|
|
|
Archives
| Archives |
- The Hospital’s Crystal Ball
DAIC: What are some of the scenarios — decisions or investments — in which a hospital might want to
consider doing a simulation model first?
Rainer Dronzek: It can really span from upfront in the facility design to when they are actually designing the processes that go into the facility — then there is the actual operational aspect. In many... [ more ] - Hemostasis Management: Walking the Line
Technological advancements over the years have forced most OR methods used in 1964 into dusty, old history books and museums.
But there’s one test that is still the most widely used in hemostasis management — one that monitors high-dose heparin during surgeries that require intense anticoagulation measures, keeping patients balanced on the fine... [ more ] - Mobile Computing Workstations: The Paperless Trail
Electronic medical information improves patient safety by providing immediate and complete access to complex patient information. Having access to information reduces medical errors — yet three decades have elapsed since the electronic medical record (EMR) was first conceived and 16 years have passed since the Institute of Medicine's report... [ more ] - Noninvasive Blood Pressure Monitors: Considerations for Intensive Care Patients
Blood pressure measurement is a given for patients in the hospital, but for surgical or critically ill patients — in operating rooms, surgical recovery rooms, intensive care units, emergency departments and other critical care areas — frequent or continual blood pressure is imperative.
Due to the acuity of these patients' conditions and speed... [ more ] - Hemodynamic Monitoring: Hospital Information Technology and Intensive Care: An Inseparable Duet
Intensive care units are highly dependent on the efficient transfer of physiological data to multiple healthcare providers. In the delivery of healthcare in 2006 there exists a strong rationale for a tight relationship between critical care and information technology (Celi, Hassan, Marquardt, Breslow, & Rosenfeld, 2001).
First and foremost is... [ more ] - Infection Control: The Bug that Bounced Back
It’s like a never-ending battle — that’s how Lena Napolitano, M.D., describes the recent and sharp rise in nosocomial methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections.
The professor in the department of surgery at the University of Michigan said MRSA is now the most frequent cause of hospital-acquired pneumonia and surgical wound... [ more ] - Cardiac CT — aka the Miracle Modality — Offers Another Diagnostic Breakthrough, But Don’t Get Too Positive Yet
I only just heard the term “positive remodeling” for the first time last fall, and I assumed it was something, well, positive, like a self-mending process of some sort. But in the cardiac context of arterial remodeling, which refers to the build-up of plaque in the coronary arteries, positive remodeling is the worse of two types.
Some six... [ more ] - Like New for Less
As costs continue to soar for the medical community, health professionals are looking for ways to save money while not jeopardizing the quality of the healthcare they deliver to patients.
One way medical centers and hospitals can keep costs down is through the purchase and application of refurbished imaging equipment.
Major equipment... [ more ] - OEM Refurbished Equipment — An Economical Solution Without Clinical Restrictions
Although healthcare budgets are tight, needs are expanding. Clinical facilities are continuously looking for ways to keep their budgets intact when purchasing medical equipment, without sacrificing quality and reliability, and while still offering their patients the quality of care they deserve. One solution that is increasingly emerging is... [ more ] - Equal Opportunity Disease
Women's heart health continues to grow as an awareness topic among the general public, and behind the scenes physicians and medical companies are working furiously not only to determine the difference between male and female cardiology, but to find better ways to prevent, diagnose and treat cardiac disease.
According to the American Heart... [ more ] - Devices Help Docs Keep the Beat
One of the highest priorities for physicians who diagnose and treat heart failure conditions is to keep their patients stable and out of the hospital. To accomplish this, they choose from a wide variety of event monitoring devices that serve specific purposes and enable doctors to skillfully embark on a well-navigated journey of therapy.
A... [ more ] - CT Puts a Positive Spin on Coronary Remodeling
In the microscopic world of arterial plaque, the only positive thing about positive remodeling is that physicians can visualize it — now noninvasively with multislice detector computed tomography (MDCT) — and treat it before it strikes with deadly force. But early detection of positively remodeled plaque, or the atherosclerotic thickening of... [ more ] - Got Sim?
What do you think of when you hear the word simulation? Probably the first thing that comes to mind is flight simulation, where pilots and pilots-in-training learn how to fly. Simulation has been used over the years, most recognizably, for flight and combat; however, a new area in which simulation technology has taken hold is medicine.
Medical... [ more ] - Robots With Heart
Minimally-invasive surgery has proven to be safer, requires a shorter hospital stay and is cosmetically preferred over conventional surgery because the incisions are much smaller.
But while procedures such as a laparoscopic cholecystectomy (gall bladder removal) have become commonplace since the 1980s, cardiothoracic surgeons have largely... [ more ] - Exploring Answers to the Thrombosis Conundrum
Are drug-eluting stents destined to fail?
In Part 1 of this investigation, the connection of DES and thrombogenicity was raised, and this perplexing drawback was explored, in part, through the views of 2005 ACC presenter Renue Virmani, M.D., FACC, medical director at CVPath. She asserts that the culprit in DES-related thrombosis is likely the... [ more ] - The Artificial Heart of Texas
Give a highly ranked research and teaching facility access to cutting-edge technology, and the results could be death defying.
At least that’s true for the Texas Heart Institute (THI) of St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital (Houston, TX) and its research with the latest in percutaneous left ventricular assist devices.
Mortality rates have been cut by... [ more ] - More Clinical Data at Your Fingertips
A trend is emerging in cardiovascular image and information systems designed for the cath lab and was apparent on the exhibit floor of ACC.06, the 55th Annual Scientific Sessions of the American College of Cardiology, in March.
Leading-edge manufacturers are emphasizing a new dimension to systems that already offer doctors a broad spectrum of... [ more ] - Movies, Money and Magnets
Ah, money, money, money — the Frankenstein monster that destroys souls.”
It’s one of many oddball lines from the zany 1930s Carole Lombard and William Powell comedy, “My Man Godfrey,” but it rings true for physicians and other clinicians who know all too well how money has often got healthcare by the throat.
Sometimes that’s evident in... [ more ] - Harnessing the Power of HIT
It struck me the other day that while thousands of healthcare information technology (HIT) executives flock to San Diego for the HIMSS 06 annual conference and exhibition, it’s quite conceivable that thousands of cardiologists are unaware of the important meetings and showcased technologies that will comprise the five-day convention beginning... [ more ] - A Guiding Power
Magnetic navigation technology to direct and digitally control catheter and guidewire devices along complex paths within the heart and coronary vasculature has been evolving since 1990, and magnetic navigation was first employed in a cardiac clinical trial in early 2001 at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis.
But in 2003, magnetic navigation... [ more ] - Contrast-Induced Nephropathy: A Real and Present Danger
Novelists and playwrights might call it a cruel irony — heroes who succumb to the powers of evil, true love tragically divided or a good deed that results in suffering. A similarly unjust twist of fate occurs in the cardiologist’s world when, perhaps a day or two following a successful percutaneous intervention (PCI), the patient is afflicted... [ more ] - Building a Blood Vessel
Coronary bypass surgery, a difficult and painful way to repair major damage caused by coronary artery disease, may be on its way out — and it’s a long time coming for researchers like Douglas Losordo, M.D.
After all, he’s spent the past 10 years looking into the possibilities of adult stem cell therapy as a viable alternative to the procedure.... [ more ] - 64-Slice CVCT Identifies Early Silent Graft Occlusions
An asymptomatic 75-year-old woman with a history of coronary artery disease, angioplasty, coronary artery bypass grafting, hypertension and hyperlipidemia was referred for 64-slice cardiovascular computed tomography (CVCT) three months post bypass. A Persantine myocardial perfusion study had been conducted one week prior to CVCT to assess graft... [ more ] - Creating the Cardiologist’s Cockpit
What factors are driving increased adoption of healthcare information technology, otherwise known as HIT?
Clinical IT and technology in general are getting a lot of focus from the government, from the industry, from clinicians — and the drive to make healthcare safer is what's driving overall growth of clinical IT and technology adoption.
What... [ more ] - Thrombosis Link to DES Polymers Taints Stenting’s Rosy Picture
The drug-eluting stent (DES) market is a multibillion dollar business in the U.S. — and it's estimated that over three million people have received DES worldwide since their approval, representing over 4.5 million DES implantations.
