From a UC Irvine press release:

Unlike mammograms, the scanner provides detailed metabolic information by measuring hemoglobin, fat and water content, as well as tumor oxygen consumption and tissue density. In the study, researchers found that potentially dangerous malignant tumors and benign tumors have different metabolic fingerprints.

Separately, the UCI laser breast scanner is proving beneficial in evaluating the effectiveness of chemotherapy by supplying detailed data on changes in breast tumor metabolism during treatments. This information, which can be accessed quickly at bedside, lets oncologists tailor chemotherapy based on how a patient responds.

Press release: Beyond mammography: Handheld laser scanner improves detection and treatment of breast cancer ...

Abstract in Radiology: Characterization of Metabolic Differences between Benign and Malignant Tumors: High-Spectral-Resolution Diffuse Optical Spectroscopy

(hat tip: The Engineer)

St. Jude Medical designed the Engage Family of Introducers with features intended to minimize trauma to the artery and set the stage for closure using Angio-Seal(TM) or other closure devices.

The Engage Family of Introducers was designed to create a smooth and reliable means of accessing vasculature for a wide variety of patients and procedures. The Engage Introducer is used for femoral access, in which physicians access the patient's heart through the femoral vein or artery located near the groin; this portfolio includes 22 model configurations of varying sizes to accommodate a wide variety of procedures. The Engage TR Introducer portfolio includes 18 model configurations and expands the company's product offering to include introducers used to facilitate transradial (TR) procedures, in which physicians access the patient's heart through the radial artery in the arm.

Though uncommon, some risks reported by physicians during interventional and diagnostic procedures include bleeding, vessel trauma, vasospasm (a condition that causes the vessel to constrict), or formation of blood clots within the introducer. The Engage Family of Introducers incorporates new features that were designed to offer physicians more control and minimize these risks both during access and throughout the procedure.

Press release: New Introducer Product Line from St. Jude Medical Offers Reliable Access and Facilitates Arterial Closure ...

From the product page:

The Tandem Architecture™ design is comprised of both Micro™ and Macro™ Elements, which contribute to:

* Flexibility
* Conformability
* Radial Strength
* Radiopacity

Precision

* Customized balloon lengths for each stent size. Designed for minimal foreshortening and accurate placement.

1. Balloon Inflation Lumen 2. Ergonomic Catheter Hub 3. Strain Relief 4. Catheter Shaft 5. Radiopaque Marker Bands 6. Catheter Tip 7. Stent Length 8. Distal Shaft Coated with Hydro Pass® Hydrophilic Coating for Approximately 36cm 9. Total Usable Length 10. 0.035" (0.89mm) Guidewire Lumen

Press release: FDA Approves Boston Scientific's Express® LD Iliac Stent System ...

Product page: Express® LD Iliac Premounted Stent System...

The above picture was given to us by St. Jude Medical. And we think it has a clue as to the future of this technology. Imagine this kind of monitoring shows more and more positive outcomes in the future clinical studies, and it wins all needed regulatory approvals. One day we might be seeing these pressure monitoring sensors embedded into the electrodes of AICDs and pacemakers. Wouldn't that be neat?

Results from this study demonstrated that regular monitoring of LAP in combination with a dynamically adjusted prescription plan can be used to drive appropriate adjustment of HF treatments, and as a result, improved LAP control and reduction of HF events that may result in hospitalization or death.

Following implantation of an LAP sensor, all subjects in the study were free of major adverse cardiac and neurological events at six weeks, meeting the trial's primary endpoint. Over a median follow-up of 25 months, LAP control was achieved for at least six consecutive months in 76 percent of patients, with a 67 percent reduction in the frequency of elevated LAP readings (over 25 mmHg). Throughout this same period, there was a significant 84 percent average decrease in HF events including HF hospitalization and all-cause mortality once LAP-guided therapy was initiated. Over the course of treatment, patients also had significant improvements in HF symptoms and quality of life.

