IBM and Beijing Goodwill Information and Technology, a provider of electronic cardiogram systems in China, have developed the first all-in-one electronic cardiogram management system in China.
Accelerated cardiac MR (CMR) perfusion imaging using scan acceleration techniques such as parallel imaging is clinically feasible and offers excellent diagnostic performance in detecting coronary artery disease (CAD), according to the July issue of Journal of American College of Cardiology: Cardiovascular Imaging.
Radiologists from South Texas Radiology Group, in partnership with several medical imaging professionals, have launched Intrinsic Imaging, a biopharmaceutical services organization providing image management and radiological review services to global pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device organizations.
Written by C.P. Kaiser
Ten years ago, it was nearly impossible to go through the day without seeing an advertisement for whole-body CT screening. Today it’s a different story. The radiation dose exposure from CT scanning has come under intense scrutiny and the value of CT screening must be proved in rigorous trials before many payors, especially Medicare, will consider reimbursing for an exam.
Image management and reporting software provider Digisonics will release its latest DigiView Image Management and Structured Reporting System, DigiView 3.7.7, next week at the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) conference in San Diego.
Coronary CT angiography (CCTA) often reveals incidental extracardiac abnormalities, including many pulmonary nodules. But more studies need to be conducted to determine the cost effectiveness of downstream tests for these incidental findings, according to a study published in the June issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology.
RIS/PACS provider Avreo’s web-based cardiovascular image management and reporting system has been installed at Scarsdale, N.Y. -based Scarsdale Medical Group.
Spectrum Health, a Grand Rapids, Mich.-based nonprofit integrated health system, will deploy health IT company Wolters Kluwer Health’s ProVation MD software for cardiology procedure documentation and coding in the cardiac cath labs at Blodgett Hospital and Butterworth Hospital.
Mobile x-ray-based imaging technologies provider Ziehm Imaging and cardiology and Netherlands-based radiology software provider Pie Medical Imaging (PMI) have partnered for the integration and distribution of PMI's cardiovascular angiography analysis system with Ziehm’s mobile cardiovascular imaging technologies.
If subjects are excluded from further screening because they are in the Framingham low-risk category, almost two-thirds of women and a quarter of men with substantial atherosclerosis will be missed, wrote the authors of a study that appears in the May issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology.
Written by Gina Narcisi
With six million people in the U.S. currently undergoing CT scans and the number of CT scans alone experiencing an annual growth rate of about 11-13 percent between 2000-2005, the exposure to low-dose ionizing radiation is quite concerning, reported Kavitha Chinnaiyan, MD, program director of advanced cardiac imaging education within the division of cardiology at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, Mich., during the ACC.10 conference in Atlanta last month.
Mario J. Garcia, MD, a cardiologist who helped develop and clinically implement cardiac CT angiography, has been recruited as co-director of the Montefiore-Einstein Heart Center and as chief of cardiology within the department of medicine at Montefiore Medical Center in New York City.
In patients with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD), combined coronary artery calcium scoring and coronary CT angiography (CCTA) are no more beneficial than the CCTA protocol alone in the prediction of major adverse cardiac events, based on the results of a poster presentation at the American College of Cardiology (ACC) annual conference in Atlanta earlier this month.
The FDA’s Circulatory System Devices Panel of the Medical Devices Advisory Committee has voted unanimously in favor of approving with conditions Medtronic’s Revo MRI SureScan pacing system designed as MR conditional, or safe for use in MRI systems under specified conditions.
According to a study in the April issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology, geographic variation in noninvasive diagnostic imaging utilization in the Medicare population is approximately 50 percent higher in the highest regions compared to the lowest regions and cardiovascular and high-technology procedures show the greatest regional variation.
Eliminating or reducing “padding” duration by 100 msec during ECG-triggered coronary CT angiography (CCTA) can reduce dose by 45 percent and still manage to maintain image quality and interpretability, according to a study published in the April issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology.
Kardia Health Systems and Munich-based TomTec Imaging Systems have formed a new partnership to deliver TomTec’s multi-modality cardiovascular image analysis technology as a part of Kardia Complete, its forthcoming web-based service for workflow in cardiology practices.
Written by Gina Narcisi
ATLANTA -- Rob Beanlands, MD, director of the National Cardiac PET Centre and the Molecular Function and Imaging Program at the University of Ottawa Heart Institute, sought to convince physicians that FDG PET is among the best choices in imagining modalities for the assessment of myocardial viability, during an imaging symposium at the 59th annual American College of Cardiology (ACC) conference on March 15.
Written by Kaitlyn Dmyterko
ATLANTA—For patients with implanted cardiac devices, MRI has never been a viable way to obtain diagnostic tests due to device contraindications and risks. However, new research has found that MRI testing in this patient population can be performed at little or no risk, Robert H. Helm, MD, from Boston Medical Center, said during a presentation at the American College of Cardiology (ACC) scientific sessions on Monday.
Written by Gina Narcisi
ATLANTA--Currently, cardiovascular imaging accounts for 30 percent of all the medical radiation that people receive in the U.S., noted Andrew Einstein, MD, cardiologist and assistant professor of clinical medicine at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City, during a symposium at the 59th annual American College of Cardiology (ACC) annual conference on Monday. Einstein also spoke to whether the current levels of radiation are appropriate, as well as strategies for reducing radiation exposure.
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Medical imaging overutilization--a growing concern in the U.S.--exposes patients to unnecessary radiation, while also adding to rising healthcare costs, according to a study published online Aug. 24 in Radiology. In an interview, William R. Hendee, PhD, lead author, reviewed various methods by which medical imaging could be curtailed.
Dedicated contrast-enhanced (CE) breast CT delivered significantly improved conspicuity of malignant breast lesions, including ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), compared with unenhanced breast CT and mammography, according to a study published in the September issue of Radiology.
CT, ultrasound and MRI have helped shift biopsy techniques away from more invasive approaches toward image-guided percutaneous techniques, according to a study published in the September issue of Radiology. The trend toward less-invasive approaches translates into enhanced safety and efficiency and could lead to more interaction between patients and radiologists.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) EHR incentive payments are not considered reimbursement for money expended on EHR technology, but are intended to offset the cost associated with adoption and ongoing meaningful use, according to CMS during an Aug. 12 webinar.
Funding incentives for EHR use is the main goal of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) meaningful use initiative, and there are incentive programs for both hospitals and eligible professionals, according to Elizabeth Holland, health insurance specialist at the Department of Health and Human Services, who spoke during a CMS-sponsored webinar Aug. 8.
Stage 1 requirements for meaningful use incentives aim to strike a balance between the overall goal of EHR use and widespread adoption, while avoiding added work, said Jonathan Teich, MD, PhD, chief medical informatics officer at Elsevier Health Services, during a HIMSS webinar titled “Meaningful Use: Safety and Quality of Care.”