Today, there are two DES devices on the market: Cypher by Cordis, a Johnson & Johnson company, and Taxus by... [ more ] - Taking the Reins
Beginning April 1, Terumo officially launches its own, full-scale marketing and sales program for all its products in the U.S. — including the flagship Glidewire catheter line — which have formerly been sold under the Boston Scientific name. Diagnostic & Invasive Cardiology wanted to know how this change will impact cardiologists and all... [ more ] - Clinician Input, Project Management are the ‘Secret Sauce’ for an All-Digital Facility
It’s not uncommon for a cardiologist at University Community Hospital (UCH) in Tampa to walk about two miles to get his job done — that’s not walking to work, but walking at work. But these doctors — now burning valuable time and energy to find and view images and patient data from one lab and department to another — are about to take a quantum... [ more ] - Electrophysiology: A New View on Cardiac Ablation
It's almost like taking a stab in the dark, but ablating one or more arrythmias within the human heart is a moment when accuracy is everything and error is irreversible. Which is why visualization during cardiac ablation is one of the greatest challenges for the electrophysiologist performing the procedure.
Animal testing at the University of... [ more ] - Artists on the Fly
As a professor of surgery and the director of a mitral valve clinic that performs 300 to 400 valve repairs each year (the average for most clinics is 10), all while planning a major departmental move, it’s a wonder how Steven Bolling, M.D., has time to sleep at night.
Yet amidst seminars, surgeries and moving boxes he was able to co-invent a... [ more ] - Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators
Although implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) have been around for nearly 20 years, they gained notoriety in 2001 when Vice President Dick Cheney became a high-profile patient who underwent the implantation procedure. A Saturday Evening Post headline read: “An Emergency Room in Your Chest,” and rumor had it that the the vice... [ more ] - ER Imaging: Don’t Rule Out Multislice CT in the ED
Chest pain is a common complaint among ED patients, yet failure to diagnose acute myocardial infarction in the trauma unit occurs in as many as 20 percent of cases, according to some estimates.
Serious conditions that are occasionally misdiagnosed in the ED include: acute myocardial infarction, stroke, pulmonary embolism, meningitis and... [ more ] - Continuous Blood-Glucose Monitoring: Unplugging the Possibilities for Critical Care Patients
Sugar, the sweet touch of every taste, could make some lives quite sour. Recent studies have shown a direct correlation between blood sugar level and survival rate of critically ill patients.
A study published in the December issue of Mayo clinic proceedings on blood-sugar levels in 1,826 intensive care unit patients showed that hyperglycemia... [ more ] - Hand-Held Technologies: Less is More: Tiny Tools Revolutionize Patient Care
For most of us, handheld devices put the “fun” in functional. In the medical world, these tools do much more — they help save lives.
Medical professionals are increasingly demanding mobile access to vital patient information. For busy physicians the benefits of handheld devices, such as PDAs, extend beyond the convenience of appointment... [ more ] - Unplugging the Possibilities for Critical Care Patients
Sugar, the sweet touch of every taste, could make some lives quite sour. Recent studies have shown a direct correlation between blood sugar level and survival rate of critically ill patients.
A study published in the December issue of Mayo clinic proceedings on blood-sugar levels in 1,826 intensive care unit patients showed that hyperglycemia... [ more ] - Good as New?
Even a representative from one of the nation’s leading single-use device (SUD) reprocessors says he understands the support behind a patient consent bill recently introduced in Massachusetts.
In fact, Don Selvey believes most Americans would say “yes” if asked, point blank, whether they would prefer to be informed before an SUD is reused on... [ more ] - Ventilator Automation
When mechanical ventilation is initiated for surgical and acute-unit patients, protecting the fragile lungs while assisting or performing the respiratory function is paramount. Developments in automation of ventilators today largely facilitate important aspects of airway management and support clinical decision-making, but the skill and... [ more ] - Especially, says HRS, when ICD malfunction is involved
The day our May issue went to press, April 26, the Heart Rhythm Society held a telebriefing for the media to announce release of its draft policy recommendations for pacemaker and ICD performance. Final guidelines are expected to be published in the October issue of Heart Rhythm Journal, but I believe highlighting some of Dr. Anne Curtis’... [ more ] - Pioneering in Pediatrics
For some people, a new life focus is waiting just around the corner.
For Jerry Brody, it was there for 30 years — he used to drive past Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland (CHRCO) (Oakland, CA) on the way to work every day as a chemical engineer for Chevron. He also took his three children to the hospital for check-ups when they were... [ more ] - DES Grabs Spotlight at Europe’s Big Interventional Meeting
Author’s Note: EuroPCR definitely has its own flare. The meeting combined education, exhibits and divertissement.
As meetings go, EuroPCR 2006 was definitely different than meetings that take place in the U.S. Drug-eluting stents (DES) dominated the coronary sessions. To put things into perspective, each year EuroPCR organizers collect data... [ more ] - Closing in on Vascular Hemostasis
In the cardiac cath lab, success is measured in part by how quickly the patient can ambulate and go home.
With the volume of diagnostic procedures on the rise, hospitals need to get patients through the lab and out the door in a timely manner, according to Paul Buckman, president of St. Jude Medical’s cardiology division. Vascular closure... [ more ] - What’s the Passcode to Long-Term SFA Patency?
Unlike coronary occlusions that are short and small in diameter, occlusions of the superficial femoral arteries (SFAs) tend to be long and large. Nevertheless, recanalizing these occlusions can be a daunting task, and if left untreated, can lead to serious problems for the patient.
According to a paper published in the Journal of... [ more ] - My PACS is Your PACS
A blur has occurred in the very place doctors would normally associate with absolute clarity. An overlapping of departmental PACS has occurred, both in how doctors use them on the front end and what the systems actually are on the back end. And whereas radiology and cardiology departments may once have controlled distinct systems for accessing,... [ more ] - The Country Cath Lab
When Russ Johnson looks out the windows of San Luis Valley Regional Medical Center he surveys an area of unmatched beauty and natural wonder. His six-county domain in Colorado, southwest of Pueblo, is the size of six states each the size of New Jersey — yet home to fewer than 50,000.
What he wants for Christmas is a cath lab he can call his... [ more ] - P.O.C. Technology Enables Fast Analysis for Cardiac Patients
Having the most up-to-date blood gas readings is critical when dealing with many patients, especially pulmonary and cardiovascular ones. Equipment that allows a patient's levels to be checked on the spot by the caregiver is seen as an important technological advancement.
The measuring of a patient's oxygenation, electrolytes and metabolites,... [ more ] - Asymptomatic Screening: ‘Thinking Outside the Box’ or ‘Putting the Cart Before the Horse?’
Frustrated over healthcare's “failure” to deter the growth of cardiac disease while holding many valuable, predictive tools in their hands, leading physicians take a stand with published report. The SHAPE task force recommends widespread screening with multislice cardiac CT scanning and carotid ultrasound.
CT scanning and carotid ultrasound... [ more ] - This is No Time to Get Cheap
At a pivotal time of advancement in cardiovascular imaging, diagnostics, interventions and therapies, a time when specialty heart hospitals are forming to combat the deadliest disease in America, the federal purse strings are about to be pulled a little tighter in 2007, and rules for these types of narrowly focused hospitals are going to be more... [ more ] - Beyond Business as Usual
New technologies adopted by cardiologists not only improve patient care but expand the role of these physicians. Whether it's stenting a carotid artery or viewing real-time ultrasound images at the bedside, today's cardiologist can solve more problems than just those of the heart.
And as newer technologies and procedures gain wider acceptance,... [ more ] - Top Medical Center’s CVIS Now Handles Echo Management
Situated in America’s heartland, St. Elizabeth Regional Medical Center is a healthcare leader for metro Lincoln, NE. It has been rated one of the Top 100 Hospitals by Solucient two of the past three years and recognized as a Magnet hospital by the American Nurses Credentialing Center for excellence in nursing.
St. Elizabeth’s approach is... [ more ] - Novel Technology May Prevent Contrast-Induced Nephropathy, Cardiorenal Syndrome
Targeted Renal Therapy (TRT) with the Benephit CV Infusion System from FlowMedica Inc. is an alternative to systemic intravenous (IV) infusion of medications to address kidney dysfunction related to a number of conditions. TRT is a novel technology that enables the infusion of medications and other therapeutic agents directly into the kidneys... [ more ] - Paving the Way for CT Angiography
The practice of cardiology is going through incredible changes. With more cardiologists interpreting CT data, they are learning new and innovative ways to quickly and more effectively evaluate, diagnose and treat patients in a specialty where time is of the essence.
The Minneapolis Heart Institute (MHI) is leading the way in CTA by utilizing... [ more ] - CRT Offers Greater Survival Rates, Fewer Complications
Five million Americans are affected by heart failure and approximately 400,000 new cases in the U.S. are diagnosed each year, according to the Heart Failure Society of America — that figure quadruples globally, and many do not know they have a heart failure condition until they are hospitalized.
