealthBeat reports. The bill responds to last year"s Supreme Court ruling that says medical devices with FDA pre-marketing approval can be pre-empted from lawsuits under state law, in accordance with the Medical Device Amendments of 1976. Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.Y.), who introduced the bill, said that the 2008 Supreme Court ruling "ignor[ed] congressional intent" by providing blanket immunity for medical device makers. According to Rep. John Dingell (D-Mich.), a co-sponsor of the bill, the original 1976 law sought to grant regulatory authority to FDA for medical devices, but it did not aim to eliminate state liability. Committee Chair Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), another co-sponsor, said last year"s ruling already has caused 1,400 injury cases to be thrown out of court, adding that the threat of litigation provides manufacturers with additional safety incentives. David Vladeck -- a law professor at Georgetown University Law Center who testified at the hearing -- added that immunity from lawsuits "removes incentive to manufacturers to fix devices quickly and get defective devices off the market."Rep. Nathan Deal (R-Ga.) said the class of device that must obtain pre-marketing approval -- which includes pacemakers and replacement heart valves -- represents only 2% of all approved medical devices each year. Rep. Michael Burgess (R-Texas) added that the measure could create an inconsistent system that allows both FDA experts and jurors in various states to make decisions on medical device safety standards. In addition, Rep. Joe Pitts (R-Pa.) cautioned that the bill might encourage manufacturers to limit distribution of their devices to certain states (Kim, CQ HealthBeat, 5/13). Related Editorial
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Innovative Digital Sperm Analysis To Infertile Couples Worldwide Provided By UB Start-Up
Couples struggling with fertility problems have a new option for assessing their ability to have a child with the start-up of a new Buffalo-based company called LifeCell Dx, Inc. (LCDX).
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Computer Cooling Technology To Help Diagnose Digestive Disorders

Some things in life are multi-purpose. Now miniature technology used to cool the central processing units in computers may have found a use in mainstream medicine! Temperature-controlling "Peltier technology" is set to help doctors give a quicker diagnosis of people who suffer with acid-related disorders of the stomach. Over seven million adults in the UK - up to 15% of the UK"s total adult population - suffer with digestive disorders of the oesophagus. Now they stand to benefit as researchers develop the technology which prides itself on precise heating and cooling and accurate temperature control. Oesophageal disorders range from reflux, chronic heartburn to aggressive oesophagus cancer. How would the gadget work? The miniature device when complete, would act a bit like a thermometer, once inserted into the patients" oesophagus (gullet) it would investigate changes to the thermal sensitivity of tissue. It could help identify those patients with abnormal acid exposure in the gullet who have heightened sensitivity in specific nerves which respond to acid. And it would also be used to measure a patient"s sensory response to thermal stimulation in their oesophagus. This would then be used to determine their level of sensitisation and to guide response to therapy. Once doctors have all this information, they will be in a much better position to treat the problem as tissue temperature can be a key feature of digestive disorders. Scientists at The Royal London Hospital, Whitechapel, east London are adapting the computer cooler with the help of a ÷£113,000 two-year Healthcare Scientist Research Fellowship grant awarded by the Chief Scientific Officer for England (CSO) and managed by the National Institute for Health Research. Healthcare scientist, Dr Jonathan Reeves from The Royal London"s Clinical Physics Clinical Academic Unit is working in collaboration with the team from neurogastroenterology. Dr Reeves said: "Typically, Peltier technology is used to cool high performance components in computers so people may be surprised to hear that we are using this technique to help diagnose disorders of the oesophagus. There is no comparable existing product that provides the fine control and rapid changes in temperature that this technology delivers. "Acid-related digestive disorders of the stomach are a burden on patients, the NHS, and society in general because they are highly prevalent, have varied signs and symptoms, and are costly to treat. "By the end of the two years, we hope to have a tested thermal device ready to be trialled within a large scale clinical study. "Unfortunately, current conventional tests do not always result in a definitive diagnosis or explanation of a patient"s symptoms. What we need is new sensory testing techniques to better understand the underlying mechanisms of oesophageal pain. " Prototypes will be developed to enable easy insertion into the patient"s oesophagus. The current prototype device has a diameter of only 7mm. Professor Qasim Aziz, Professor of Neurogastroentorology at The Royal London Hospital, explained: "While there are excellent drugs currently available that can suppress acid secretion from the stomach and hence reduce symptoms in patients with acid reflux in the gullet, a proportion of patients fail to respond to this treatment. Current theories suggest that failure to respond to standard therapy may be due to the fact that repeated acid reflux has now caused increased sensitivity of the nerves in the lining of the gullet so that these nerves are activated even by small amounts of acid which would be considered normal. "Currently it is difficult to determine if the nerves in the gullet have become sensitised or not. We know that nerves that respond to acid also respond to changes in temperature. However, thus far it has been difficult to devise methods for stimulating these temperature sensitive nerves in the gullet. The Clinical Physics Department at Barts and The London has pioneered the use of the Peltier device for use in the gullet, and now with the help of the new grant we can begin to test the device in human volunteers and eventually patients. It is hoped that this novel adaptation of technology will help us to understand the reason why some patients don"t respond to standard treatment and may help us to improve our management strategies for these patients." Notes 1. The miniature monitoring device is based on the "Peltier effect." This involves transfer of heat from one side of a device to the other against a hot and cold scale of the temperature of the oesophagus. This effect bears the name of Jean-Charles Peltier (a French physicist) who discovered it in 1834. 2. Currently, sensory testing is conducted using a range of techniques, for example the acid perfusion test, where a tube is inserted into a patient"s oesophagus via their nose; mild hydrochloric acid is then sent down the tube, followed by salt water, in an attempt to reproduce symptoms of reflux. 3. The oesophagus is a tube of smooth muscle that transports food from the throat to the stomach. 4. Dr Reeves from The Royal London Hospital"s Clinical Physics Clinical Academic Unit is working in collaboration with the Neurogastroenterology Group within the Department of Gastroenterology in Whitechapel, east London. 5. Nine other healthcare scientists from across England were also awarded research fellowships worth a total of over ÷£1million for projects that will lead to improvements in patient care. The scheme is funded by the Department of Health (CSO) and managed by the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR). Barts and The London


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