Based on its ongoing analysis of the medical imaging market, Frost & Sullivan recognizes Toshiba America Medical Systems, Inc. with the 2015 North American Frost & Sullivan Award for Medical Imaging Company of the Year. The company has changed the way it approaches the imaging market by offering scalable, upgradable technologies and a patient-focused view of partnerships. This value-based approach positions the company for continued success in the medical imaging market by allowing it to re-orient many of its imaging customers away from a cyclical sales model and toward deeper, more renewable strategic partnerships.

One life-threatening complication of lung cancer surgery is the formation of blood clots in the lungs (also called pulmonary embolism, PE) or in the legs (also known as deep vein thrombosis, DVT). Together, they would be defined as venous thromboembolic events (VTE). Several presentations at AATS 2015 shed new light on this serious problem. In the first prospective study of its kind, the incidence of VTE was found to be higher than previously reported, with a 5.4 percent VTE-specific mortality rate. Of concern to clinicians, most events were asymptomatic and occurred after patients were discharged from the hospital. The second report highlights the importance of screening for VTEs, especially since the majority of lower extremity VTEs found after pneumonectomy would have gone undiagnosed and untreated without screening. The third report describes a risk assessment tool for VTEs that is applied for the first time to predict an individual’s risk of VTEs after lung cancer surgery, which can help clinicians decide whether prolonged anti-clotting therapy is warranted.

Proton Partners International Limited announced the appointment of global partners in its plans to build three proton beam therapy centers in the U.K. Partner organizations will provide state-of-the-art clinical equipment and technology solutions to the company.

The American College of Radiology (ACR) announced its support for the Diagnostic Imaging Services Access Protection Act (H.R. 2043) which seeks to prospectively repeal the existing 25 percent Multiple Procedure Payment Reduction (MPPR) applied to Medicare reimbursement. The MPPR is applied for interpretation of advanced diagnostic imaging scans performed on the same patient, in the same session, on the same day.

Ultrasound has become an essential tool for diagnostic and procedural uses in the critical care environment. The May issue of Anesthesia & Analgesia outlines a new set of basic ultrasound learning skills developed specifically for use in anesthesiology-critical care medicine (ACCM) training programs.