Analyst says haptics in handsets will be the norm by 2011

from the IV MB, by cellodude:

Analyst says haptics in handsets will be the norm by 2011

[In particular, Sondergard [senior vice president at analyst firm Gartner] believes that handsets will have multi-core mobile processors by 2011, and that touch screens with haptic feedback and high-definition imaging will be the norm...]

http://www.vnunet.com/vnunet/analysis/2238016/analysis-gartner-warns-credit

Assessment of image-guided CyberKnife(@) radiosurgery for metastatic spine tumors

Assessment of image-guided CyberKnife(@) radiosurgery for metastatic spine tumors.

Tsai JT, Lin JW, Chiu WT, Chu WC.

Institute of Biomedical Engineering, National Yang-Ming University, No. 155, Sec 2, Li-Nong St., Shih-Pai, Taipei, 112, Taiwan, ROC.

Spinal metastases are associated with significant symptoms. From September 2005 to September 2007, 69 consecutive patients with 127 malignant spine metastatic lesions were treated at Wanfang Hospital with CyberKnife(@) (CK) radiosurgery. The radiosurgery dose ranged from 10 to 30 Gy (mean 15.5 Gy) prescribed to the 75-85% isodose line that encompassed at least 95% of the tumor volume. We used fiducials as tracking landmarks for CK treatment of the thoracic and lumbar spine. A torso anthropomorphic phantom and GafChromic MD-55 films were used to verify the accuracy of CK radiosurgery and 2D dose distribution, demonstrated high targeting accuracy with 2% average deviation of the measured dose from the estimated dose at the set-up center and less than 5% dose deviation in 2D isodose curve. Visual Analogue Scale and Oswestry Disability Index questionnaires were used to monitor functional outcome after radiosurgery. Local tumor control at 10 months was 96.8%. Mean pain scores decreased significantly from 65 to 30 after treatment (P = 0.001). Functional disability was significantly improved after treatment (P = 0.002). The most common treatment toxicities were nausea and fatigue.

In conclusion, CK radiosurgery is a well-tolerated and effective treatment for spine tumors with good local tumor control and a favorable outcome on pain and functional improvement after treatment.

The first cyberknife in Switzerland is up and running

from the IV MB:

>>**** translated from German ****

20 Minuten News
Updated 04.03.09, 12:38

The "Cyber Knife" conquering Swiss OP

A Zürcher Clinic goes new ways in the fight against cancer: Have some cancers previously unattainable, they can now accurately using the latest technology to be removed.

Even very small tumors and those that are inaccessible to the body, can thus be treated.

The characteristics of the "Cyber Knife" include the ability of tumors with a precision of less than one millimeter from 1200 different angles with a high dose of radiation to irradiate. Moreover, it registers the smallest movements of the patient and the tumor and immediately corrected it, as the Hirslandengruppe announced on Wednesday.

Organisations struggling with data centre build costs

from PC World Australia:

Organisations struggling with data centre build costs

More than 40 percent of companies will run out of data centre space during the next 12 months, says one interested player.

Tom Jowitt (Techworld) 02/03/2009 10:39:00

The high costs associated with building a new data centre are coming at a time when more and more companies are facing running out of data centre capacity.

So said Anthony Foy, the group MD of collocation provider Interxion during a speech at DataCentre World in London last week.

He said that more than 40 percent of companies will run out of data centre space during the next 12 months, thanks in part to increasing demand from the growth of enterprise applications such as SaaS, disaster recovery, as well as the high capital costs associated with building and maintaining data centres.

He also said that 70 percent are currently without data centre service or capacity. Foy echoed the sentiments of rival Equinix about the positive impact this will have on the co-location sector.

