February 1, 2018 – HeartFlow announced that seven new commercial payers issued positive medical policies covering the use of the HeartFlow FFRct (fractional flow reserve computed tomography) Analysis following a coronary computed tomography angiogram (CCTA).

February 1, 2018 — Breast cancer patients may be at increased risk of cardiovascular diseases including heart failure and may benefit from a treatment approach that weighs the benefits of specific therapies against potential damage to the heart, according to a new scientific statement from the American Heart Association (AHA).

February 1, 2018 — Carestream Health earned top ratings from healthcare IT and radiology professionals for its Carestream Vue Motion universal viewer, according to KLAS, an independent research organization that monitors healthcare vendor performance.

February 1, 2018 – Apollo Hospitals, Asia´s foremost integrated healthcare provider, has selected RayStation for a new proton therapy center in Chennai – the first such facility in India. The center will be equipped with IBA’s Proteus PLUS treatment delivery system in a multi-room configuration. The setup will comprise two gantry treatment rooms and one fixed-beam treatment room, each fitted with advanced pencil beam scanning and cone beam computed tomography (CT) technology.

Zebra Technologies Corp. announced the results of its Future of Healthcare: 2022 Hospital Vision Study, revealing the impact of mobile technology use in acute care hospitals. The research — which incorporates feedback from nursing managers, information technology (IT) decision-makers and patients — offers a perspective from the front-line of patient care. It also highlights the transformational power clinical mobility is expected to have on global health services within the next five years.

January 31, 2018 — Varian Medical Systems announced it has signed an agreement to acquire all the outstanding shares of Sirtex Medical Ltd., an Australia-based global life sciences company focused on interventional oncology therapies. Sirtex is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange, for A$28 per share in cash. On a fully diluted basis, this represents a total equity purchase price for the acquisition of approximately A$1,585M (approximately US$1,283M).

Researchers used machine learning techniques, including natural language processing algorithms, to identify clinical concepts in radiologist reports for computed tomography (CT) scans, according to a new study. The study was conducted at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and published in the journal Radiology. The technology is an important first step in the development of artificial intelligence (AI) that could interpret scans and diagnose conditions.

Cybersecurity Threats in Medical Imaging

The year 2017 underscored the importance of strong cybersecurity practices in an increasingly connected world, as major cyberattacks like WannaCry made headlines around the globe for the number of people and businesses they touched. WannaCry in particular caused major ripples as it targeted various industries, including healthcare. Major health systems in the U.S. and Europe found their data held hostage when the ransomware swept through their systems last May. But data was not the only target in this widespread attack — several hospitals found the attackers were able to get into their medical devices as well.
The Future of Radiation Oncology

https://www.itnonline.com/channel/radiation-therapyTechnological and scientific advances in radiation oncology are allowing practitioners to put patients first in profound new ways. So exciting are these advances that the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) themed its 2017 annual meeting, Sept. 24-27 in San Diego, “The Healing Art and Science of Radiation Oncology,” and centered the meeting on discussions about value-based care and patient perspectives. In a conversation with Imaging Technology News, David Beyer, M.D., then chair of ASTRO’s board of directors, identified the three biggest thought trends in radiation oncology right now, as well as what ASTRO is doing to increase the value of radiation oncology for patients and bring the practice to the forefront of the cancer treatment field.
RSNA 2017 Highlights Latest Trends in Digital Radiography

If there was a theme to digital radiography (DR) advances in 2017, it might have been “upgrade now or be left behind.” The first of the year saw the inception of the federal Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) of 2016, which among its many provisions imposed a significant reimbursement penalty (20 percent) on Medicare claims for imaging exams done with screen film X-ray systems. As of this year, the law adds a 7 percent reduction for computed radiography (CR) exams that increases to 10 percent in 2023. The penalties are meant to further encourage providers and hospitals to modernize their imaging inventory as healthcare as a whole looks to become more efficient while maintaining good patient outcomes.
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