May 11, 2012 — A team of scientists led by Stanley Fricke, M.D., of the Children's National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., broke the "magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) sound barrier," a finding that could lead to a hundred-fold increase in MRI speed, according to a new clinical study published this week in the peer-reviewed journal Medical Physics.

May 7, 2012 - On May 4, the American College of Radiology (ACR) submitted comments to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of the National Coordinator for HIT (ONC) regarding the agencies' March 7, 2012, proposed rules to revise and update the professional and technology requirements of the EHR Incentive Program (“meaningful use”). The ACR IT and Informatics Committee (ITIC) - Government Relations Subcommittee compiled the comments with feedback from ACR members, allied organizations and other stakeholders.

May 4, 2012 - Edwards Lifesciences Corp. announced that new data from the European multi-center Triton trial studying the Edwards Intuity valve system highlights the promise of several important benefits, including the facilitation of small-incision surgery for aortic valve replacement (AVR), a high procedural success rate, and consistent and sustained hemodynamic valve performance at one year. The data were presented today during the Emerging Technologies and Techniques Forum at the American Association for Thoracic Surgery's 92nd annual meeting in San Francisco.

May 4, 2012 - A new balloon catheter system could advance the endovascular approach to treating obstructed arteries in the leg, offering an alternative to surgical revascularization. Peripheral artery disease affects about 12 to 14 percent of the general population. Revascularization can be achieved through bypass surgery or a number of minimally invasive endovascular techniques that seek to reduce or eliminate symptoms of reduced blood flow by improving tissue perfusion. Chronic total occlusions of the superficial femoral artery and popliteal artery, some of the most difficult lesions to recanalize with conventional guidewire techniques, were treated with this new system.