Today, new devices are commercially available... [ more ] - Live at TCT: Latest Interventional Devices Take Centerstage
While enormous pressure may be the norm for cardiac surgeons, the stakes are particularly high when the life of a former U.S. president is on the line. And when Bill Clinton underwent quadruple bypass surgery in 2004, all eyes were on the heart specialists at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital in New York City.
The fact that, two years later,... [ more ] - Cartoid Artery Stenting: Competitors Unite, Patients Win
The long-standing standard of care for patients with carotid artery disease was surgery and/or medical management. In August 2004, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration changed all that when it approved the first carotid stenting system, called the RX ACCULINK Carotid Artery Stent System and RX ACCUNET Embolic Protection System by Guidant.
By... [ more ] - Vascular Assist Devices: Give It a Rest
Dead is dead — everyone knows it, especially physicians. And what’s dead can’t be recovered; or can it?
Startling developments in heart research, combined with a growing body of evidence that demonstrates heart recovery potential through mechanical left ventricular devices, are creating a change in the way doctors understand and treat stunned,... [ more ] - The Warming Explosion
It may seem like a simple concept, but the importance of properly controlled patient temperature is still surprising clinicians in the OR today. In fact, the inventor of Bair Hugger forced-air warming — the first system of its kind and now an industry standard — believes the medical community is on the verge of an “explosion” in new products and... [ more ] - WEB EXCLUSIVE: Heart Trek - NASA Researchers Look for Link
Two of the six astronauts from the shuttle mission Atlantis became part of an ongoing cardiovascular study at NASA about four hours after the shuttle landed at the Johnson Space Center early last Friday morning. Imaging their hearts — both pre- and post-flight — with Philips’ iE33, 3-D echocardiography system, investigators for the ongoing... [ more ] - Accurate, Timely Chemistry Analysis, From Office to Urgent Care Settings
The genesis of the Abaxis Piccolo technology began with NASA, where scientists sought to develop and manufacture a small biochemical analyzer for use in space laboratories. Abaxis acquired the exclusive patent rights and developed an analyzer that was capable of performing multiple blood chemistry tests based on centrifugal and capillary... [ more ] - NAVA - A New Generation in Respiratory Therapy
Intensive Care Units around the world have been providing their patients with mechanical ventilation for the past 30 years, ever since the first electronic ventilator technology appeared in the early seventies. And ventilation therapy, irregardless of mode, has been delivered in the same manner — a clinician has regulated the pressures and... [ more ] - Perioperative Ventilation Strategies
Many advances have occurred in mechanical ventilators in recent years and these newer technologies are beginning to be incorporated into anesthesia ventilators. This has reduced the differences between intensive care ventilators and anesthesia ventilators. Among the advances are advanced ventilator modes (e.g., pressure-controlled ventilation... [ more ] - POC Technology Enables Fast Analysis for Cardiac Patients
Having the most up-to-date blood gas readings is critical when dealing with many patients, especially pulmonary and cardiovascular ones. Equipment that allows a patient's levels to be checked on the spot by the caregiver is seen as an important technological advancement.
The measuring of a patient's oxygenation, electrolytes and metabolites,... [ more ] - Stroke Volume Variation A Key Asset in Fluid Therapy
Our anesthesia department was searching for a more accurate means of assessing volume status and predicting the response to fluid administration in this patient population. This population can be very challenging during vascular, trauma orthopedic, thoracic, general surgical and obstetric procedures.
Prior to FloTrac (Edwards Lifesciences, LLC... [ more ] - Monitoring Innovations Pave the Way in OR and Beyond
Patient monitoring technologies have played a crucial role in the development of anesthesiology practice within the U.S. Because anesthesiology involves many inherent risks that are difficult, if not impossible, to eliminate, anesthesiologists often turn to advanced patient monitoring technologies to ensure safety during a procedure. It’s no... [ more ] - An Exciting Development in Continuous Cardiac Output
Acuity Care Technology: Hemodynamic monitoring is obviously an essential tool in the care of critically ill patients, but has something been missing with the technology?
Dr. McGee: From a perspective of the ICU there is always something lacking because for most patients we are doing a kind of very rudimentary monitoring of just vital signs and... [ more ] - Stopping Errors at ‘The Pointy End of the Stick’
A nurse hangs another IV bag and prepares to hit the start button on the infusion pump — she’s entering 15 cc’s and as she taps the numbers in, she believes her entry for the number 5 didn’t take, so she hits it again and begins the intravenous infusion into her patient.
She leaves the room. The pump has been programmed at 155 cc’s because she... [ more ] - Heart Central
If its cancer care, emergency medicine, pediatric and maternal-fetal medicine specialties keep Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital (RWJUH) in New Brunswick at the forefront of nationally recognized hospitals, its heart center is what keeps it pumping.
The Heart Center of New Jersey, a 225-bed hospital-within-a-hospital, has excelled in... [ more ] - Cardiac EMR Implementation Requires Strategic Planning
An old alliterative says that prior planning prevents poor performance. This is particularly true for cardiology practices considering the adoption of electronic medical record (EMR) technology, according to a speaker at the Towards the Electronic Patient Record (TEPR) conference in Baltimore [in May].
"You need a detailed knowledge of who you... [ more ] - Smart, Portable Devices Give Doctors a Helping Hand
The emergence of ultra portable computing technology and the availability of new communication modalities such as Wi-Fi have taken the practice of medicine to a new level. Allowing healthcare professionals to remotely access information not only at the point of care, but also outside the hospital improves efficiencies. Physicians no longer... [ more ] - Physicians Train to Become CTA Experts
Training physicians, especially cardiac specialists, has taken on an increasingly critical role. With more cardiologists, cardiovascular surgeons and vascular surgeons interpreting CT data, the need for proper training has increased exponentially in recent years.
CVCTA Education, based in San Francisco, CA, has embraced the need to train... [ more ] - Stepping Inside the World of 3-D Medical Visualization
Photos of medical images produced from a new 3-D volume rendering software have the appearance of something from a “Star Trek” episode, but this virtual reality system is 100 percent reality and heading for the European healthcare market place.
Scientists at Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands, have developed I-space,... [ more ] - Preparing for the Worst
What doesn’t kill us, so the saying goes, makes us stronger. Those of us lucky enough to walk away from tragedy with our lives intact — for the most part — have undoubtedly learned important lessons not only about our own mortality but also the most basic human instinct: survival. And in today’s times of crises especially, we’ve learned the key... [ more ] - Here’s a Riddle: What Do You Get When Devices are Suspected of Causing Death? Answer: More Devices. Huh?
The tiny tools of interventional cardiology known as drug-eluting stents (which happen to comprise a gargantuan U.S. market of some $6 billion) are, as everyone knows, the subject of ongoing scrutiny, study and debate.
They’re also at the core of a peculiar healthcare industry paradox.
These days interventionalists have their hands full with... [ more ] - Capnography: Getting the Full Patient Picture, In and Out of OR
Pulse oximetry, which directly monitors the patient's oxygenation, came into its own as standard medical practice 20 years ago. It was about that time that its companion application, capnography, was first introduced to the medical community in the U.S.
Capnography continually and instantaneously monitors a patient's carbon dioxide... [ more ] - A Revolutionary Minimally Invasive Technique to Treat Renal Dysfunction in Critically Ill Patients
One of the major dilemmas faced by clinicians in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is the determination of volume status and the predictability of the response to volume administration. Many of these patients are also hypotensive and in need of hemodynamic assessment. The evaluation of the hemodynamic status is often complicated by body habitus and... [ more ] - Storage & Archive Resources
ATTO Technology Inc.
Amherst, NY | 716-691-1999 | Fax 716-691-9353 | www.attotech.com
BridgeHead Software Inc.
Woburn, MA | 781-939-0780 | Fax: 781-939-5607 | www.bridgeheadsoftware.com
ByCast Inc.
Vancouver BC, Canada | 866-217-6813 | Fax: 604-801-5309 | www.bycast.com
Candelis
Irvine, CA | 800-800-8600 | www.candelis.com... [ more ] - Integration Challenges in the Cath Lab Trenches
"Sometimes," mused Jeffrey Westcott, M.D., a private practice physician with Cardiovascular Consultants of Washington in Seattle, "I think that hospital information technologists don't want their machines to talk to anyone outside the hospital."
That's why he's more than a little frustrated when he can't transfer data from his highly integrated... [ more ] - Digital Dozen
1. Arizona Heart Institute and Hospital (Phoenix, AZ)
Having embraced digital information as a method of patient and physician instruction, Arizona Heart has been fully integrated with Apple iPod technology. For a year the hospital has used iPods loaded with video programs directed toward patient education.
2. Cabrini Medical Center (New... [ more ] - Tech Check
Author’s Note: For this inaugural article I begin with an insider’s look on the “health” of drug-eluting stents and what lies ahead for this much-debated device.
