Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas (BCBS Texas) would stock up on apples for its nearly 4 million customers. The reason? The not-for-profit insurer emphasizes preventive medicine to hold down the costs of operating its HMO, PPO, point-of-service, and indemnity insurance health care plans in Texas. The company's network has more than 40,000 doctors and 400 hospitals. A division of Chicago-based Health Care Service Corporation, BCBS Texas counts among its customers Continental Airlines, the University of Texas System, and Halliburton.

Dixons Surgical Instruments manufactures and supplies surgical instruments, portable autoclaves (to sterilize such instruments), and operating table accessories to hospitals and surgeons in the UK and in Australia, Italy, and New Zealand. The England-based company supplies a wide variety of surgical instruments, especially for use in facial, orthopedic, thoracic, and proctological applications (though many other specialties are covered as well). Although the company often brands its products with its own name, it can also supply unbranded instruments for resale. It also manufactures reusable needles such as those used for biopsies and epidurals.

Vyteris believes its method of drug delivery is jolting. Vyteris company is developing transdermal drug delivery systems that get medicine into the patient's system without needles. Its delivery system uses low-level electrical stimulation to inject topical medications into patients. Vyteris already has one FDA-approved product: LidoSite is a topical analgesic distributed by B. Braun Medical and LabCorp. Vyteris company is developing a peptide delivery system through a partnership with Ferring Pharmaceuticals. Entrepreneur Kevin Kimberlin owns a controlling interest in the company.

Orthovita develops and sells materials for physicians to use as bone substitutes in reconstruction and replacement procedures. The company's products are designed to mimic natural bone characteristics and harden quicker than other available products. Orthovita's VITOSS product line, used for the repair of spinal and pelvic bone defects, accounts for about 60% of the company's sales. Its CORTOSS bone augmentation material -- expected to eventually become Orthovita's lead product -- received North American marketing approval from the FDA in 2009. Orthovita company already sells CORTOSS, which is used to repair vertebral compression fractures, in the EU and Australia.

Ironare are committed to the development of successful human medicines. Drugmaking is not a statistical event, nor simply a high-throughput industrialized pursuit. Our team is forging a process for creating and developing novel drug candidates that integrates the most successful drugmaking practices of the past and the best of today's cutting-edge technologies. Our efficient discovery and development processes, focused on important human needs, are generating a robust pipeline.

Volcano Corporation makes a variety of medical imaging devices used in the diagnosis and treatment of heart disease. Volcano's intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) systems give information about the condition of arteries as well as plaque and lesions. Its functional measurement (FM) products measure characteristics of blood around plaque in arteries. The company also sells related single-use disposable catheters and guidewires. Volcano sells its products to physicians, hospitals, and other health care providers worldwide through a direct sales force and distributors.

The Cooper Companies has its customers covered. The Cooper Companies company makes specialty medical devices in two niche markets: vision care and gynecology. Its CooperVision subsidiary makes specialty contact lenses, including toric lenses for astigmatism, multifocal lenses for presbyopia (blurred vision), and cosmetic lenses. The Cooper Companies also offers lenses for more common vision problems such as nearsightedness and farsightedness. Subsidiary CooperSurgical specializes in women's health care; its wide range of products include bone densitometers (for diagnosing osteoporosis), surgery instruments, and fetal monitors.

Forum Health care system includes acute-care and specialty hospitals (Northside Medical Center, Trumbull Memorial Hospital, and Hillside Rehabilitation Hospital), home care agencies, and other medical facilities. Specialty services include cardiology, cancer care, behavioral medicine, obstetrics, and emergency medicine. The company operates several community medical clinics and outpatient centers, and it offers nursing and physician training and residency programs. Forum Health was acquired by Community Health Systems in 2010.

Echo Therapeutics,Inc. develops instruments for transdermal (through the skin) drug delivery and diagnostics. Its devices use gentle abrasion and ultrasound technologies to painlessly extract analytes or introduce drugs without breaking the skin. The firm's proprietary Prelude SkinPrep technology platform is being developed for use in glucose monitoring under the name Symphony. Echo is also developing a system to provide needle-free drug administration of lidocaine and other pharmaceuticals. Echo is also developing Azone, a transdermal technology used for reformulated drugs already on the market.

Rowan Regional Medical Center serves central North Carolina. The acute care facility has nearly 270 beds and a host of centers dedicated to cancer care, cardiac rehabilitation, behavioral health, pain management, sleep medicine, and women's health. Founded in 1936, Rowan Regional also has a specialized rehabilitation unit for those recovering from ailments such as brain, orthopedic, or stroke injuries and those living with neurological and neuromuscular disorders. Faced with mounting debt, Rowan Regional merged into Novant Health in 2008. The larger system plans to invest about $200 million in Rowan Regional and help it build a smaller community hospital in its region.

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