July 14, 2011 – Endosense, a Swiss medical technology company, has announced completion of the first patient case utilizing prototype software that integrates the contact-force data provided by Endosense’s TactiCath force-sensing ablation catheter with Siemens Healthcare’s electrophysiology solutions.

July 13, 2011 – InfraReDx Inc. announced enrollment of the first patient in its Phase 2 clinical trial, CANARY (Coronary Assessment by Near-infrared [NIR] of Atherosclerotic Rupture-prone Yellow). CANARY is designed to test the hypothesis that NIR-guided use of an embolic protection device (EPD), or filter, during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) can reduce the rate of peri-procedural heart attacks in patients identified as having high-risk lipid core plaques (HR-LCPs). InfraReDx’s LipiScan IVUS System is the only multimodality coronary imaging device approved in both the United States and Europe. It is in routine clinical use to detect the LCPs known to complicate stenting and suspected to cause most heart attacks.

July 13, 2011 – The TandemHeart circulatory support system has been granted expanded reimbursement coverage by NHIC Corp., the medicare administrative contractor (MAC) serving over 1.3 million beneficiaries and over 53,000 healthcare providers in the Northeast region of the United States.

July 12, 2011 – The Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography (SCCT) has published the SCCT Guidelines on Radiation Dose and Dose-Optimization Strategies in Cardiovascular CT document, which will be printed in the July/August special Radiation Focus issue of the Journal of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography. This guideline document reviews available data and provides recommendations regarding interpretation of radiation dose indices and predictors of risk, appropriate use of scanner acquisition modes and settings, development of algorithms for dose optimization and establishment of procedures for dose monitoring.

July 7, 2011 – The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)’s Ames Research Center and The Midura Laboratory selected ImageIQ to assist in their study of space flight-induced vascular alterations in the lower leg. ImageIQ will provide customized image acquisition and analysis for a vascular research study aboard NASA's final mission of the shuttle Atlantis. scheduled for July 8. The company provides imaging analytics software engineering and visualization services for research, medical device and pharmaceutical organizations.

July 5, 2011 — ECRI Institute, an independent nonprofit that researches the best approaches to improving patient care, and the Health Care Improvement Foundation, an independent nonprofit corporation with a multi-dimensional focus on healthcare safety, announced the launch of a new Partnership for Patient Care regional collaborative focused on improving computed tomography (CT) radiation safety. Jointly funded by Philadelphia-area hospitals and Independence Blue Cross, this collaborative will engage hospitals and imaging centers in Philadelphia and surrounding counties in a 12-month project aimed at strengthening patient safety specific to CT imaging.