Transcatheter structural heart repair devices deployed in the cath lab have largely replaced open-heart surgery as the therapy of choice. Percutaneously deployed septal occluders make it possible to repair atrial septal defects with better outcomes, fewer complications, faster patient recovery and lower health care costs.


July 20, 2010 — A $5 million loan was granted for the development of a new percutaneous mitral valve repair device.


There is no consensus about whether atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis should be stented or treated medically. There are strong opinions on both sides and clinical data up to now is heavily debated. Many see the trials that could have answered this question as flawed.



Outside the United States, transradial artery access is used in 50-90 percent of percutaneous interventions over femoral access, while U.S. usage rates are less than 5 percent. However, a patient safety advocacy organization is attempting to accelerate radial access adoption through education and speaking with lawmakers in Washington.


July 20, 2010 – Rcadia Medical Imaging recently presented five studies demonstrating the potential of its COR Analyzer System to help rule out significant coronary artery stenosis in patients at low to intermediate risk of coronary artery disease (CAD) undergoing coronary computer tomography angiography (CTA).

July 20, 2010 – New dual source CT technology allows a radiation dose of as low as one millisievert (mSv) for computed tomography angiography (CTA) scans, Siemens announced last week at the 2010 Annual Scientific Meeting of the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography (SCCT) in Las Vegas.


Transradial access is slowly gaining ground in the United States as more physicians make the switch due to greatly reduced bleeding complications, increased patient comfort and earlier ambulation. St. Joseph’s Hospital of Atlanta is a big supporter of radial access and has taken the concept a step further by creating the first transradial recovery lounge in the country.



In this era of financial cost cutting, questions are raised over the true need for 256- or 320-slice computed tomography (CT) systems for cardiac imaging. There are many radiologists and cardiologists who argue a 64-slice CT system is good enough to make a cardiac diagnosis without spending twice as much for the higher-slice systems.


July 20, 2010 – Researchers at the Mayo Clinic have developed a way to reduce the amount of radiation involved in perfusion computed tomography (CT) scanning, an emerging imaging technology for diagnosing strokes and cancer, following an incident last year when a machine set to incorrect radiation levels overdosed hundreds of people in Los Angeles.

July 19, 2010 – A new portable electrocardiogram (ECG) monitor features a reduced size and simple interface features. The DRE True ECG Plus is small enough to fit most surfaces in physician’s offices, hospitals and emergency response vehicles, is convenient for mobile use and features an alphanumeric keyboard and one-touch operation for easy data input and operation.

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