The report outlined results of the first 40 patients enrolled in the trial; 20 patients enrolled in three Australian or New Zealand sites and 20 patients enrolled in four U.S. sites.

The early results of the HOMEOSTASIS trial led to the establishment of the LAPTOP-HF (Left Atrial Pressure Monitoring to Optimize Heart Failure Therapy) Study, a larger pivotal, randomized, controlled, prospective, multi-center clinical investigation. The LAPTOP-HF study will be conducted under a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) and is expected to begin in the first half of 2010.

Abstract in Circulation: Physician-Directed Patient Self-Management of Left Atrial Pressure in Advanced Chronic Heart Failure

Press release: St. Jude Medical Announces Publication of Feasibility Results for Trial of Novel Heart Failure Management System ...

Medgadget 2005 flashback: HeartPOD...

Here's the application workflow and features of the COR Analyzer:

Isolate the heart region within a study

Find major anatomical structures

Locate the coronary artery tree and track the arteries

Label coronary artery segments

Segment the blood vessel internals and draw an accurate center line

Detect severe stenotic lesions

Findings can be easily verified and validated using simple visualization tools including standard 2-D projections, schematic 3-D and curved MPR views. The system automatically generates a report which includes a summary of findings and curved MPR snapshots. It can be easily edited by the physician to produce the final report.

The automatically generated curved MPR images with marked detected lesions can be exported to any PACS/Workstation either manually or automatically upon completion of processing. These images will appear as secondary capture series for the corresponding study.

Main features

Detects of significant coronary lesions

Displays 3D coronary tree & curved MPRs

Generates patient findings' reports

Exports to PACS and workstation

Runs on any 64-slice or higher CTA scanner

Product page: COR Analyzer System ...

Press release: Rcadia Medical Imaging's COR Analyzer(R) System Receives CE Mark ...

(hat tip: MassDevice)

From an MIT press statement:

To build the new sensors, the MIT team worked with chemical engineers at Caltech, using an approach called “directed evolution.” They started with a protein called cytochrome P450, an enzyme found in most organisms that is paramagnetic (meaning it can become weakly magnetic when exposed to a magnetic field). Using a technique called error-prone PCR, which is a faulty version of the way cells naturally replicate their genes, they generated a large collection of different mutated forms of the gene.

Each mutated gene was placed into an E. coli bacterium, which produced the mutated protein. The researchers then tested each protein for its ability to bind dopamine. At the end of each round, they took the best candidate and mutated it again for a new round of improvement. At the end of five rounds, they had two sensors that would bind strongly to dopamine but not to other neurotransmitters.

In studies of rats, the researchers showed that the sensor can effectively detect dopamine in the brain. However, in its current form, the dopamine probe must be injected into the brain, and the imaging is limited to the site of injection.

Bruce Jenkins, director of neurochemical imaging at the Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging at MGH, says the new probe is “very cleverly designed,” but points out that an important challenge is yet to come: getting the molecule to cross the layer of cells that separates the brain from circulating blood. “Trying to get a charged protein across the blood-brain barrier is very tricky,” he says.

The MIT team hopes to overcome that obstacle by applying barrier disruption techniques used historically to deliver chemotherapeutic agents to the brain. They will also try to genetically program brain cells to express the sensor, so it doesn’t have to be injected.

Abstract in Nature Biotechnology: Directed evolution of a magnetic resonance imaging contrast agent for noninvasive imaging of dopamine

MIT press release: New technique offers a more detailed view of brain activity ...

Image credit: Wellcome images: MRI scan showing the regions of the brain involved in recognising familiar faces....

With VTT's new method, the volume of the hippocampus can be accurately calculated automatically. Earlier automatic systems for calculating the volume of the hippocampus are not in general clinical use because of deficiencies in speed and reliability.

