A&T Inc. today announced it has signed a three-year optical and data services contract with California Advanced Imaging Medical Associates (CAIMA), a radiology practice serving the leading hospitals in the western San Francisco Bay Area and throughout the United States, in which AT&T will serve as the primary provider of data and networking services.

The medical imaging community was stunned Monday when Congress adjourned for the year before making adjustments to the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. DRA provisions that cut Medicare reimbursement for outpatient imaging procedures will take effect as mandated on Jan. 1.

Congress failed to act on two bills that would have delayed the DRA's technical component cuts for outpatient imaging services for at least two years, pending a federal study into the impact of the cuts on access to care.

Earlier this year, bird flu panic was in full swing: The French feared for their foie gras, the Swiss locked their chickens indoors, and Americans enlisted prison inmates in Alaska to help spot infected wild birds.

The H5N1 virus — previously confined to Southeast Asia — was striking birds in places as diverse as Germany, Egypt, and Nigeria, and a flu pandemic seemed inevitable.

Then the virus went quiet. Except for a steady stream of human cases in Indonesia, the current flu epicenter, the past year's worries about a catastrophic global outbreak largely disappeared.

Epix Pharmaceuticals Inc. announced that results from a Phase IIa clinical trial of EP-2104R found that the imaging agent was able to detect blood clots not previously seen on MRI and enhanced images previously seen.

Researchers in Atlanta have engineered a computer program to help cardiac surgeons optimize surgical procedures before they enter the OR. The image-based surgical-planning software lets surgeons manipulate a 3-D computer model of a patient's heart, using computational fluid dynamics to run a blood-flow simulation displaying how well the modified heart will perform.

New research published in the Nov. 21 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology continues to advance the understanding of how whole-heart coronary MRI can be used to detect heart disease.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has authorized the nonprofit Certification Commission for Healthcare Information Technology to expand its certification scope of work for ambulatory electronic health record products to begin addressing some medical specialties and specialized care settings.

Integrated Medical Systems International Inc., a Birmingham-based company, has developed the country’s first platform that focuses on instrument readiness, addressing the pains and frustrations expressed by hospital surgical staff and the need for surgical instruments to be ready when they are ready to operate.

VisEn Medical Inc. has entered into a joint research program to expand the capabilities and accelerate the adoption of in vivo fluorescence technologies in Eli Lilly and Co.'s research and development programs. Lilly has been working with VisEn’s portfolio of in vivo fluorescence probes and Fluorescence Molecular Tomography imaging systems as part of its new molecular imaging center and preclinical development programs.

Siemens Medical Solutions and Accuray Inc. have announced a collaborative agreement to develop advanced imaging and software solutions for use in radiosurgery and radiotherapy as part of their plan to offer additional radiosurgery solutions to healthcare providers worldwide.

The two companies will focus on the integration and optimization of Siemens CT imaging technology and Accuray’s CyberKnife Robotic Radiosurgery System. They will also work towards integrating Accuray’s advanced targeting techniques into Siemens radiotherapy product line.

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