December 15, 2011 – Siemens Healthcare offers a new information source for anyone facing an X-ray, computed tomography (CT) or a nuclear medicine examination. At www.medicalradiation.com, medical journalists and Siemens experts provide patients and interested members of the general public with basic details regarding medical radiation – including the fundamentals of the physics involved, an introduction to imaging procedures and notes on minimizing radiation exposure. A glossary explains the most common technical terms in a succinct, readily comprehensible manner.

December 14, 2011 — A new survey reveals many cardiologists believe angioplasty for hospital heart patients should be allowed even if no heart surgeon is present to perform emergency surgery if needed. The survey, conducted by U.S. News & World Report and theheart.org showed two-thirds of respondents agreed with this change to the current rules.

December 14, 2011 — The results of the COMPASS (Coronary Obstruction Detection by Molecular Personalized Gene Expression) trial were presented at the American Heart Association Scientific Sessions 2011 conference in Orlando, Fla. This prospective, blinded multi-center study was designed to provide a third independent validation of the Corus CAD blood-based gene expression test.

December 12, 2011 - CardioMEMS announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) Circulatory Systems Devices advisory panel voted against the Champion heart failure monitoring system. It is the first wireless, permanently implantable device that allows cardiologists to monitor heart failure (HF) patients from their homes. While the panel agreed with a 9-1 vote that the CardioMEMS technology is safe, the majority did not vote positively that the system is effective and that reasonable assurance of the risks associated with the device outweigh the potential clinical benefits of the technology.