December 10, 2010 – The first commercial production of generators using molybdenum-99 (Mo-99) produced with low-enriched uranium (LEU) targets in the United States is underway. The Lantheus TechneLite (Technetium Tc99m) generator received the first commercial scale batch from NTP Radioisotopes, a subsidiary of the Nuclear Energy Corporate of South Africa (NESCA)

December 9, 2010 – A cardiovascular image and data management system (CIIMS) has been successfully implemented at nine Iowa Health System (IHS) affiliate hospitals. HIS used the enterprise-wide Lumedx CardioInventory system.

Tony Pinson, RTRCV, has worked at Carroll Hospital Center in Westminster, Md., for nearly 20 years. During that time, the cardiac catheterization laboratory supervisor has witnessed drastic changes at the private, nonprofit, 213-bed hospital that prides itself on providing exceptional care for patients in Carroll and surrounding counties.


Over the past several years, the focus on new technology at the annual Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) scientific meeting in Chicago has moved away from new devices to new software. RSNA 2010, held Nov. 28 through Dec. 2, emphasized this trend.

December 7, 2010 - In an effort to improve the diagnosis and treatment of peripheral artery disease (PAD), the American College of Cardiology and American Heart Association issued the first-ever performance measures for adults with PAD. These new performance measures also aim to increase understanding of the serious heart-related effects of PAD within the healthcare community.

December 7, 2010 – A study comparing a transcatheter ventricular assist device (VAD) to intra-aortic balloon pumps (IABP) has been completed after interim analysis determined the primary endpoint was likely. The Impella, by Abiomed, significantly reduced major adverse events out of hospital.

December 7, 2010 – A new bioresorbable stent scaffold can be overinflated by more than 25 percent without cracking or crazing. New data from Arterial Remodeling Technologies (ART) show that its bioresorbable polylactic acid (PLA) stent platform is designed to avoid malapposition.


Transcatheter valve replacement, especially transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), took center stage at the Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) 2010 symposium this fall in Washington, D.C. This highlights the fact the event has significantly evolved from an angioplasty meeting of 250 interventional cardiologists in the late 1980s.

Technology in the field of nuclear cardiac imaging — single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and positron emission tomography (PET) — has been somewhat stagnant over the past decade. However, there are some recent advancements in both radiotracers and hardware that could change this field of imaging.

As production of molybdenum-99 returns to normal with the Canadian Chalk River Laboratories reactor back online and the supply of 99m-technetium stabilizes, the nuclear cardiology community is anxiously waiting to see if procedure volumes will rebound.

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