December 9, 2011 — In a new survey of 216 radiologists, nearly 40 percent of participants cited concerns about either the lack of clarity in meaningful use (MU) guidelines or decreased efficiency from adopting current MU guidelines. The study, Radiologists' Take on Meaningful Use: a KLAS-RSNA Report, features feedback from a cross section of radiologists from across the nation; those from private practice, hospital-based practice, and academic centers are all featured.

December 9, 2011 — The American Society of Echocardiography (ASE) and the Society of Cardiovascular Anesthesiologists (SCA) have released a new performance guideline for heightening the use of ultrasound in guided vascular cannulation. The process involves the insertion of a catheter, or tube, into a major vein or artery. The guideline also contains recommendations on training for these life-saving procedures.

December 8, 2011 — Speckle training echocardiography (STE) is the subject of two studies being presented at EUROECHO 2011, Dec. 7-10 in Budapest, Hungary. They compare STE, a recent echocardiography technique, with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in quantifying infarct size (IS) after ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). MRI is the current gold standard for IS quantification.

December 8, 2011 – OmniVision, a developer of advanced digital imaging solutions, announced that its ultra-compact, high-performance OV6930 CMOS image sensor performed exceptionally well in a recent 448-patient clinical study on Avantis Medical Systems' Third Eye Retroscope. The study, published in the March issue of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, demonstrates that the Third Eye Retroscope can increase the accuracy in diagnosing adenomas, or pre-cancerous polyps, by 23.2 percent when used in conjunction with a traditional colonoscope.

December 8, 2011 – Accuray, a radiation oncology, company, announced that the company received the Outstanding Innovative Improvement Award for its CyberKnife Robotic Radiosurgery System at the 3rd Annual Employer Healthcare Congress, which took place October 25 – 28, 2011 in Chicago.

December 8, 2011 — A new survey released by the Siemens Radiation Reduction Alliance (SIERRA) reveals awareness and familiarity with medical imaging tests lead to clearer decisions for United States adults about their healthcare. The survey — released at RSNA 2011 — was conducted in response to increased scrutiny over medical imaging scans and the use of radiation.

December 6, 2011 – Heart Imaging Technologies (Heart IT), which pioneered the first U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved zero-footprint medical imaging workstation, and Johns Hopkins Medicine, announced the award of a National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant to enable the inclusion of medical images in the Nationwide Health Information Network (NHIN). The NHIN is a federal initiative of the National Office of the Coordinator for Health Information Technology.

December 6, 2011 — Care to Care, a URAC-accredited radiology benefit management (RBM) company, was recently designated as a Preferred Vendor by the Association of Community Affiliated Plans (ACAP).

December 6, 2011 — The radiation oncology department at Addenbrooke's Hospital (Cambridge, United Kingdom) is upgrading its radiotherapy capabilities with Elekta therapy systems, oncology information systems (OIS) and image guided workspace. The two Elekta Synergy image guided radiation therapy (IGRT) systems replace one Siemens and one Varian linear accelerator that had been in service for more than 10 years at the medical center. The facility is run by the Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.