I also introduce two companies that were both started in Israel. In December I was invited to attend the Innovations in Cardiovascular Interventions (ICI) meeting in Tel Aviv. The... [ more ] - It’s a Wide Wired World
There’s no denying it: Whether you’re a gadget geek or a technophobe, technology has invaded your world, both personally and professionally — of course, how you and all of us control and optimize that reality is up to us individually.
I recently read a “60-Minute” feature segment on Yahoo.com called “Working 24/7,” which explored the impact... [ more ] - Predictive Power Minus Radiation’s Punch
A growing trend toward physician preference for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in diagnosing heart disease represents a marked departure from traditional reliance on echocardiography, SPECT and cardiac catheterization. A recently released study by IMV Medical Information Division indicates a shift over the next three years to more... [ more ] - Heart Hospital: Not Skipping a Beat
Status quo is probably not a phrase in Dr. Cynthia Tracy’s professional vocabulary, because, in her daily combat against a disease that’s currently affecting more than two million Americans, good tools and treatment are simply not good enough.
Tracy, M.D., director of Electrophysiology Laboratories at The George Washington University Hospital... [ more ] - Give Me a Break
Like medieval knights in battle, stent-wielding cath-lab doctors arm themselves with heavy and cumbersome lead garments to avoid repeat exposure to radiation when performing traditional angiographic procedures.
“It’s a double-edged sword,” explained Rafael Beyar, M.D., director of Invasive Cardiology at Rambam Medical Center in Haifa, Israel.... [ more ] - Web Exclusive: ISET Recap
Positive AAA Results with Endovascular Approach
Endovascular aortic repair for abdominal aortic aneurysms received a passing grade when compared to traditional open repair. In a review of the first 10 years of use of the endovascular aortic repair at the Jobst Vascular Center, Anthony Comerota, M.D., director of Jobst Vascular Center and... [ more ] - EHR Adoption: Why Everyone’s Not on the Bus, Yet
For all the potential patient safety good that is promised by healthcare’s widespread embracing of electronic health records (EHR), as well as the hoped-for harmony of hospital information systems happily humming a unified tune across vendor brands, the reality of sluggish adoption still plagues the industry. Hospital IT executives continually... [ more ] - Handle with Care: Bariatric Mobility, Equipment and Facility Considerations
The prevalence of obesity in the U.S. is alarming, claiming nearly a third of the nation's adult population, according to the CDC.1 And the negative physical and emotional consequences are sobering: Diabetes, joint degeneration, hypertension, cardiac disease and sleep apnea are among the many serious co-morbidities associated with this disease.... [ more ] - The Need for Speed
Today’s busy emergency departments have an arsenal of imaging tools at their disposal when triaging and diagnosing trauma patients. Increasingly, ED physicians are turning to more sophisticated technologies in addition to proven standbys — such as ultrasound, CR and DR — when diagnosing victims. Modalities can vary from hospital to hospital and... [ more ] - Smoothing the Supply- Chain Speed Bumps
The climate of today's technology landscape within the healthcare arena seems to be changing at an ever-increasing rate. That can be either good news or great news depending on where you are in the need-to-purchase pipeline. Fortunately, for those needing to purchase inventory management systems, the climate will be like taking a trip to the... [ more ] - Making the Connection
Even before the federal government began pushing for universal adoption of electronic health records and the establishment of a nationwide health information network, most hospitals saw the need for systems integration. Being able to access critical patient data at the point of care, at the nurse's station or from remote sites became the... [ more ] - PACS That Won’t Crack Under Pressure
There has been a big buzz circling around the medical community of late about the viability and value of placing PACS into operating rooms (OR) and intensive care units (ICU). Numerous studies have been published in recent years about many of the benefits associated with this newest wave of technology application. One of the most important... [ more ] - A Woman’s Worst Enemy
Three years ago AHA and ACC published Evidence-Based Guidelines for Cardiovascular Disease Prevention in Women, and the document is accessible to anyone online at either www.acc.org or www.americanheart.org — the bottom line is, doctors know that CVD can be prevented. But why, then, are so many women still living in the dark and dying in great... [ more ] - Deadly Connection: Hypothyroidism and Heart Disease
Thyroid hormone has multiple effects on the cardiovascular system. These include increased cardiac contractility, increased cardiac output, decreased systemic vascular resistance and electrophysiological and pro-angiogenic effects.1-4 The cellular and molecular mechanisms that have been proposed for these effects include genomic and non-genomic... [ more ] - Heart Hospital: Broadcasting Live from New Orleans
If there’s one thing physicians at Ochsner Heart & Vascular Institute (OHVI) are not, it’s camera shy. If their in-hospital TV studio isn’t convincing enough, just ask John Reilly, M.D., if he’s ever broadcasted a live procedure before.
“As a matter of fact, just last Friday we broadcasted some live cases to a meeting in Germany,” the associate... [ more ] - Cardiac Ultrasound: Great Big Smarts in Compact Little Machines
Although cardiac ultrasound has been around for many years, the technology is not static. Manufacturers are constantly looking for ways to improve the imaging, make the technology more accessible, affordable and now more portable.
The two most compelling changes in cardiac ultrasound are portability and improved imaging. Historically, one had... [ more ] - Vascular Closure Devices — Closing the Gap Through Innovation
The modern world of medicine has been revolutionized by the inception of minimally invasive interventional techniques. Vascular closure device (VCD) technology is a relatively new technology that has drafted new vistas to drive interventional surgery a step further.
Physicians' awareness and willingness to use new technology plays a vital role... [ more ] - The Reimbursement Landscape for Cardiac CT . . .
Cardiac exams represent only about five percent of all CT procedures, but cardiac CT continues to generate the most interest at manufacturers’ exhibits as seen at the 2006 RSNA Annual Scientific Meeting. The fascination with Cardiovascular Computed Tomography (CVCT) remains high even though full reimbursement is not expected to occur until 2009,... [ more ] - Coronary CT — A Physician’s Perspective
The application of computed tomography in cardiovascular practice has utilized electron beam computed tomography (EBCT) and multidetector computed tomography (MDCT). Both are useful for calcium scoring; however, the superior spatial resolution of MDCT has made it the dominant modality in arterial imaging.
Current generation MDCT has... [ more ] - Bringing Payors On Board: Reimbursement Strategies for Coronary CT Angiography
Coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) has recently made significant technological and clinical advances. Submillimeter slice thickness, increased detectors and reduced acquisition times have multiplied the number of patients that can benefit from noninvasive diagnostic imaging. CCTA presents a cost effective opportunity for early... [ more ] - Get Ready for a Paradigm Shift
Diagnostic cardiology has experienced revolutionary changes over the past five years as a result of coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA). The ability to noninvasively obtain three- dimensional anatomic images of technical quality far superior to catheter angiography has forever altered the diagnostic landscape.
With dramatically... [ more ] - Patient Transport & Transfer: Eliminating That First (Painful) Step
Only a marketing director for stretchers could draw a parallel between a nurse and an auto mechanic.
“Have you ever watched somebody push a stretcher?” asked Don Payerle from Stryker Medical. “They lean into it — kind of like getting an old Chevy going. Once it rolls, it's not nearly as hard to keep going, but the first steps are where they... [ more ] - Reconnecting the Nurse and Patient in the ICU
The sheer number of devices involved in the care of critically ill patients can be staggering and includes ventilators, multiple infusion devices, physiologic monitors, point-of-care testing devices, intermittent compression devices, hypo/hyperthermia units and equipment used for management of clinical information — to mention a few. With this... [ more ] - Caring, Intensely
In the old days of pediatric intensive care at Children's Medical Center of Dayton, parents could be found in the wee hours of the night curled up on two chairs pushed together in order to be close to their critically ill child. But today, the brand new Wallace Critical Care Complex at the Ohio facility offers a fold-out sofa-bed-for-two in all... [ more ] - New Strategies for Retaining Nurses
Among the challenges that face us in healthcare, retaining our best and brightest nurses is close to the top of the list. Nurse turnover is very expensive and seriously impacts the bottom line of every healthcare organization.
It is also very expensive to our patients. When the nurse manager is not able to meet the staffing goals for the care... [ more ] - Mobile Computing: A Nursing Informatics Perspective
Genesis Health System has been dedicated to providing compassionate and quality health services from its inception over 12 years ago. Living up to that mission has required a commitment to information technology.
