The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), part of the National Institute of Health, will host a competition for undergraduate students to design and develop new diagnostic and therapeutic devices, as well as new technologies to help underserved communities and the disabled.

Radcal (booth 3705) is partnering with Dresden, Germany-based VacuTec to release the Dose Area Product (DAP) meters, VacuDAP, in North America. The Monrovia, Calif.-based manufacturer is displaying the product at the 97th Annual Meeting & Scientific Assembly of the RSNA, Nov. 27 to Dec. 2, in Chicago.

Mercy, a health system covering four Midwestern states, is planning to open a virtual care center near its headquarters in Chesterfield, Mo.

Glenwood, Ill.-based medical physics services provider Landauer has acquired Baltimore-based IZI Medical Products for $93 million. IZI sells products related to radiology, radiation therapy and image guided surgery procedures, and was previously owned by Boston-based Riverside Partners.

In a Nov. 15 letter to members of Congress, Consumers Union urged reauthorization of the Medical Device User Fee Actcurrently set to expire Sept. 30, 2012and outlined ways to improve oversight of medical device clearance processes. The letter appeared Tuesday morning prior to a meeting of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee on medical devices.

Responding to industry-wide scrutiny of the clearance process for medical devices, Jeffrey Shuren, MD, director of the FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH), said a root cause of the perceived lack of predictability, consistency and transparency is funding.

Molecular imaging company Positron has signed a letter of intent to buy Manhattan Isotope Technology (MIT), a strontium-82 (SR-82) product specialist, for an undisclosed amount.

The Image Gently campaign and the Society of Nuclear Medicine (SNM) have launched the Go With the Guidelines campaign to encourage community hospitals, academic hospitals and clinics to observe new North American Guidelines for Nuclear Medicine Radiopharmaceutical Dose in children.