Philips recently announced new advanced automation capabilities on its Epiq CVx and Epiq CVxi cardiac ultrasound systems. With Release 5.0, both systems now include automated applications for 2-D assessment of the heart, as well as robust 3-D right ventricle volume and ejection fraction measurements, making accurate exams faster and easier to conduct.1 Together, the new applications provide clinicians with the means to confidently evaluate the heart’s function, increasing diagnostic confidence for patients with pulmonary hypertension, congenital heart disease, coronary disease and heart failure.

Catheter Precision Inc. announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared its new VIVO (View into Ventricular Onset) system for market release in the United States. VIVO is a pre-procedure planning tool that offers 3-D cardiac mapping to aid in localizing the sites of origin of idiopathic ventricular arrhythmias in patients with structurally normal hearts prior to electrophysiology studies. The novel VIVO system uses magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or a computed tomography (CT) scan along with a standard 12-lead ΕCG to computer-generate color-coded 3-D mapping images of the heart to indicate the area of earliest activation.