July 27, 2011 – A special panel convened July 21 in Gaithersburg, Md., to review the results of the Excor pediatric ventricular assist device (VAD) investigational device exemption (IDE) clinical trial. The panel convened at the request of Bram Zuckerman, M.D., director, division of cardiovascular devices, Center for Devices and Radiologic Health of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

July 27, 2011 – As the number of interventional procedures to diagnose and treat patients increases worldwide, and the procedures grow in complexity and length, exposure to radiation is a growing concern for both clinicians and patients. Interventional fluoroscopy is the third largest source of radiation from medical procedures, accounting for about 7 percent of the total radiation exposure of Americans in a year, according to a study by the National Council on Radiation Protection. GE’s Innova imaging systems help clinicians reduce radiation exposure without compromising the image quality they need to make confident decisions during interventional procedures.

July 26, 2011 – According to the 2011 Top 20 Best in KLAS Awards: Medical Equipment & Infrastructure report, GE Healthcare’s Logiq E9 has been recognized as the top general imaging ultrasound system in the market. In the same report, GE’s Vivid E9 was awarded a share of the top spot for cardiovascular ultrasound systems.

July 26, 2011 – Cardio Pulmonary Diagnostic LLC in Newark and Hudson County Cardiovascular Care PC in Jersey City, N.J. have selected McKesson’s Practice Complete certified electronic health record (EHR) and practice management system. Built with cloud-computing technology, the integrated solution is designed to help providers improve billing and patient services, assist in accelerating payments and contribute to reductions in information technology costs and regulatory risk.

July 26, 2011 – The Resolute drug-eluting stent (DES) from Medtronic Inc. showed superiority to Boston Scientific Corp.’s Taxus DES on in-stent late lumen loss at eight months, the primary endpoint of the RESOLUTE Japan clinical study.

July 25, 2011 — Cardiac Science Corp., manufacturer of automated external defibrillators (AEDs) and diagnostic cardiac monitoring devices, announced the new capability of direct communication between its HeartCentrix connectivity solution and the GE Healthcare Centricity EMR system.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said it is amending the classification regulation for electrocardiograph (ECG) electrodes into a class II device category, exempting these devices from FDA clearances. This rule is effective as of Aug. 22, 2011.