Topic

Heart Disease


New preventive cardiac disease screening guidelines SHAPE-ing up

Top Stories | Thursday, August 12 2010
The Society for Heart Attack Prevention and Eradication (SHAPE), which drew some controversy in 2006 when it published guidelines calling for screening a wide population of men and women with noninvasive imaging, is taking another look at the progress in heart disease predictors in order to refine and update those guidelines.
 

Massachusetts molecular imaging developer expands

Industry News | Tuesday, June 15 2010
Pharmalucence is planning to construct a 70,000 square-foot pharmaceutical production facility and new corporate headquarters at 29 Dunham Road in Billerica, Mass.
 

SNM: Cyclotron production of Tc-99m could alleviate isotope shortage

Conference News | Thursday, June 10 2010
In a comparative study presented at SNM’s 57th annual meeting in Salt Lake City, researchers showed direct production of technetium-99m using cyclotrons is a potential cost-effective means to alleviate the isotope crisis.
 

R.I. payor, physician group launch patient-centered home care

Partnerships & Alliances | Tuesday, May 18 2010
Blue Cross & Blue Shield of Rhode Island (BCBSRI) has entered into an agreement with the Rhode Island Primary Care Physicians Corporation to establish the largest patient-centered medical home program in R.I.
 

JACC: Radiation exposure worth the risk?

Industry News | Tuesday, May 11 2010
Previously, patient radiation exposure from CT scans were compared to similar doses of radiation received by Hiroshima atomic bomb survivors. Today, with a push for dose reduction technology to hamper these concerns, dose exposure has significantly decreased, but fears still remain.
 

Study: Smoking during radiation therapy yields negative outcomes

Clinical Studies | Wednesday, April 28 2010
Tobacco smoking during radiation therapy for head-and-neck cancer is associated with unfavorable outcomes, said researchers from the department of radiation oncology at the University of California Davis Cancer Center in Sacramento, Calif.,who evaluated the effect of continued cigarette smoking among patients undergoing radiation therapy.
 

Mount Sinai deploys GE SPECT camera

Contracts & Installations | Monday, April 12 2010
Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York City has deployed the cardiac nuclear imaging system, Discovery NM 530c from GE Healthcare.
 

GE releases virtual sleep lab for sleep apnea analysis

New Products | Wednesday, March 17 2010
GE Healthcare has unveiled the Mars virtual sleep lab, to provide a view of quantitative cardiac and sleep apnea analysis from any GE-monitored inpatient bed.
 

New rankings provide county-to-county health snapshots

Industry News | Friday, February 19 2010
People who live in healthier counties tend to have higher education levels, are more likely to be employed, have access to more healthcare providers and have more access to healthier foods, parks and recreational facilities, according to a report on the rank of overall health of every county in the U.S. from the University of Wisconsin’s Population Health Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF).
 

Report: Obesity, smoking soak up most U.S. healthcare dollars

Top Stories | Wednesday, November 18 2009
Smoking and obesity were rated the most significant risk factors affecting the health of Americans and the rising healthcare costs, according to the 2009 America’s Health Ranking report.
 

Demographics, health risks drive geographic healthcare spending variance

Industry News | Thursday, November 12 2009
As U.S. healthcare costs inflate, factors such as insurance status, demographics and increased patient health risk must be investigated when defining ways to realign healthcare spending, according to a report released by the American Hospital Association this week.
 

Medical isotope bill breezes through House

Top Stories | Friday, November 06 2009
The U.S. House of Representatives has passed HR 3276—the American Medical Isotopes Production Act of 2009—by a roll call vote of 400-17. The legislation will help to fund projects for producing the medical isotope molybdenum-99 within the United States.
 

Medical isotope bill goes to full House vote

Top Stories | Tuesday, October 27 2009
The American Medical Isotopes Production Act (HR 3276) was approved by the U.S. House of Representatives’ Energy and Commerce Committee on Oct. 21. The new legislation will help to fund projects for producing the medical isotope molybdenum-99 within the U.S., in order to ensure a consistent supply for American patients.
 

Obama issues $5B in ARRA grants to NIH

Top Stories | Wednesday, September 30 2009
In a Wednesday visit to the National Institutes of Health (NIH) campus in Bethesda, Md., President Barack Obama announced $5 billion in grant awards under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 to fund medical research in every state.
 

Report: Global cardiac MRI sales to reach $605M in 2012

Industry News | Wednesday, September 16 2009
Developments in imaging technology and software continue to help cardiac MRI exams gain prominence in the medical imaging market and will drive global sales of the technology to a projected $605 million in 2012, according to a report by healthcare market research firm Kalorama Information.
 

Study: Noninsurance means an extra 45,000 deaths annually

Tuesday, September 15 2009
A study in today's online edition of the American Journal of Public Health has found that nearly 45,000 deaths annually are associated with a lack of health insurance.
 

NEJM: Do benefits outweigh radiation risk in medical imaging?

Top Stories | Wednesday, August 26 2009
Written by Justine Cadet
In a retrospective analysis of nearly 700,000 non-elderly Americans who underwent at least one medical imaging procedure over a three-year period, approximately 20 percent received a moderate to very high dose of radiation, according to data in the Aug. 27 New England Journal of Medicine. Michael S. Lauer, MD, who wrote the accompanying perspective, stated that most imaging tests haven’t yet proven their benefit compared with the potential risks and costs.
 

RT: Radiologic science educators report less burnout than RTs

Top Stories | Sunday, August 23 2009
Although radiologic science educators experience less job burnout than practicing radiologic technologists (RTs), there is a significant correlation between health status and burnout levels among the educators, according to survey results released in the July/August issue of Radiologic Technology.
 

AJR: CTA identifies alternative diagnoses beyond negative PE

Clinical Studies | Thursday, August 20 2009
CT angiography (CTA) can identify abnormalities and injury beyond the pulmonary arteries, including broken bones and heart disease in pediatric patients, according to a study published in the September issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology.
 

Study: Radiotherapy fatigue may be caused by inflammation

Clinical Studies | Monday, August 17 2009
Patients who experience fatigue during radiotherapy for breast or prostate cancer may be reacting to activation of the proinflammatory cytokine network, an inflammatory pathway, according to an observational study published Aug. 18 in Clinical Cancer Research.
 
Web Exclusives

Feature: U.S. needs national strategy to curb imaging overutilization

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.

Radiology: Prelim study shows CE breast CT outperforms CT, mammo

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.

Radiology: Rad role may evolve as image-guided biopsies trend up

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.

CMS Webinar: Incentive payments to offset EHR adoption, not reimburse

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.

CMS webinar: Eligible professionals can expect EHR incentives in 2011

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.

Webinar: Stage 1 of meaningful use is for quality reporting acclimation

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.”

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