For the past three years, that commitment to information technology and how the technology improves patient care has resulted in... [ more ] - PET Evens the Score in PET/CT
As in most partnerships, rarely are all things equal. Such is the case with hybrid PET/CT systems, where the vast majority of the improvements have benefited the CT side of the scanner, in particular with increased CT imaging speeds, according to Medhat M. Osman, M.D., Ph.D., at the School of Medicine at St. Louis University. This has left the... [ more ] - Working Smarter in the Cardiology Department
Technological trendsetters within the cardiology arena have been embarking on a path of seamless integration of their information technology platforms for more than a decade. For many, that pathway may have seemed like an endless uphill battle considering the enormous amount of information that is generated within the complex field of... [ more ] - Ultrasound Answers the Call for Right-Now and Get-it-Right Needs of Cardiology
Sometimes it's the smallest things that leave the strongest impression.
Of the dozens of technologies with which I came into contact during ACC07, it was a new device in the Siemens booth that made one of the more distinct marks on my memory: it's the next plane in cardiac ultrasound's evolution into further miniaturization.
The Acuson P10 —... [ more ] - Drug Eluting Stents — The Six Billion Dollar Question
Examples of physicians’ declining use of drug-eluting stents are growing.
According to Dr. Louis Cannon, Cardiac & Vascular Research Center of Northern Michigan, the frequency at which drug-eluting stents are being used to treat patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) has decreased to about 70 percent at his facility. The New York Times... [ more ] - The ICD Registry Today, Valuable Data Tomorrow
In a giant leap forward in ICD patient safety, the American College of Cardiology Foundation (ACCF), in conjunction with the Heart Rhythm Society (HRS), established the National Cardiovascular Data Registry's national ICD Registry in the fall of 2005 to measure ICD patient outcomes and track patient trends. The Registry serves to provide its... [ more ] - Never Fully Cured: Adult Congenital Heart Disease
In the world of cardiologists who treat adults with congenital heart disease, the unusual is not so very unusual and the rare is fairly commonplace. Take Wendy Book, M.D., for example — this week she might meet for the first time a patient presenting with a heart defect from birth for which there is no standard therapy, and for whom there may... [ more ] - Recharging the Failing Heart
When it comes to treating patients suffering from heart failure, which is typically defined as a heart whose pumping power is weaker than normal, physicians are facing a paradox.
Although an increasing number of people are making healthier lifestyle choices like lowering their cholesterol levels and stopping smoking, there appears to be a... [ more ] - New Generation of VADs Shows Promise
In the simplest of terms, a ventricular assist device (VAD) is a battery-operated mechanical pump that helps a weakened heart pump oxygenated blood throughout the body. While some models offer left, right and biventricular support, others are specially designed to replace the pumping action of only the left ventricle and are appropriately called... [ more ] - Baby Boomers, Heart Disease and the Cardiologist Shortage
In 2006, the baby boom generation (those born from 1946 - 1964) started turning 60 at the rate of 330 per hour, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. By 2031, almost 60 million baby boomers will be over 65. (Figure 1).
Looking at the coming tsunami of seniors raises a lot of issues, especially in cardiology. Along with reaching their golden... [ more ] - Heart Hospital: Turning the Tides
If the cardiologists at the University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMC) in Jackson have been facing an uphill battle against cardiovascular disease, at least they’ve got some new state-of-the-art weapons. With four faculty members and nine fellows, the hospital’s Division of Cardiology has grown substantially over recent years. And to top it... [ more ] - Alternatives to Invasive Cardiac Output Monitors
The company offers a monitor that uses a continuous wave doppler that can look right down into the aortic valve to check the size of the valve, and it can also look at the pulmonary valve. The monitor can measure stroke volume and evaluate fluid input, so as to avoid overloading the patient.
"In a matter of seconds, you can get all the... [ more ] - Bridging the Enterprise
It may sound like a good thing, but most people know that when an item claims to be “one size fits all,” it usually means “one size fits all… kind of.” Apparently, as in the clothing industry, this is equally true in the world of enterprise PACS.
“You can’t make everybody happy,” said Tim Masters, PACS manager for Continental Division HCA of... [ more ] - CMS Questions CTA’s Adoption for CAD
In the new order of the day, many experts believe that CT angiography (CTA) will replace invasive cardiac catheterization as the primary diagnostic tool for detecting coronary artery disease (CAD) and disorders. This notion has been backed by heavy investments from vendors in clinical trials that may shore up supporting data.
Recently, Toshiba... [ more ] - Overcoming Electrosurgical Interference in IABP Therapy
Maintaining a continuous, accurate arterial pressure (AP) signal in the presence of electrosurgical interference is paramount to ensuring precise triggering and timing parameters. It has been demonstrated that heart failure patients on IABP therapy can experience timing errors during arrhythmias that can adversely affect left ventricular (LV)... [ more ] - Redefining Cardiovascular Care
Dayton Heart Hospital (DHH) is a 47-bed facility located in Dayton, OH, that provides a full array of cardiovascular services. Diagnostic capabilities include cardiac CT, cardiac cath lab, EP lab, peripheral angiography, nuclear medicine stress testing and cardiovascular ultrasound among others. But it’s been its leadership in adopting a... [ more ] - At the Heart of Saving Lives
The three hospitals of the Valley Health system in northwestern Virginia have improved the quality and efficiency of cardiac care by installing Cardiac Science’s Pyramis system to manage data from its diagnostic cardiology devices and to integrate this data with central admission, order and billing systems. Valley Health relies on Cardiac... [ more ] - Vulnerable Plaque: Silencing a Ticking Time Bomb
Just how many deaths each year can be directly attributed to vulnerable plaque (VP) is still being studied. But researchers and clinicians are not underestimating the danger that may be lurking inside an arterial wall.
For many patients the first symptom of a ruptured VP is sudden coronary death. Yet not all sudden deaths can be tied to VP,... [ more ] - CT Takes One Step Back to Take Two Steps Forward
There’s not much about The Wisconsin Heart Hospital (TWHH) that isn’t on the cutting edge of cardiovascular technology, including the way it operates.
The 60-bed Wauwatosa, WI-based hospital was founded as a partnership between cardiovascular, vascular and specialty physicians to offer a patient and family-centered experience. Its design... [ more ] - Grooming the Cardiology Landscape
The state of cardiology care, today and for the future, paints a glowing — and growing — picture. Whether from echo, EKG, cardiac cath, nuclear medicine, multislice CT or MR, the number of images produced to diagnose and treat a single patient can range from tens to thousands. To help manage the data and guide them in their decision-making,... [ more ] - Reimbursement Changes on the Horizon
On Friday, April 13, 2007, the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) released Proposed Inpatient Rules for 2008. Highlights of the proposed rules related to cardiovascular reimbursement include:
• A new methodology to severity adjusts cases using Medicare Severity DRGs (MS-DRGs). The MS-DRGs would replace the current 538 DRGs with 745. MS-DRGs... [ more ] - ROI for Technology and Equipment Purchases
The business phrase “return on investment” or ROI within the healthcare industry often denotes a caricature approach to purchasing that makes it seem like that the person who wants to financially validate an expenditure is not patient friendly. In reality, this notion couldn’t be further from the truth of what a strong ROI process within... [ more ] - Will the DRA Deplete Cardiologists’ Assets?
In October, they gave us fair warning: “If the Deficit Reduction Act goes through…facilities will buy less and less expensive products,” said one participant. Others echoed this, and now the river of anxiety has morphed into a tsunami.
With the DRA here, we re-visit the issue, questioning an industry cross-section to find some surprising... [ more ] - Disaster Medicine
In the years since 9/11, disaster medicine has come into its own. Now a recognized specialty, the practice of disaster preparedness, disaster planning, disaster response and disaster recovery as it relates to the practice of medicine and the function of healthcare and healthcare institutions has moved from the realm of the emergency manager and... [ more ] - Intravascular Warming
Induced hypothermia has traditionally been used perioperatively as a strategy for neurological protection during major vascular surgery or for situations where neurological injury is present or imminent. However, patients cannot deviate off of the normal core body temperature of around 37°C for long without risk of deleterious effects. Studies... [ more ] - Temperature Management Heats Up in the Perioperative Suite
Controlling normothermia in perioperative patients can be almost as important to their health as the surgical procedure itself. Research is revealing more and more the negative implications of even small dips in patient temperature. This is especially true for the very young, the very old and the very ill, who are more susceptible to hypothermia... [ more ] - Chilling Out
Ice packs and cold compresses have been used for centuries to reduce swelling and fevers. But it’s only been within the last five years that clinicians have witnessed the dramatic results — especially in patients who have suffered a cardiac arrest — that can be achieved through induced hypothermia.
