September 16, 2011 — GE Healthcare and Veran Medical Technologies Inc. announced they have formed a strategic alliance to advance and co-develop navigation technologies for interventional procedures to improve care and management of cancer patients. Building on the alliance, the GE Healthymagination Fund, an equity fund that invests in promising healthcare technology companies, is investing in Veran. The financial terms were undisclosed.

September 15, 2011 — Music icon Barry Manilow recently revealed his long struggle to manage a serious heart disease called atrial fibrillation (AFib). He has joined with Sanofi US to kick-off “Get Back in Rhythm,” a national AFib awareness and education campaign. The goal is to encourage people to learn more about all the risks of AFib and the importance of keeping the heart in rhythm.

September 14, 2011 – Treatment of patients with chronic disease accounts for nearly four-fifths of United States healthcare spending. Robert Bosch Healthcare Inc. announced new evidence demonstrating implementation of carefully designed care management and telehealth programs for these patients can significantly reduce healthcare spending.

September 14, 2011 — Miracor Medical Systems GmbH announced today the company has secured $10 million to commercialize its Pressure-controlled Intermittent Coronary Sinus Occlusion (PICSO) Impulse system. It offers a new approach to reduce myocardial injury following percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI).

September 14, 2011 – The Delaware Insurance Commissioner’s announcement that Blue Cross Blue Shield of Delaware (BCBSD) will support physicians’ use of an American College of Cardiology (ACC) program to make decisions about certain diagnostic imaging tests is a win for patients and a win for quality-of-care, said ACC CEO Jack Lewin, M.D.

September 13, 2011 – A new study finds that infections following cardiac device implantations or replacement result in extremely high costs, both financially and in terms of patient mortality, even months after affected patients return home. Infections associated with pacemakers and defibrillators led to 4.8 to 7.7-fold increases in admission mortality, 1.6 to 2.1-fold increases long term mortality, 2.5 to 4-fold increases in hospital length of stay, and 1.4 to 1.8-fold increases in cost compared to pacemaker and defibrillator implantations without infection. Surprisingly, more than one-third of the excess mortality occurred after hospital discharge.