NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital now offers a new alternative therapy for heart failure patients at risk for sudden cardiac arrest. Concerto and Virtuoso implantable defibrillators-pacemakers from Medtronic will help keep the beat for patients whose heart electrical impulses for controlling chamber contractions are impaired.

A new alternative to invasive, painful biopsies for determining heart transplant rejection is both available and reimbursable. The molecular expression test molecular expression test is a non-invasive alternative to biopsy that is safe, effective, quantitative, and reproducible with predictive capabilities biopsy does not provide. The test provides physicians with a broader clinical picture, enabling them to identify patients at low risk for current and future rejection.

Well-known cardiologist Eric Topol has been appointed by Scripps Health in San Diego, CA, to lead a new institute to research genetic causes of heart and other diseases.

Dr. Topol is the former chairman of Cleveland Clinic's cardiovascular medicine, an institution which he is credited for having made a global leader in cardiac care during his 15-year tenure.

The Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology is inviting organizations to submit their ambulatory electronic health-record products for possible certification during the next application period, running Nov. 1-14. The application period marks the launch of CCHIT certification of ambulatory EHRs internally developed by physician practices, hospitals and health systems.

The names of products receiving certification during this period are tentatively scheduled to be announced Feb. 1.

A large California-based study has shown that patients with heart failure who start taking statins, compared with those who don't, will live longer and have a lower hospitalization risk regardless of cholesterol levels, presence or absence of coronary disease, and other CV drug therapies, “Heartwire” reported this week.

Results from the Danish SORT-OUT II study, the largest randomized trial to date comparing Taxus and Cypher drug-eluting coronary stents, showed no difference in clinical events between patients in the two groups. Presented at the TCT scientific sessions in Washington, D.C., this study focused only on clinically driven MACE.

While general endotracheal anesthesia (GETA) is the most common type of anesthesia used in infrainguinal bypasses, a study published in the November issue of the Journal of Vascular Surgery reveals that it may not be the best strategy.

Healthcare IT companies will again converge this winter to measure their ability to integrate with each other during the IHE North American Connectathon, an annual event that takes place prior to the national meeting of the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society. The e Connectathon will be held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Chicago, IL, the week of January 15-19, 2007. Completed applications were due on Sept. 15, 2006.

Agfa HealthCare has signed a multi-million dollar deal with Thomas Memorial Hospital in South Charleston, WV and will provide Agfa’s IMPAX 6.0 PACS and the newest version of Agfa reporting solution, TalkStation 3.1. The multi-million dollar deal also includes six DX-S CR systems, which feature Agfa’s unique DirectriX needle-based detector technology and Scanhead line-to-line CR stimulation and light collection technology, for improved image quality and workflow.

TeraRecon Inc. and Commissure, Inc. have announced a partnership to integrate and deliver seamless workflow orchestration that leverages advanced visualization tools independent of the combination of modalities, RIS and PACS deployed in a given institution.

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