The concept is simple: If a patient’s core... [ more ] - New DES Platforms Keep Rolling Out
Just when drug-eluting stents (DES) were going to revolutionize interventional cardiology, new reports that DES may be associated with increased risk of late-stent thrombosis have many physicians putting the brakes on DES use. Despite this significant bump in the road, stent manufacturers are forging ahead with clinical trials on novel systems... [ more ] - The New Cath Lab
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 70 million Americans currently live with cardiovascular disease, with 700,000 dying from it each year.
In an age where heart disease is responsible for 29 percent of all U.S. deaths, cutting-edge technology and know-how is crucial to today’s cath labs.
To provide patients... [ more ] - Stents Side Tackle Bifurcations
iffering approaches for the treatment of coronary bifurcation and ostial lesions (CBOL) continue to feed the debate over which stent designs and stenting techniques are most effective.
While, for the most part, bifurcations and ostial lesions are still treated with conventional tubular DES, new innovative stents with built-in side structures... [ more ] - Revised Guidelines Respond to New Technology
Of the 1. 57 million annual hospital admissions in the U.S. for acute coronary syndromes, 1.24 million are due to unstable angina and non-ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (UA/NSTEMI).
To help standardize the assessment and treatment of these patients, the American College of Cardiology (ACC) and the American Heart Association (AHA)... [ more ] - The New Medical Roadmap: Using Multi-Slice CT as a Diagnostic Tool
More than ever before, cardiologists are adopting CT as the new standard for cardiac care. In the last five years, CT’s popularity as a diagnostic tool has exploded. Its ability to produce slices as thin as 0.5 mm creates a platform for evaluating patients, detecting disease at early stages and designing treatment roadmaps. Today’s advanced... [ more ] - 128-Slice CT Sets the Bar for Triple Rule-Out
CT scanners have evolved over the years and are showing to have applications in the emergent and non-emergent evaluation of underlying cardiovascular issues. The general acceptance for cardiovascular evaluation by CT is limited due to ongoing studies. The noninvasive nature of CT may find favor among patients and physicians if the studies prove... [ more ] - 3D Workstations Propel Clinical Utility of CTA
Since the introduction of the 64 multi-slice CT scanner, studies have examined the utility of this technology for diagnosing coronary artery disease (CAD), and cardiologists are rapidly adopting this technology to perform CT Angiography (CTA) for detecting CAD.
In a clinical setting, however, CTA is only as good as the 3D workstation managing... [ more ] - Heart Hospital: A League of Their Own
New York’s Mount Sinai Heart has it all: a star-studded line-up of internationally renowned physicians, scientists and educators, cutting-edge research and unparalleled clinical services. Their secret to success — an integrated approach to cardiovascular healthcare that makes it all possible.
The recently inaugurated center is lead by former... [ more ] - Flat Panels Redefine Cath Lab Workflow
When it comes to diagnosing disease, image is everything. It is difficult to treat what you can’t see. That’s especially true in the cardiac cath lab where cardiologists performing procedures ranging from simple diagnostic tests to more complex interventional maneuvers rely on imaging technology to guide their course. To ensure patients get the... [ more ] - Improved Patient Satisfaction with External Compression Device
Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, a University of Pennsylvania Health System hospital, is rated one of the top 100 Top Hospitals for cardiovascular care by Solucient — a distinction it has received for five consecutive years. Located in Philadelphia, the 350-bed facility has a long history of providing products and procedures that improve... [ more ] - Hospitals Prescribe Safe Medication Administration
Safe medication administration at the hospital bedside is not simply a matter of a nurse handing out the right meds at the right time and to the right patient, of course. Today, the practice is a cooperative effort between the nursing staff and the pharmacy working to maximize the benefits of information technology solutions, such as bar coding... [ more ] - Anesthesia Awareness: Breaking Down the Barriers to Prevention
The clinical definition of intraoperative awareness — consciousness during general anesthesia — is a seemingly simple explanation for a complex, and controversial, phenomenon. Opinions surrounding how often intraoperative awareness, also described as anesthesia awareness, occurs, its implications for victims, as well as the best methods for... [ more ] - Critical Care Pain Management
Despite advances in our understanding of the pathophysiology of pain and the pharmacology of analgesic drugs, as well as increasing emphasis on adequate pain management [1], pain control remains inadequate in hospitalized patients. This is especially the case in intensive care units (ICU) where concerns regarding hemodynamic stability and... [ more ] - Taking Control
During the last several decades, the prevalence of Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococus Aureus (MRSA) and other nosocomial infections in U.S. hospitals and medical centers has increased dramatically. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), MRSA has climbed from accounting for 25 percent of Staphylococcus Aureus isolates... [ more ] - What Will Burst the Drug-Eluting Bubble?
Ever since the BASKET-LATE study came out suggesting an increase in the rate of death and myocardial infarction in patients treated with drug-eluting stents, the stent market has experienced a mild tremor of its own. Total stent usage has indeed tapered off this year, dropping about 16 percent according to some estimates.*
Still, stent... [ more ] - ScImage Delivers Workflow, Clinical Productivity Tools to Coffee Health Group
Located in Florence, AL, Eliza Coffee Memorial Hospital is owned and operated by the not-for-profit healthcare system Coffee Health Group (CHG). Nationally recognized as one of the Thomson Top 100 Hospitals for the third year in a row, the hospital is part of a healthcare system dedicated to serving the people of Northwest Alabama. In addition... [ more ] - Innova Promises Proactive Monitoring
Innova Promise is GE Healthcare’s commitment to proactively monitoring every connected Innova X-ray system in warranty and covered by a Service contract to detect potential exam interruptions and prevent downtime. GE has over 1000 systems actively monitored, improving performance and providing critical feedback on system reliability. Innova... [ more ] - Heart Hospital: VCU Armed with New Weapon Against Atrial Fibrillation
In the past, patients with atrial fibrillation that came to Virginia Commonwealth University Health System (VCU) had several treatment options. There were medications to attack the complex and confusing condition. There were surgical options, involving different intensities and approaches. But according to Vigneshwar Kasirajan, M.D., chair of... [ more ] - Can Cardiologists Share Cardiac Imaging?
The volatile debate over who should control cardiac imaging technologies - cardiologists or radiologists - has created a rift between the two fields. However, three physicians representing both fields are calling a truce on the turf wars by embracing the notion of greater collaboration. They believe this approach will optimize the potential of... [ more ] - Replacing Balloon Pumps with VADs: When is the Right Time?
A study published in 2002, which assigned a 0-5 score to various clinical parameters, is still considered a major breakthrough in determining when to remove an intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) and implant a ventricular assist device (VAD) in patients suffering from cardiac low-output syndrome or acute cardiogenic shock. But not everyone is... [ more ] - Dynamic Approaches to Hemodynamic Monitoring
The high cost of patient care is influencing many decisions in today’s healthcare marketplace. The expense of treating the estimated five million Americans who suffer from heart disease alone is a staggering $26.7 billion dollars annually and growing.
One approach to controlling such exorbitant costs is applying very targeted care. If you look... [ more ] - 4D Just Around the Corner
hen it comes to diagnosing heart disease, highly detailed 3D images of a coronary artery comes to mind. But advanced imaging has expanded its role in the cath lab beyond diagnosis, as 3D images are used to guide physicians through interventional procedures. But what it taking imaging in the cath lab to the next generation is 4D imaging, in its... [ more ] - Venous Imaging Key to Thwarting Killer Clots
A clot that forms in the deep vein in either the leg or pelvic region is known as a deep vein thrombosis (DVT), an increasingly common venous disease, which according to the American Health Association is diagnosed in one out of every 1,000 Americans each year. While DVTs themselves are not life-threatening, if a clot breaks free it can travel,... [ more ] - Cath Lab Powers Up Injectors
In 2006, 141 million imaging examinations, including MRI, CT, PET and SPECT, were performed worldwide using a contrast media injector. In many cases, clinicians used power injectors not only for diagnostic studies, but also for interventional procedures.
Cardiologists have commonly used power contrast media injectors to achieve opacification... [ more ] - Emergency Departments Can Save Time, Money With Instant Communications
Quick communication between medical staff is often critical in acuity care, and new technologies are helping make it easier for staffs to increase speed and efficiency. Staffs no longer need to depend on intercom pages, pagers, landline phones or cell phones.
About five years ago El Camino Hospital in Mountain View, CA, was looking for a... [ more ] - Factors to Consider When Purchasing Anesthesia Carts
Without a doubt, the technical specifications and functional options list on your latest anesthesia cart will not compete with the technological specifications of a NASA spacecraft or even your personal computer or laptop. But, even so, it is still very important to the users of these variable tool-chests that they provide a core set of... [ more ] - Going Digital in the OR Reaps Suite Rewards
In healthcare, as in any industry, the ability to stay competitive involves proper protection and management of assets. Outside of its personnel, one of a hospital’s biggest assets — and a major contributor to the facility’s bottom line — is the OR. As a result, many hospitals are redesigning workflow, automating processes and integrating... [ more ] - Digital Versus Computed Radiology
When diagnosing trauma patients, speed and accuracy is essential.
