June 22, 2007 — The government recently evaluated hospitals around the country on their performance in the treatment of patients suffering from heart attacks or heart failure.

Almost all 4,500 hospitals performed at the national average when it came to their patient mortality rates.

However, for heart failure, 38 hospitals were listed as performing better than the national rate for heart failure, and 35 were listed as performing worse. For heart attacks, 17 performed better; 7 worse. The ratings are based on hospital claims data filed from July 2005 to June 2006.

June 21, 2007 - CardioChek PA with new risk detection helps physicians quickly and easily test for cardiac risk factors due to high cholesterol.

CardioChek PA is a diagnostic analyzer for medical professional testing of cholesterol and is FDA cleared for use on patients of all ages. The easy-to-use device provides medical professionals with a cost-effective, simple way to track important health factors in the convenience of their own office, with one fingerstick.

June 20, 2007 — Sono-Tek Corporation recently announced the release of the MediCoat PSI.

The MediCoat PSI offers the same cutting-edge precision stent coating features as the well established MediCoat DES systems used for coating cardiac stents. The new PSI model is ideal for coating large peripheral stents, and it is capable of coating, in one cycle, multiple stents up to a cumulative length of 8 inches.

MediCoat PSI incorporates Sono-Tek's proven MicroMist ultrasonic atomizing nozzle, and provides stent motion that assures complete coverage of large vascular stents.

June 20, 2007 —Robotic surgical technology available at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center avoids long-term use of blood thinners and problems such as infection by repairing the mitral valve instead of replacing it.

Cedars-Sinai is the largest mitral valve repair center in the Los Angeles area, completing approximately 100 repairs of different types annually.

June 19, 2007 – According to a study presented at the 18th Annual Scientific Sessions of the American Society of Echocardiography (ASE), screening vascular ultrasound (SVU) is effective in identifying patients with cardiovascular disease before they show symptoms.