Barco has a new suite of clinical application modules available within its flagship 3-D software product, VOXAR 3-D. The CARDIAMETRIX suite provides radiologists and cardiologists with a powerful set of tools for structural and functional analysis of contrast-enhanced Computed Tomography Angiography (CTA) studies.

In a giant leap forward in ICD patient safety, the American College of Cardiology Foundation (ACCF), in conjunction with the Heart Rhythm Society (HRS), established the National Cardiovascular Data Registry's national ICD Registry in the fall of 2005 to measure ICD patient outcomes and track patient trends.

In the simplest of terms, a ventricular assist device (VAD) is a battery-operated mechanical pump that helps a weakened heart pump oxygenated blood throughout the body. While some models offer left, right and biventricular support, others are specially designed to replace the pumping action of only the left ventricle and are appropriately called left ventricle assist devices (LVADs).

When it comes to treating patients suffering from heart failure, which is typically defined as a heart whose pumping power is weaker than normal, physicians are facing a paradox.

In the world of cardiologists who treat adults with congenital heart disease, the unusual is not so very unusual and the rare is fairly commonplace. Take Wendy Book, M.D., for example — this week she might meet for the first time a patient presenting with a heart defect from birth for which there is no standard therapy, and for whom there may well be no exact replica on record.


Examples of physicians’ declining use of drug-eluting stents are growing.

Sometimes it's the smallest things that leave the strongest impression.
Of the dozens of technologies with which I came into contact during ACC07, it was a new device in the Siemens booth that made one of the more distinct marks on my memory: it's the next plane in cardiac ultrasound's evolution into further miniaturization.


Technological trendsetters within the cardiology arena have been embarking on a path of seamless integration of their information technology platforms for more than a decade. For many, that pathway may have seemed like an endless uphill battle considering the enormous amount of information that is generated within the complex field of cardiology.


If the cardiologists at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMC) in Jackson have been facing an uphill battle against cardiovascular disease, at least they’ve got some new state-of-the-art weapons. With four faculty members and nine fellows, the hospital’s Division of Cardiology has grown substantially over recent years. And to top it off, the hospital just received a new cardiovascular center that houses a large outpatient clinic.
Figure 1 - As the demand for cardiology services is increasing, the supply has not kept pace. This has led to a shortage of doctors in the U.S.

In 2006, the baby boom generation (those born from 1946 - 1964) started turning 60 at the rate of 330 per hour, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. By 2031, almost 60 million baby boomers will be over 65. See Figure 1.
Looking at the coming tsunami of seniors raises a lot of issues, especially in cardiology. Along with reaching their golden years, this generation will also be entering the peak cardiovascular disease years.
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