May 16, 2011 - Varian Medical Systems and Augmenix announced they reached an agreement under which Varian will make a $15 million minority equity investment in Augmenix. The company is developing hydrogel products to improve outcomes in radiation oncology.

May 10, 2011 – A simple blood test may help prevent a serious complication associated with a contrast agent commonly used in MRI exams, according to a study published in the July issue of Radiology.

May 10, 2011 – Thirty Society of Nuclear Medicine (SNM) members visited Capitol Hill on May 2 to meet with congressional offices on a variety of issues facing the nuclear medicine and molecular imaging community. Forty-eight meetings were held with staff members from key congressional committees and from the local districts of the SNM members.

May 9, 2011 - Initial findings from the SAVI Collaborative Research Project (SCRP), on SAVI radiation therapy for breast cancer, were presented at the recent annual meeting of the American Brachytherapy Society (ABS).

May 6, 2011 – Naviscan has entered into a distribution agreement with Tecnologie Avanzate s.r.l. to market and service Naviscan’s high-resolution, organ-specific PET scanner in Italy. The agreement represents the introduction of PEM (Positron Emission Mammography), the scanner’s breast application, as a new tool available to Italian women in their fight against breast cancer.

May 6, 2011 – Two articles in the June issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine make a case for maintaining current U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) regulations on the release of patients who undergo radioactive iodine treatments for thyroid cancer, known as I-131 therapy. Currently, the NRC recommends outpatient treatment for patients receiving radioactive iodine after total or near-total thyroidectomy.

May 6, 2011 – Functionality in the echo ultrasound market drives satisfaction as providers push the bounds of what the technology can do to treat an increasing number of patients at risk for cardiovascular disease. Vendors have responded to these demands with new systems and new technology over the last couple of years.