November 16, 2015 — At the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) 2015 annual meeting, GE Healthcare will unveil the next generation of its Logiq E9 general imaging ultrasound system. The system combines the power of XDclear probes with a new XDclear 2.0 platform that maximizes spatial and contrast resolution. As a result, XDclear 2.0 optimizes the imaging from the pulse of the probe to each of its pixels and every step in between.

wearable Holter monitors, iRhythm, ziopatch, zio patch
Vital Connect, HealthPatch, wearable holter
ScottCare, Novi, wearable cardiac monitoring
BodyGuardian, Preventice Solutions, Boston Scientific

One-third of ischemic strokes are classified as cryptogenic. The classic risk factors for stroke are usually absent, such as cardio-embolism or large artery atherosclerosis. In the United States, about 200,000 strokes without a known cause occur annually, according to the American Stroke Association (ASA). What’s even more striking is that a recent American Heart Association (AHA) survey revealed more than half of U.S. physicians admit being uncertain about the best approaches to finding the underlying causes of cryptogenic strokes. 

At this year’s Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) annual meeting, GE Healthcare is showcasing continued advancements in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technologies. In the spirit of GE MR’s Continuum strategy, the company will showcase advanced applications as well as the Signa Pioneer 3.0T, Signa Explorer and Signa Creator 1.5T MRI scanners.

A new study appearing in STEM CELLS Translational Medicine (SCTM) describes a highly efficient, protein-based method for turning fibroblasts — the most common cells in connective tissue — into cardiac progenitor cells (CPCs). The results could lead to a much-needed new source of cells for regenerating the heart. Equally exciting is that the technology also converts the fibroblasts directly to CPCs, skipping an in-between and significantly speeding up the process.

Chest pain in female-pattern heart disease is linked with abnormal heart blood flow, a new Cedars-Sinai Heart Institute study shows. The effect was demonstrated with a drug commonly used to alleviate chest pain patients with coronary artery disease, which was found to be ineffective in patients with moderate female-pattern heart disease, but may offer some relief for sicker patients.

Preventing blood clots with drugs such as heparin has become a common practice for fighting some heart and lung conditions, and for certain surgeries. But patients who take them also need their blood to clot to heal incisions made during operations. Researchers are developing a new way to tackle this problem — by pairing snake venom with nanofibers. Their study using the therapy on rats appears in the journal ACS Biomaterials Science & Engineering.

November 12, 2015 — A pharmacist-physician collaborative effort to control blood pressure among a diverse group of patients was considered cost-effective, according to new research in the American Heart Association’s journal Hypertension. Researchers found that a $22 price tag increased the hypertension control rate by 1 percent.


Computed tomography has seen rapid growth in all segments of medicine over the past two decades, and recent advances may further expand use of cardiac computed tomography angiography (CCTA). Advocates for cardiac CT speaking at the 2015 meetings of the American College of Cardiology (ACC), Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography (SCCT) and Transcatheter Cardiovascular  Therapeutics (TCT) laid out the latest technological advancements and outlined new clinical trial data that may help CT become a first-line, one-stop-shop cardiac imaging modality in the near future. 
Neovasc, Tiara, transcatheter mitral valve, TMVR
Valtech, Cardioband, transcatheter annuloplasty
MitralAlign, transcatheter annuloplasty

(This article was updated in June 2018)

The advent of transcatheter valve repair and replacement technologies is one of those rare instances where there is a rapid paradigm shift in medicine. Since the first transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) systems were cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2011 (Edwards Lifesciences Sapien) and 2014 (Medtronic CoreValve), TAVR rapidly expanded. It is also fueling enthusiasm for new transcatheter mitral valve replacement (TMVR) technology.
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