Cardiovascular information and imaging systems (CVIS) have existed for many years in the dedicated sub-specialty areas. In a noninvasive department, a physician may have used an echo picture archiving and communication system (PACS) to access imaging and generate a structured report. Across the hall in the invasive department, the same physician would scrub in the cath lab and a different set of applications would be used for hemodynamics (hemo) and cath lab image access.

New cardiovascular device therapies for atrial fibrillation (AF) and heart failure (HF) are rapidly evolving with the use of innovative materials and new technologies. While new concepts for cardiac technology are not lacking, successful commercialization is a skill that is also required. Business analysts from the healthcare market research firm Allied Market Research pick out five of the latest innovations in the cardiovascular medical implants segment that should be watched. They feel these technologies have the potential to disrupt the market as new standards for patient care.

(Editor's note: links to newer information and video links from recent conferences were added to this article in February 2017)

One of the more significant advancements for interventional X-ray (IXR) in the past few years has been an increased focus on core and supporting technologies to provide high-quality, high-resolution images without a corresponding increase in radiation dose.