Industry News

ACR members urge Congress against RBMs, utilization rate change
Members of the American College of Radiology (ACR) urged the U.S. House of Representatives Rural Caucus against using radiology benefits managers (RBMs) in the Medicare system and against a proposed imaging equipment utilization rate change from 50 to 95 percent at a Capitol Hill briefing held June 24.

Clinical Studies

Study challenges routine use of MRI to evaluate breast cancer
Researchers found that women with newly diagnosed breast cancer who receive a breast MRI are more likely to receive a mastectomy after their diagnosis and may face delays in starting treatment, according to a study published online June 25 and will appear in the August edition of the Journal of the American College of Surgeons.

Partnerships & Alliances

Medicsight inks deal with Spanish digital imaging company
Medicsight, a developer of computer-aided detection and image analysis software, has signed a non-exclusive, software license and distribution agreement with Alma IT Systems, a developer of digital medical imaging tools, across Europe and South America.

New Products

Philips debuts new mammography workstation
Philips has introduced its MammoDiagnost VU, a standalone mammography workstation that enables multi-vendor and multimodality image management and integration, to the U.S. market.

CoActiv debuts managed FFDM archiving
CoActiv has launched a new digital workflow initiative focusing on women's imaging and women's health centers offering full-field digital mammography (FFDM) and related imaging exams. The company will introduce this managed image archiving solution with automated prior exam recall.

Executive Announcements

IHE-Europe names new co-chair
Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE)-Europe has appointed Jacqueline Surugue as co-chair of the IHE-Europe Steering Committee.