Cardiac MRI

In this issue, legal columnist Thomas Greeson wades squarely into one of radiology's hottest topics today: cardiac CT overreads by radiologists. Under such scenarios, cardiologists interpret images of the heart and related vessels and leave the rest of the chest to radiologists. These marriages of convenience are strongly promoted in some quarters as avoiding destructive turf battles and assuring that patients get the best possible care following a chest CT scan.

Stress echocardiography can accurately predict the onset of cardiovascular disease in patients waiting for kidney transplants, according to a study presented in June at the American Society of Echocardiography meeting.

The third phase of clinical PET adoption appears imminent and Integrated Cardiac Solutions intends to be ahead of the curve.

Echocardiography has unearthed links among morbid pediatric obesity, sleep disorders, and potentially fatal -- often hidden -- pulmonary hypertension, according to a study presented in June at the American Society of Echocardiography meeting.

Figuring out how to treat postinfarction left ventricular remodeling using delayed-enhancement cardiac MR is not so cut and dried as it seems. Bright signal may signify dead myocardial tissue during DE-MR viability studies, but bright and dark myocardium both have stories to tell when dealing with remodeling.

Adenosine rest-stress perfusion may represent nearly half the imaging volume at some clinics, but due to safety questions some physicians are sticking with dobutamine for pharmacological stress testing.

In cardiac catheterization, it's known as the money shot: coronaries floating in space with the shadow of the heart behind them. It is also the hardest shot to get, because of the amount of tissue that x-rays must penetrate. As patients get larger, the going gets tougher. But for MRI, capturing this shot has become a piece of cake.

Figuring out how to treat postinfarction left ventricular remodeling using delayed-enhancement cardiac MR is not so cut and dried as it seems. Bright signal may signify dead myocardial tissue during DE-MR viability studies, but bright and dark myocardium both have stories to tell when dealing with remodeling.

New research conducted in Europe may guide strategies that determine the best time and optimal tools for coronary interventions. Results from one multicenter trial indicate that early intervention is better than a wait-and-watch policy for patients with partial vessel occlusion. Meanwhile, a Swiss team has published data questioning the cost-effectiveness of drug-eluting stents for revascularization.

Philips Medical Systems was the undisputed global provider of cardiac cath imaging systems in 2005, a crown the company has worn for more than a few years. But being king of cardiovascular imaging is no longer enough.

Using intravascular ultrasound, researchers have found that intensive cholesterol lowering with a statin drug can regress the buildup of plaque in the coronary arteries, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology in Atlanta.

Nuclear cardiology has a new heavyweight contender, a gamma camera with a table capacity of 440 pounds, a gantry bore of 27.5 inches, and digital detectors that make the most of tough situations.

The American College of Radiology and the American College of Cardiology called a truce in their turf battle over cardiac CT to jointly write a document intended to help local Medicare insurers set the terms for the acceptance and coverage of cardiac CT procedures.

Since the introduction of cardiac catheterization in the 1940s, development and implementation of cardiovascular imaging techniques have been a collaborative effort among several specialties, particularly radiology and cardiology. Many pioneers in CV imaging have held joint appointments.

A single amino acid substitution in a cardiac muscle protein improved cardiac function in mice and in damaged human heart cells. This amino acid could be the key to a new gene or cell-based therapy for cardiovascular disease, according to a study published online Jan. 22 in Nature Medicine.

Patients in need of emergency coronary artery angioplasty fare better when treated at a hospital that performs the procedure around the clock than at one that offers angioplasty part time, according to a study in the Jan. 17 issue of Circulation.

New research conducted in Europe may guide strategies that determine the best time and optimal tools for coronary interventions. Results from one multicenter trial indicate that early intervention is better than a wait-and-watch policy for patients with partial vessel occlusion. Meanwhile, a Swiss team has published data questioning the cost-effectiveness of drug-eluting stents for revascularization.

On the same day that New York researchers received the top honor at the RSNA meeting for their poster detailing the benefits of an infection imaging agent, the drug's maker issued a warning about two deaths and additional serious adverse events attributed to its use. The admonition was released by Tyco Mallinckrodt Healthcare, which markets NeutroSpec (technetium-99m fanolesomab), a monoclonal antibody-labeled radiopharmaceutical agent approved in the U.S. for the diagnosis of equivocal appendicitis.

Philips Medical Solutions has developed a learning program that adjusts the planning, scanning, and processing of MR exams to match the preferences of operators and physicians. The SmartExam promises to decrease overall exam time, while increasing consistency and reliability.

Israeli start-up Spectrum Dynamics has developed technology that can generate 10 times the sensitivity and double the spatial resolution of conventional Anger cameras, according to the company. Such dramatic increases raise the possibility of real-time imaging that shows the perfusion of one or more radiotracers through the myocardium introducing a radical change in the way cardiac patients are evaluated.

There is nothing incidental about the frequency of incidental findings seen in wide field-of-view 64-slice cardiac imaging. A study by Dr. Joshua Macatol, a radiology researcher at William Beaumont Medical Center in Royal Oak, MI, found that dozens of noncoronary findings may go undetected, however, as cardiologists focus on possible coronary artery disease.

There is nothing incidental about the frequency of incidental findings seen in wide field-of-view 64-slice cardiac imaging. A study by Dr. Joshua Macatol, a radiology researcher at William Beaumont Medical Center in Royal Oak, MI, found that dozens of noncoronary findings may go undetected, however, as cardiologists focus on possible coronary artery disease.

Mention 64-slice scanners, and the conversation inevitably turns to the heart: coronary angiography, cardiac assessment, the looming battle with cardiologists. At Children's Hospital and Health Center in San Diego, radiologists have put a new twist on this discussion, applying GE's LightSpeed VCT exclusively to pediatrics.

Multislice CT may someday save thousands of patients the worry and bother of a hospital stay to determine whether their chest pain is caused by acute cardiac syndrome.

New research conducted at the University of Erasmus in Rotterdam may erase any lingering doubts about the superiority of 64-slice CT in detecting coronary artery disease.

While most congenital coronary anomalies in adults are harmless, some carry significant risk of morbidity and mortality. Discriminating the potentially catastrophic interarterial course of ectopic coronary arteries from other variants is crucial.

The radiation dose delivered during fluoroscopic cardiac interventional procedures is facing scrutiny. Researchers from Ireland aim to establish local x-ray dose reference levels for examinations in cardiovascular centers to produce a benchmark against which individual performance can be judged.

Research unveiled at this year’s European Society of Cardiology meeting could affect interventional strategies for treating coronary disease. Results from a U.K. multicenter trial indicate that early intervention is better than a wait-and-see policy for patients with partial vessel occlusion. Meanwhile, a Swiss team presented data questioning the cost-effectiveness of drug-eluting stents for revascularization.

Philips has released a package of enhancements and new system configurations for its ultrasound portfolio. The upgrades, known collectively as Vision 2005, include new capabilities for the company’s latest radiology and cardiology platforms.