"The credit crisis is a growth driver for collocation providers such as Interxion, as well as our competitors," he told delegates. "So far in early 209, we have seen no drop off in demand," he added, although he could offer no outlook for how the sector would look at the end of the year.

from the UK Techworld:

27 February 2009

Downturn drives demand for outsourced data centres

By Tom Jowitt, Techworld

Speaking at this week's Data Centre World in London, Eric Schwartz, President of Equinix Europe, a global co-location provider with approximately 42 data centres around the world, said that 2008 had been all about growth, and this is expected to continue in 2009. He pointed to data from Tier 1 Research, which found that demand for data centre services is currently growing at twice the rate of supply.

....

In the UK, Equinix is expanding its data centre in Slough, with another 175,000 sq feet, or 15,000 square metre facility very near to its existing Slough data centre. This new expansion is due to come online in the first quarter of 2010.

But he warned that the build cycle for data centres is getting longer, thanks mostly to the increasing difficulties posed by power infrastructure as well as planning permissions. Schwartz said that power and connectivity issues was one of the major reasons why Equinix aims to build near to its existing data centre sites.

"Our co-location customers are focused on service, they want to know whether the data centre will support their applications and will be fit for purpose," he said. "Companies will increasingly push data centre services to the co-location sector. After all, who is better at running at building and operating a data centre? It is always the co-location industry that has the expertise. That is the advantage of being a globally entity, with access to capacity and credit, we can drive the learning curve on new technologies."

Equinix Netherlands Certified ISO 27001 Compliant

MARCH 3, 2009

Equinix Netherlands Certified ISO 27001 Compliant

Amsterdam, Enschede and Zwolle data centers all meet international security standard

ENSCHEDE, NETHERLANDS – March 3, 2009 – Equinix Inc. (Nasdaq: EQIX), a provider of global data center services, has announced that its International Business Exchange ™ (IBX®) data center in Amsterdam (AM1) and smaller data center in Zwolle (ZW1) have both been awarded ISO 27001 certification for their compliance with The International Organization for Standardization’s code of practice for information security management systems. Equinix’s third Dutch data center, located in Enschede (EN1), has achieved certification for the second time. All of Equinix’s operations in the Netherlands now comply with the internationally recognized security standard.

To effectively protect and connect organizations’ valuable information assets, it is vital that data center providers adhere to the strictest procedures governing security, resilience and business continuity. ISO 27001 certification, together with Equinix’s market leading service level agreements (SLAs), provides Equinix customers with added reassurance about the resilience of their outsourced operations.

ISO 27001 certification is only awarded to companies whose business processes conform to strict international information security standards. In order to achieve compliance, all aspects of Equinix's Dutch operations were stringently audited, including operating resources, personnel, physical security, communications and operations procedures, access management, system and software development, maintenance, business continuity planning and legal compliance.

“Achieving ISO 27001certification in The Netherlands is the latest in a long line of initiatives to introduce best practice procedures across all aspects of Equinix’s global operations,” said Kevin Martin, vice-president customer operations & quality at Equinix Europe. “ISO 27001compliance clearly demonstrates our ability to support our customers’ mission-critical operations and is a tribute to the entire Dutch team, who worked hard to achieve certification across the three data centers

Radiation company eyeing Asia amid financial crisis

from Reuters:

>>INTERVIEW-Radiation company eyeing Asia amid financial crisis

By Tan Ee Lyn

HONG KONG, March 6 (Reuters) - Accuray Inc (ARAY.O: Quote, Profile, Research), which builds radiosurgery equipment to fight cancer, is confident about its business prospects despite the global financial crisis as demand from hospitals, particularly in Asia, remains strong.

...

The company is hoping to sell more of its systems into Asia, particularly Japan, China and India.

"In just China and Hong Kong, (there are) 400,000 cases of lung cancer a year. Forty-percent are in the early-stage, and over half of these you can't operate on," Lindquist said.

"In India, there is a large middle class there and demand for greater sophistication in treatment."

Apart from China, India and Japan, the company has also won approval from governments in South Korea and Taiwan for its products to be used.

The company plans to conduct a trial comparing conventional surgery with its radiosurgery equipment. Some 1,100 lung cancer patients will be invited to participate in 40 centres worldwide.

The participants will be followed up for five years.