As a result, emergency room physicians are increasingly turning to computed radiography (CR) and digital radiography (DR) combined with an integrated picture archiving and communication system (PACS) when triaging patients.
The move from traditional film to digital X-ray... [ more ] - ED Transforms into the ERD
Today’s patients present to the emergency department (ED) with a slew of complaints and injuries ranging from a chronic cough to a sudden life-threatening head trauma. As such, the ED is no longer reserved for those patients with dire life or death circumstances, as the standards of emergency care apply to all patients and handle a larger... [ more ] - Don’t Overlook the Simple Questions When Purchasing New Technology
Common sense is probably the biggest factor to use as a guide when looking to buy new medical technology and equipment. However, sometimes emotions, territorial department heads, old-school resistance to change and personal preferences influence or override the decision-making process in any profession. To overcome these issues, the basis for... [ more ] - Clock is Ticking for CTA
Just when you got excited about CT angiography (CTA) noninvasively diagnosing coronary artery disease, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) decided to slash reimbursement for CTA.
According to the CMS, "[t]he evidence is inadequate to conclude that cardiac computed tomographic angiography (CTA) is reasonable and necessary... [ more ] - Web Exclusive: Maintaining Normothermia in the OR
February 2008 - The body regulates its core temperature by reducing the blood flow to the extremities, but anesthesia interferes with this process and affects the temperature control center in the hypothalamus, allowing the normal temperature control limits to be increased and compromising the body's normal response to cold. For these reasons... [ more ] - Home Monitoring Practices Preventative Care
When cardiologists send their high-risk patients home, they may be protected with a host of tools, including implantable cardiac devices and pacemakers and strict regimens of medications.
While the tools and regimens are powerful, cardiologists know that they are still limited when it comes to preventing adverse events. Without constant... [ more ] - 3D Gives Cath Labs a New Look
Delivering vivid and insightful CT images of the coronary vessels directly into the cardiac catheterization laboratories (cath labs) has proven very effective by helping save staff from re-acquiring images of the heart and boosting patient throughput. But CT images are only part of the bigger picture. As cath labs take on more complex and... [ more ] - Realizing the Benefits of Truly Integrated Innova IVUS Technology
Advanced Integrated IVUS Technology
Often referred to as “South Carolina’s Heart Hospital,” Providence Heart Institute’s staff has performed more heart procedures in the state of South Carolina than any other medical team — nearly 1,000 open-heart surgeries each year. In 2005, the center completed 7,000 cardiac catheterizations. As a regional... [ more ] - C-PACS Packs in More Images
Multimodality imaging is dramatically changing the landscape of cardiology PACS (C-PACS). To get a complete picture of the patient’s condition, clinicians want access to vascular ultrasound, angiography images and echocardiography and data.
When Peter Frommelt, M.D., director of the Pediatric Echocardiography Laboratory at Children’s Hospital... [ more ] - IT Speeds Door-to-Flow Times
When it comes to collecting patient data, the ability to manage that information often becomes more crucial than the speed at which it is collected. But ensuring that the right data gets to the right person when needed often presents some challenges in hospitals that have installed best-of-breed systems or whose budgets have prevented them from... [ more ] - Drs. Disclose Dose Reduction Techniques for CT and CTA
Foremost on the minds of many cardiologists today is how to reduce radiation dose exposure when using computed tomography (CT) without compromising image quality.
Diagnostic and Invasive Cardiology took the questions to two experts in the field, Keith Dreyer, D.O., Ph.D., vice chairman of radiology, Massachusetts General Hospital, and... [ more ] - Web Exclusive: Pointers for Purchasing Flat Panel Displays for Surgery
February 2008 - Ken Willis, RT (R)(CV), is the radiology informatics PACS engineer for Baptist Health in Montgomery, AL. His healthcare system recently completed its first installation of LCDs in 27 operating rooms spread over three hospitals. The installation included 60 NDS Surgical Imaging DS 42-inch LCDs.
Two monitors were installed on... [ more ] - Web Exclusive: New Superbug Weapons Added to the Arsenal
February 2008 - The traditional hospital cleaning methods of wiping down surfaces and mopping floors are now being outclassed by new systems for whole-room sterilization, which can kill all bacteria, viruses and spores, even under tables, on ceilings and in small crevasses anywhere in a room. In 2007, two new systems came onto the market; STERIS... [ more ] - Feds Helping Boost Technology in Rural America Via Telemedicine
Feds Helping Boost Technology in Rural America Via Telemedicine
The primary purpose of advancing healthcare technology is to bring better care to patients. Under a new high-tech program sponsored by the Federal Communications Commission, advanced critical care help may just be click away, regardless if a hospital or clinic is in the remote... [ more ] - Flat Panel Displays Connect the OR to Digital Imaging
As hospitals migrate to digital imaging and picture archive and communications systems (PACS) and video become important components of surgery, there is an increasing need for high-quality display monitors in operating rooms. For these reasons, flat panel liquid crystal display (LCD) monitors are replacing the traditional X-ray light boards.... [ more ] - Safety at the Pump
Medication errors can occur at any point during the medication delivery process from prescribing to dispensing; however, one of the most common types of medication error stems from incorrectly programming IV pumps.
Dose error reduction systems, which contain a hospital-specific drug library and predetermined dose limits, are intended to control... [ more ] - Induced Hypothermia Shows Promise in Treating Cardiac, Neurotrauma Patients
There are several patient warming and cooling devices available for temperature management, but the practice of induced hypothermia was what made national headlines this past fall with the treatment of the major spinal injury of Buffalo Bills' football reserve tight end Kevin Everett.
Everett severely dislocated his cervical spine Sept. 9, when... [ more ] - Keeping Large Patients Mobile
With the rising obesity problem in the U.S., transporting larger patients around hospitals has become more difficult and presents liability issues for the healthcare facilities, and a safety issue for staff.
Bariatric patients require attention that goes beyond basic clinical care and need special beds, wheelchairs, transfer aids and equipment... [ more ] - Keeping Connected with Bedside Monitoring Devices
With the progression toward a seamless electronic health records (EHR), seamlessly connecting numerous medical devices to one hospital network is becoming as important as the devices themselves. The connectivity of vital signs monitors to hospital networks not only offers EHR and enterprisewide data efficiencies, but also offers telemedicine... [ more ] - Web Exclusive: HP, Iron Mountain Prescribe Storage, Disaster Recovery Service
One of the biggest pain points for medical facilities today is managing increasing volumes of image data.
To help ease that pain, Hewlett Packard (HP) and Iron Mountain have joined forces in a collaboration that offers mid-sized hospitals and imaging centers a new service for protecting and storing their rising volume of diagnostic images.... [ more ] - Web Exclusive: Patient Tracking Technology can Help Prevent Inadvertent MRSA Exposure
The recent revelation that MRSA is killing more Americans than AIDs compels us to look for better answers, and fast. A simple one which could have a huge impact involves how we communicate the location of isolated MRSA patients to house keepers, transport personnel and other staff.
Right now, they can easily walk into a room without knowing... [ more ] - Targeting Chambers
Choosing the right device to regulate or jump-start the heart can be a challenge. Not only does a patient’s symptoms often dictate whether a pacemaker or defibrillator is a more appropriate treatment, but new advances in technology are making the choice between available devices more difficult. In addition, an on-going study is fueling the... [ more ] - New ‘Tips’ on Catheter Ablation
Sometimes the smallest changes in technology can have a huge impact, and in healthcare, this means improved patient outcome. That’s what electrophysiologists are discovering with new catheter tip technology used for radiofrequency and alternative ablation treatments for supraventricular tachycardias such as atrial flutter and atrial... [ more ] - Value of the Terumo Runthrough NS Coronary Guidewire
The success or failure of coronary intervention starts with a winning combination of guiding catheter and coronary guidewire, which gives the operator the optimal support and stability to accomplish the interventional goals. The Terumo Runthrough NS coronary guidewire has some unique properties, which allows access to a broad range of complex... [ more ] - Borgess Medical Center Improves Consistency of Patient Care
Situation
Borgess Medical Center was challenged with creating a new Heart Institute that would include a state-of-the-art cardiac catheterization laboratory. As a high-volume imaging center, Borgess was seeking a group of systems that could perform cardiac, vascular and electrophysiology procedures with consistently excellent image quality. The... [ more ] - Avoid Interventional Overload with ACC FastPass
This may be the Red Bull of interventional cardiology sessions, since The Society of Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) and ACC’s Innovation in Intervention: i2 Summit joined forces to form the “SCAI-ACCi2” meeting.
