According to the KLAS report Clinical Market Share 2013: More than Meaningful Use, Cerner Corporation and Epic Systems combined captured more than three-fourths of new large-hospital electronic medical records (EMR) contracts, while the other vendors struggled to keep pace.

The Alzheimer's Association is disappointed by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) decision to allow only Coverage with Evidence Development (CED) for an Alzheimer's imaging test that would improve diagnostic accuracy and certainty in challenging cases. When used in specific populations, as outlined in criteria developed by the Alzheimer's Association and the Society for Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI), this tool has the potential to help identify amyloid in the brain, a hallmark of Alzheimer's disease, and resolve distressing medical uncertainty.

The Arthritis Foundation awarded $1 million to the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City, University of California-San Francisco (UCSF) and Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. to validate the use of new magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques and newly identified biomarkers.

At RSNA 2013, GE will continue to demonstrate its innovations in low dose and high image quality in computed tomography (CT) imaging. The Discovery CT750 HD is the world's first high definition CT (HDCT), built with GE's exclusive Gemstone detector FREEdom Technologies. This allows for intelligent motion correction to “freeze” coronary motion, enhance coronary visualization and obtain additional information on plaque material composition. New this year is kV Assist, which provides optimized personalized scan settings and applications with automated kV and mA selection. kV Assist combined with SnapShot Assist deliver the desired image quality at the lowest possible dose and workflow optimizations for efficient cardiac CT.

Independent global research organization Frost & Sullivan honored Barco, a healthcare imaging solutions company, with the 2013 North American Product Line Strategy Award in Diagnostic Imaging Displays at the 2013 Growth, Innovation & Leadership Awards on Sept. 9, 2013 in San Jose, Calif. The award recognized Barco for delivering excellence and best practices in the North American diagnostic image displays market.

The North Shore-LIJ Health System Department of Radiation Medicine presented a study to evaluate the reliability of different systems used by caregivers to assess toxicity for patients receiving radiation therapy at the 55th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Therapeutic Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).

Proton therapy is the most advanced radiation technique available. Unfortunately, access to proton therapy is limited due to the low number of proton therapy centers. Research institutes and hospitals are now frequently investing in proton therapy to make it more accessible to patients.