Researchers at Karolinska Institutet have developed a method for assessing the effect of tamoxifen, a common drug to prevent the relapse of breast cancer. The key lies in monitoring changes in the proportion of dense tissue, which appears white on a mammogram, during treatment. Women who show a pronounced reduction in breast density during tamoxifen treatment have a 50 percent reduction in breast cancer mortality. This tool provides doctors with the possibility to assess whether a patient is responding to tamoxifen at an early phase of treatment.

iCAD Inc. has entered into strategic distribution agreements for its Xoft Axxent Electronic Brachytherapy System with Chindex Medical Limited in China and with Medvio in Russia. The company also announced that the first breast cancer patient was treated with intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT) using the Xoft system in Taiwan.

Multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) is a better way to measure annular size in patients with aortic stenosis who are candidates for transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) than two dimensional echocardiography according to a new study.

RaySearch Laboratories AB (publ.) has entered into a license agreement with GSI Helmholtzzentrum für Schwerionenforschung in Darmstadt, Germany regarding techniques for calculating radiobiological effective dose in ion beam treatments.

Civco Medical Solutionswill showcase trUpoint Arch, a new stereotactic radiosurgery solution, Protura Robotic Patient Positioning System, and the Universal Couchtop Long Extension, along with other disease site solutions at the 2nd ESTRO Forum, booth #5200 in Geneva, Switzerland, April 19 to 23 2013.

Improving patient safety while offering clinicians a more complete picture during interventional procedures, Toshiba America Medical Systems Inc. will showcase Spot Fluoroscopy for its Infinix-i vascular X-ray systems at this year’s Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) 2013 annual meeting.