Using VTT's new method, the assessment of MR images takes 3 minutes. With the fastest currently available automatic MR image assessment methods, the assessment takes 15 to 20 minutes. However, it is not uncommon for assessments to last for several hours.

The new method is part of a system which is currently being developed under the EU PredictAD project to help diagnose Alzheimer's disease. The system will be completed in 2011. The aim of the project is to develop objective methods which are sufficiently accurate, reliable and fast for clinical use but do not require large investments in equipment.

Abstract in NeuroImage: Fast and robust multi-atlas segmentation of brain magnetic resonance images

Full story: VTT has developed a rapid image analysis method to help diagnose Alzheimer's disease ...

Features from the product FAQ:

An online portal provides Vscan users with training tools for the product and basic clinical
applications with sections about imaging technique, anatomy and trouble shooting

Intuitive user interface that can be controlled using the thumb

Intelligent workflow enhancements

Battery charger station and battery life of one hour scanning - good for up to 30 patients based on
average of 2 minutes per scan

Voice annotation

USB docking station

Link to a PC for organization and export of data

Gateway software with services tools and remote diagnostics

Here's our video from a GE event introducing the Vscan:

Press release: GE Healthcare Introduces Vscan™ Pocket-sized Visualization Tool for Point-of-care Imaging

Product page: Vscan ...

Flashbacks: A Closer Look at GE's Vscan Pocket Ultrasound ; More Details About The New GE Vscan Ultrasound System; GE's New Ultra Small Ultrasound May Become as Ubiquitous as Stethoscope

With syngo Neuro PBV IR (Parenchymal Blood Volume, Interventional Suite), Siemens Healthcare has developed a new application for interventional radiology that allows you to review parenchymal blood flow during minimally invasive interventions in the brain for the first time. This feature assists the neuroradiologist in the treatment of stroke patients by displaying the condition of the cerebral tissue directly in the angio suite.

This not only results in clinical advantages for stroke treatment, but is equally helpful for tumor biopsy and treatment, tissue embolization, and vasospasm therapy (spasms of blood vessels).
Another benefit of the new Siemens software is that it is capable of providing blood volume data for the whole brain, unlike traditional CT acquisition, and allows the clinician to review the information from any orientation, axial, coronal, sagittal etc. Syngo Neuro PBV IR uses cone-beam CT technology (syngo DynaCT) to acquire the information required for such advanced tissue visualization.

All that is required to generate the PBV information is two C-arm rotations around the patient and a steady state contrast injection. The sophisticated processing algorithms of the system use the resulting data to generate a neurological PBV map. The information is available at tableside, in less than 40 seconds, without the need for any further user interaction.

Press release: New functional imaging for interventional neuroradiology: syngo Neuro PBV IR displays cerebral blood flow during interventional procedures...

Paradym™ offers consistent charge times throughout the life of the device (10s at Beginning Of Life, 13s at Elective Replacement Indicator - ERI), improved longevity, and a 6-month ERI to End of Service (EOS) period, twice as long as any other ICD.

Paradym™ CRT is designed to allow more flexibility in the management of cardiac resynchronization and antitachyarrhythmia therapy in heart failure patients. BTO (Brady-Tachy Overlap) is designed to unlock pacing and detection to ensure delivery of resynchronization therapy at high pacing rates during exercise without any compromise on the management of slow ventricular tachycardias (VTs). BTO gives freedom of programming for physicians.

Paradym™ CRT, at 34cc and 11mm thin, also features the PARAD®+ detection algorithm whose superior specificity in discriminating ventricular arrhythmias has been clinically proven. Studies have demonstrated that the absolute risk of experiencing an inappropriate shock has been observed to be only 5%, the lowest percentage recorded thus far.

Press release: SORIN GROUP ANNOUNCES MARKET RELEASE AND FIRST IMPLANT OF NEXTGENERATION CARDIAC RESYNCHRONIZATION THERAPY DEFIBRILLATOR...

Product page: PARADYMTM CRT 8750 ...