“Information is the lifeblood of modern medicine. Health information technology is destined to be its circulatory system.”(1) When Dr. David Blumenthal’s words appeared in the New England Journal of Medicine(2) last month, he was referring to the IT infrastructure the Department of Health and Human Services is building across the United States.

February 5, 2010 – Cardiac surgical ablation system maker AtriCure agreed to pay $3.8 million plus interest for allegedly using illegal kickbacks and an off-label marketing campaign to induce physicians and hospitals to perform its costly inpatient cardiac surgical ablation procedures over less expensive outpatient catheter ablation procedures.

February 4, 2010 – The FDA granted market clearance today for Toshiba America Medical Systems Inc.’s Viamo laptop ultrasound system. The device offers the same capabilities as larger cart-based systems that were previously unavailable on hand-carried systems.

The Viamo was introduced at the 2009 Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) annual meeting.

For more than a decade, Barry T. Katzen, M.D., medical director of Baptist Cardiac and Vascular Institute (BCVI) in Miami, Fla., has pioneered the integration of surgical and interventional procedures.
Dr. Katzen and his team continue to show that surgical procedures in an angiographic environment can be accomplished with the same degree of efficiency as in an operating room (OR).

In the past five years, no sector of healthcare has had as big a target on its back as advanced diagnostic imaging services has. Representatives of commercial insurance companies, politicians and even the media all have gravitated to using an MRI or CT service as the prime example of healthcare system waste.

January 27, 2010 — Today, the Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) launched "WINHeart — Score a WIN for Women," an initiative that raises awareness surrounding gender-based disparities in the diagnosis, treatment and survival of women with cardiovascular disease (CVD).

February 3, 2010 – The new Gator ClipSeal Plug is designed to maintain a hemostatic seal around 0.035- or 0.038-inch guide wires within large hemostatic valve introducer sheaths to minimize blood loss.

February 3, 2010 – The FDA granted 510(k) market clearance for Shina Systems’ 3Di advanced medical (3D/4D) visualization software that downloads over the Internet and provides a full suite of image processing and clinical analysis applications on any PC.

February 3, 2010 – Results of a four-year study evaluating the safety and efficacy of laser assisted lead removal using the Spectranetics laser sheath (SLS II), found a 97.7 percent clinical success rate.

February 2, 2010 - A second-generation transradial compression bracelet, the Zoom 2010, is being released by Zoom Co Medic. This bracelet is designed to obtain a stable compression of the radial artery, which will allow an uninterrupted flow of blood sufficient to protect the vascular system, while assuring adequate compression to avoid hematoma and encouraging prompt hemostasis.

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