A new imaging technique for measuring blood flow in the heart and vessels can diagnose bicuspid aortic valve, and may lead to better prediction of complications. A Northwestern Medicine team reported the finding in the journal Circulation. In the study, the authors demonstrated for the first time a previously unknown relationship between heart valve abnormalities, blood flow changes in the heart and aortic disease. They showed that blood flow changes were driven by specific types of abnormal aortic valves, and they were able to directly associate blood flow patterns with aortic diseases.

Apama Medical is a privately held medical device company formed by Shifamed's medical incubator. It received Chinese notice of allowance for claims covering their low profile electrode assembly that enables the attachment of flexible electrodes to an ablation balloon for energy delivery and monitoring. The Chinese patent will complement an existing patent (U.S. Patent No. 8,295,902) giving Apama broad claim coverage for electrode-based ablation balloons in the United States and China for the treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF). Utilizing this patented electrode technology enables Apama to design an ablation catheter that performs a full pulmonary vein (PV) ablation and rotor ablation in a single-shot.

ScImage announced availability of a Master Patient Index (MPI) Translator that provides healthcare professionals diagnostic imaging data residing in disparate systems, often located at unrelated facilities.