Boston Scientific Corporation has initiated full commercial launch of the new POLARIS Imaging System.  This system will support the Boston Scientific family of intravascular ultrasound (IVUS) catheters, including coronary, peripheral and intra-cardiac echo products.  The POLARIS System offers enhanced ease-of-use and more powerful processing capabilities.  Its modular design would also support the planned release of new Boston Scientific imaging products including a fractional flow reserve (FFR) wire, a new family of IVUS catheters, enhanced software features and better system control tools.

Moving toward U.S. market introduction of its novel medical device to treat peripheral artery disease, Medtronic, Inc. (NYSE: MDT) today announced that it recently submitted the final module of its pre-market approval (PMA) application for the IN.PACT Admiral drug-coated balloon to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The application includes data that demonstrates superior clinical outcomes compared with conventional angioplasty, with the lowest rates of repeat procedures (target lesion revascularization) and the highest rate of uninterrupted blood flow (primary patency) at 12 months ever reported for the interventional treatment of peripheral artery disease.

The Accreditation for Cardiovascular Excellence (ACE) is proud to announce the participation of every ACE Board Member at the 2014 Society for Cardiovascular Angiography and Interventions (SCAI) Scientific Sessions in Las Vegas, NV, May 28-31, 2014. First, Charles E. Chambers, MD, FSCAI, President-Elect of SCAI and ACE Board Member, will kick-off SCAI's inaugural Cath Lab Leadership Boot Camp, a unique two-day educational event designed to address the needs of cath lab managers and directors and those who aspire to those roles.

Covidien today announced nine-month data from the VISIBILITY Iliac study, which confirms the safety and effectiveness of the treatment of lesions of the common and external iliac arteries with the Visi-Pro(tm) balloon-expandable stent system. Results were presented by co-National Principal Investigator John Rundback, MD, Holy Name Medical Center, Teaneck, N.J., during an oral presentation this week at EuroPCR Scientific Congress in Paris.

Continuing its commitment to bringing advanced and clinically relevant interventional technologies to market, Medtronic, Inc. today announced CE (Conformité Européene) mark and launch of the NC Euphora(TM) Noncompliant Balloon Dilatation Catheter. The NC Euphora Balloon Catheter is now available in Europe and other countries outside of the United States that recognize the CE mark. It is not yet available in the United States.

Orlando Regional Medical Center is the first hospital in Florida to utilize the Corindus CorPath System.

ACE is proud to be referenced as a pioneer of accreditation standards in the new health policy statement from the American College of Cardiology, American Heart Association, and Society for Cardiovascular Angiography (ACC/AHA/SCAI). The policy statement defines new standards for structured reporting of clinical and operational data in the cardiac catheterization laboratory. With the new policy statement, ACC/AHA/SCAI notes the “increasing importance of accreditation of cardiac catheterization laboratories.”

An article by Bloomberg News claims that the cath lab at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York City has sent patients with previously scheduled appointments through its emergency department (ED), a practice that may allow for uninsured patients’ costs to be covered. The hospital has not been accused of any wrong-doing and hospital officials said they are reviewing issues related to the allegations.