Cardiac MRI

Being a specialist in cardiovascular imaging, I have followed the development of cardiac topics at the ECR since 1991. Tremendous changes have occurred over this period.

CT is moving beyond detection and quantification of coronary artery calcium to grading of coronary stenoses, identifying not only vulnerable plaques but, more important, vulnerable patients. Yet its ultimate role in predicting risk of cardiac events remains unclear.

As a one-stop scanning tool for everything from abdominal trauma to chest pain, CT is fast becoming an emergency room's best friend. Medical centers save trauma treatment costs by taking less staff to support a patient until a diagnosis is made, and they improve emergency care by cutting the time patients spend being imaged before being stabilized and acutely managed.

Radiologists who want to start and maintain a successful cardiovascular MR practice need to complete adequate training, work collaboratively with cardiologists, and educate referring physicians about the benefits of MR over other modalities.

Strategy and tactics distinguish Philips in CT. Not long ago, the company was a nonplayer in this modality, reliant on suppliers to obtain scanners to sell under the Philips label. That changed in 2002 with the acquisition of Marconi Medical Systems, which transformed Philips into a CT powerhouse. At last year's RSNA meeting, the company leaped beyond the expected 32-slice configuration to offer a 40-slice array rotating at 0.42 second and covering most body organs without motion artifact.

Survey results released last week by IMV Medical Information Division suggesting a drop in demand for cardiac cath procedures might cause some to worry that cardiac assessment is on the wane and that equipment sales might soon follow. Those concerns fade, however, when the statistics are put into context.

Two men are lost, drifting in a hot-air balloon somewhere over a canyon. Hoping to find out where they are, one leans out and yells, “Helllloooooo! Where are we?” For the next few moments, they hear the echo fading in the distance. Then silence. Fifteen minutes pass, when an echoing voice calls back, “Helllloooooo! You’re lost!!”

The number of cath lab cases performed in 2002 remained level in the U.S. after increasing sharply over the previous four-year period, according to a market research survey. But the flat numbers might not mean a leveling off or drop in the purchase of cardiac imaging equipment.

Self-gated MR imaging may find a place in standard cardiac practice, but possibly not in the form in which it debuted at the 2003 SCMR meeting.

Cardiac MR imaging has become a mainstream clinical instrument to assess congenital heart disease. It is a cutting-edge technology that is beginning to replace fluoroscopy as the modality of choice to guide minimally invasive interventions in the heart.

Duke University researchers introduced a new MR approach at the SCMR meeting that produces cine angiograms analogous to cardiac catheterization without radiation or a contrast agent.

Philips Medical Systems will provide state-of-the-art cardiovascular imaging equipment and software, enterprise-wide PACS, and radiology equipment, as well as patient monitoring systems, services, and other products including consumer electronics,

As Medicare passes through the congressional mill, the focus often turns to radiologists and the increasing cost of medical imaging. A recent report by Blue Cross/Blue Shield stated that radiologists are driving up healthcare costs. But Philadelphia researchers on Monday concluded that it is cardiologists -- not radiologists -- who are responsible for sharp hikes in dollars spent for medical imaging.

Leading provider of nuclear pharmacy services Syncor International has acquired a privately held group of distributors of radiology and cardiology products and a provider of cardiovascular imaging services. The group of distributors comprises

Esaote Biomedica subsidiary Biosound has received 510(k) clearancefrom the Food and Drug Administration for its Advanced Ultrasonographyfamily of color-flow scanners. The product line includes AU3 foradvanced cardiovascular imaging and AU4 for general

Cardiovascular Imaging Systems (CVIS) of Sunnyvale, CA, went publiclast month, raising about $10 million. The funds will help expandmarketing and development of intravascular ultrasound products,according to Richard M. Ferrari, president and CEO. CVIS

Cardiovascular Imaging Systems (CVIS) and Siemens Ultrasound haveentered into a joint product development/distribution relationshipin intraluminal ultrasound. Siemens showed the CVIS technologyon its SI 1200 high-end cardiology ultrasound system and SI

Richard M. Ferrari, formerly executive vice president and generalmanager of ADAC Laboratories, was hired last month as presidentand CEO of Cardiovascular Imaging Systems (CVIS) of Sunnyvale,CA. The move marks Ferrari's return to medical imaging after