July 17, 2008 — The American College of Radiology (ACR) has been awarded a three-year contract from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to serve as the accrediting organization for all VA hospital radiation oncology facilities nationwide.

The 33 VA facilities will go through the ACR accreditation process over the next three years.

July 16, 2008 - As an authorized NCR reseller, Siemens will now offer the NCR MediKiosk self-service check-in solution that allows patients to identify themselves upon arrival at the facility, view and confirm demographic and insurance information, electronically sign consent documents and make co-payments, to its customer base in North America
NCR is a global leader in self-service solutions across multiple industries, including healthcare, where its products and services help enhance the patient experience.

July 16, 2008 - Earlier this week, the FDA released a notification that the X-rays used during a CT examination may cause some implanted and external electronic medical devices to malfunction.

The devices include cardiac pacemakers, defibrillators, neurostimulators, external drug infusion pumps, cochlear implants and retinal implants.

July, 16, 2008 - American Medical Sales Inc. announced it took orders for an additional 19 PACS sites from its distributor network during May and June of 2008.

These orders consisted of products from both AMS' MIDAS line of mid-sized PACS solutions and its PACS-in-a-BOX products designed for private practices and imaging centers. A number of end-users are also upgrading to include some of AMS' imaging tools, such as the OsteoGram bone density testing software and TraumaCad orthopedic templating software.

July 15, 2008 - The Ranger Irrigation Fluid Warming System from Arizant Healthcare is said to offer the high-volume delivery of warmed fluids required by demanding urology, gynecology or orthopedic procedures while providing true temperature control � reportedly eliminating the potential cool down of fluid bags removed hours earlier from the warmer.

The system�s dry heat technology also addresses concerns about water in the O.R. and the potential sources of nosocomial pathogens associated with water bath-based warmers.