You might need a few energy drinks to keep up with this interventional power pack, which runs concomitantly with... [ more ] - 3D/4D Ultrasound Offers Real-Time Advantages
Heart disease is the leading cause of death of Americans, claiming hundreds of thousands of lives yearly. The ability to diagnose and treat patients sooner and with more accuracy is key to winning the war against heart disease. Advancements in ultrasound — one of imaging technology’s most affordable and available modalities — are leading the... [ more ] - When you Need More than 64
Not so long ago, 64-slice computed tomography (CT) systems with their breakthrough technology were newly released for clinical use. Just a few years later, clinicians are looking beyond 64-slice systems to see what they can do with 128-, 256- and 320-slice CT scanners, if they can get their hands on one.
But before getting caught up in the... [ more ] - Web Exclusive: SCAI to Deliver New Valve Therapy Data at SCAI-ACCi2
The Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) has partnered with the American College of Cardiology (ACC) to co-locate its 33rd annual meeting with the ACC.08 57th Annual Scientific Session to form the new SCAI-ACCi2 meeting.
The SCAI plans to provide as always the same practical, take-home messages for the dedicated... [ more ] - Web Exclusive: Calming Cath Lab Could Help Clinical Outcomes
In as much as the environment in which you live can affect your quality of life, so can the environment in which someone receives medical care affect patient outcome – at least in theory.
Healthcare facilities are now putting that theory to the test by designing catheterization (cath) labs and interventional suites that combine design and... [ more ] - WEB EXCLUSIVE - A Hand-held Alternative to Cart-based Bar Code Drug Administration
Southwest Mississippi Regional Medical Center in Macomb, MS purchased computers on wheels for its nursing staff several years ago. However, due to small patient rooms it was difficult to maneuver them and the tight space frequently meant the COW served as a physical barrier between the clinician and the patients. As a result most nurses... [ more ] - Web Exclusive: 10 Tips to Staying Profitable, Despite DRA Cutbacks
The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA) has left its mark on hospitals and outpatient imaging center operators. There is no denying that the imaging industry has changed forever. Some may think that the 10 percent of operators on the brink of bankruptcy or in default on payments to finance vendors is a mere market correction for years of... [ more ] - Monitoring Capnography Helps Prevent Respiratory Complications
As obesity continues to be a widening problem in the U.S., anesthesiologists face more issues involving drug-induced respiratory depression and airway obstruction, but capnography provides a reliable means of assessing these complications during procedural sedation to prevent associated catastrophic adverse respiratory complications.
The... [ more ] - Point-of-Care Bar Coding Decreases Medication Errors
Between 44,000 and 98,000 Americans die each year from preventable medical errors, according to the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM) 1999 report. That single fact, along with all the complications associated with it — patient lawsuits, regulatory pressures and media scrutiny — has compelled hospitals to implement new systems to reduce preventable... [ more ] - Fighting the Superbugs
Antibiotics were a miracle drug when introduced more than 60 years ago, but they have also spurred the proliferation of antibiotic-resistant strains of super bug bacteria that hospitals are having a tough time controlling.
About 1.7 million Americans each year develop infections from various germs while hospitalized and about 95,000 of them... [ more ] - WEB EXCLUSIVE: FDG-PET Injector Thrusts New Life into Molecular Imaging
Medrad hopes to thrust new life into molecular imaging with its 510(k) pending FDG-PET power injector system called Intego, designed to promote greater accuracy in dose injection and which reportedly reduces radiation exposure related to FDG-handling by 40 percent.
As part of the company’s first step in a long-term strategy to address a... [ more ] - Wound Management Aids Infection Control
The battle for infection control is fought daily in wound management where the body's first line of defense against microbes has been breeched.
Sometimes something old is made new again with a twist of new technology, as is the case in new infection-fighting wound care products that use shrimp shells, honey and silver as their key ingredients.... [ more ] - Understanding AIMS
An Achilles' heal in the armor of hospital patient safety protocol is the fact that anesthesiologists are the only doctors who diagnose, prescribe, fill the prescription and administer drugs with no checks or balances to prevent mistakes. This is the No. 1 reason why anesthesiology information management systems (AIMS) have become popular and... [ more ] - Pressure Increases in the War on Bugs
There has been a flood of new products and a rush by companies to get new infection control products on the market since last summer, when the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) passed a rule it will no longer reimburse healthcare facilities for preventable hospital-acquired infections (HAIs) starting in October 2008.
CMS said... [ more ] - Remember What Mom Says - Wash Your Hands
Many clinicians probably feel like they are being treated like a 5-year-old with the constant warnings and reminders to wash their hands to prevent getting sick or spreading bacteria. While it is simple and we all know hand-washing is important to prevent the spread of hospital-acquired infections like MRSA, people also know smoking is harmful... [ more ] - Web Exclusive: GE Resumes C-arm Shipments after 510(k) Clearance
May 5, 2008 — The FDA has notified GE Healthcare’s Surgery Business that the company has satisfied the criteria in the January 2007 consent decree required to resume operations, and can distribute the OEC 9900 Elite C-arm.
The 9900, a fluoroscopy device that uses x-rays to reveal real-time imagery of a patient’s internal structure, is the... [ more ] - Racing Against the Clock
Efforts to reduce discovery-to-balloon (d-to-b) and door-to-balloon times is sweeping the country as hospitals put in place new protocols and strengthen their ties with local emergency medical service personnel.
Ideally, patients stricken with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) should receive a clot-busting drug like TPA (tissue... [ more ] - Clinical Confidence Increased Using 4D Imaging to Evaluate the Mitral Valve
The Vivid 7 Dimension is an extraordinary cardiovascular ultrasound system built on a robust platform that empowers medical practitioners to utilize a diverse set of quantitative tools for increasing clinical confidence.
GE’s real-time 4D imaging and real-time full volume imaging enable the user to acquire depictions of the entire heart,... [ more ] - The Most Wired Cardiology Departments
The most “wired” cardiology departments integrate IT systems, leverage data tracking and patient monitoring solutions, optimize data and image management for improved workflow, consult evidence-based medicine and plan for future enhancements to their infrastructure. The few that meet all of these criteria serve as examples and set the curve for... [ more ] - Will Drug-Eluting Stents Rebound?
As new drug-eluting stents (DES) receive premarket approval (PMA) from the FDA, despite an abrupt downturn in the market, competition among platforms is expected to heat up. DES use will be further bolstered by positive reports on percutaneous coronary implant (PCI) procedures from the ARRIVE, SPIRIT II, COURAGE and CREATE clinical trials.
But... [ more ] - MRI Shines New Light on Atrial Fibrillation
Atrial fibrillation (AF) affects more than 3.5 million Americans and is a major source of strokes and a precursor to potentially fatal deterioration of the heart. Although physicians in the last decade have treated the condition with radiofrequency ablation, overall success rates have been limited. A 2007 report of the Heart Rhythm Society (HRS)... [ more ] - Cardiac Ultrasound Broadens its Reach
Heart disease is the leading cause of death in Americans, claiming hundreds of thousands of lives yearly. The ability to diagnose and treat patients sooner and with more accuracy is key to winning the war against heart disease. Advancements in ultrasound — one of imaging technology’s most affordable and available modalities — are leading the... [ more ] - Clinicians, Robots Working Hand-in-Hand
The healthcare industry has increasingly integrated the use of robots into many areas of medicine. In intensive care units (ICUs) and operating rooms (ORs), doctors are working with robots hand-in-hand— literally. From allowing doctors to see patients anytime from any location, to helping perform minimally invasive surgeries, as well as... [ more ] - Sealing the Deal at the Access Site
Many formerly invasive diagnostic and interventional cardiology procedures have migrated to less invasive or percutaneous options. The subsequent rise in cath lab procedures has increased the need for alternatives to manual compression that promote hemostasis at the access site, allowing for quicker patient ambulation and throughput. Noninvasive... [ more ] - WEB EXCLUSIVE - RFID Tracking Can Help Increase Efficiency, Reduce Equipment Costs
May 21, 2008 - Hospitals are increasingly using real-time locating systems (RTLS) so clinicians know where to find the equipment they need or patients at any moment on a computerized map of the hospital. There are several technologies for RTLS tracking that use radio frequency identification (RFID), ultrasound or infrared emitting tags that are... [ more ] - Are Cardiologists the QBs of Cardiac Imaging?
What makes cardiologists more capable of reading cardiac imaging exams than other physicians such as radiologists, who are specifically trained to read coronary CT, cardiac MRI, PET and so on?
As new cardiology fellowship tracks adopt cardiovascular imaging into their curriculum and | | |
