Cardiovascular Systems Inc. (CSI) announced that the first patient has been enrolled in its post-market clinical study, LIBERTY 360°. The study is evaluating the acute and long-term clinical and economic outcomes of CSI’s orbital atherectomy system in treating peripheral arterial disease (PAD). Additionally, LIBERTY 360° is the first study of its kind to compare orbital atherectomy to all other PAD treatment options in a difficult-to-treat patient population. Cezar Staniloae, NYU Medical Center / New York Cardiovascular Associates, N.Y., the study’s principal investigator, performed the first procedure.

June 19, 2013 — Coronary artery disease (CAD) is one of the world’s most prevalent and silent killers. Positron emission tomography (PET), which images miniscule abnormalities in cellular metabolism, can tip off clinicians about cardiac disasters waiting to happen — including sudden death from a heart attack — better than standard angiography, researchers revealed at the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging’s 2013 Annual Meeting.

Valtech Cardio Ltd. announced that two patients diagnosed with severe mitral regurgitation (MR) have been treated successfully with its Transfemoral Cardioband Annuloplasty System.