Cardiac Imaging

While cardiac ultrasound is the widely used imaging modality for heart assessments, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and nuclear imaging are also used and are often complimentary, each offering specific details about the heart other modalities cannot. For this reason the clinical question being asked often determines the imaging test that will be used.

Abbott’s FreeStyle Libre 3 glucose monitor gains FDA clearance

Regulatory Roundup: FDA clears 2 new devices, grants breakthrough designation to advanced AI model

Catch up on several recent FDA announcements, including an update on the agency's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Survival on the rise among high-risk pulmonary embolism patients

The study's authors examined data from more than 1.4 million patients, noting that pulmonary embolism response teams appear to be playing a significant role. 

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Transcatheter PVL closure linked to lower 30-day mortality than surgery

Long-term mortality, meanwhile, is similar between the two treatment options.

Medtronic has received FDA approval for its IN.PACT 018 Paclitaxel-Coated Percutaneous Transluminal Angioplasty (PTA) Balloon Catheter

Medtronic gains FDA approval for new DCB compatible with 0.018” guidewires

The drug-coated balloon was approved to treat patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) in the superficial femoral and popliteal arteries

Dragonfly OpStar Imaging Catheter FDA recall May 2022

FDA announces Class I recall of 4,800 imaging catheters due to risk of vascular injury

There have been five reported incidents so far, including one patient injury.

Iodine contrast being loaded into a contrast injector in preparation for a cardiac CT scan at Duly Health and Care in Lisle, Illinois. The contrast shortage is causing some healthcare organizations to postpone exams and procedures and ration contrast supplies. Photo by Dave Fornell

ACR working with FDA and HHS to help address imaging contrast shortage

The American College of Radiology (ACR) announced this week its government relations staff has been engaging federal agencies in an effort to improve product availability and hasten resolution of the ongoing iodine contrast shortage.

Interview with Alan H. Matsumoto, MD, FSIR, FACR, FAHA, professor of radiology, chair of the Department of Radiology at the University of Virginia, vice chair of the American College of Radiology (ACR) Board of Chancellors, and the chairman of the ACR Commission on Interventional and Cardiovascular Radiology. He explains how the ACR and group purchasing organizations are asking the FDA to mitigate the contrast shortage with an emergency use authorization (EUA) to allow non-FDA cleared iodine contrast use.

VIDEO: American College of Radiology working with FDA to mitigate contrast shortage

Alan Matsumoto, MD, chair of the department of radiology at the University of Virginia and vice chair of the ACR Board of Chancellors, explains how the ACR and group purchasing organizations are asking the FDA to mitigate the contrast shortage with an emergency use authorization to allow non-FDA cleared iodine contrast agents to be imported.

The American Society fo Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC) did not support the 2021 Chest Pain Guidelines because of the high support for cardiac CT and FFR-CT.

VIDEO: Why the ASNC did not support the 2021 Chest Pain Evaluation Guidelines

Randall Thompson, MD, immediate past president of the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology, said the group had issues with the document's elevation of cardiac CT and FFR-CT. 

Around the web

Ron Blankstein, MD, professor of radiology, Harvard Medical School, explains the use of artificial intelligence to detect heart disease in non-cardiac CT exams.

Eleven medical societies have signed on to a consensus statement aimed at standardizing imaging for suspected cardiovascular infections.