Low-dose cardiac computed tomography angiography (CCTA) allows for the accurate evaluation of coronary artery disease, but with significantly less effective radiation dose to patients compared with coronary angiography, according to a study in the October issue of Heart.

GE Healthcare and Biosense Webster expanded their partnership by introducing a smaller intracardiac echo (ICE) catheter for use with the Vivid family of cardiovascular compact echo systems, at the 21st annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) conference.

Toshiba America Medical Systems has introduced its Next Generation CV-3D, an integrated reconstruction workstation and software package, available on the Infinix-i X-ray product line, at the 2009 Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) meeting this week in San Francisco.

SAN FRANCISCOPlaque morphology, specifically non-calcified and mixed coronary plaques, detected and characterized by coronary CT angiography (CCTA), provides incremental value in predicting all-cause mortality in symptomatic patients with non-obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD), according to a poster presentation at the 2009 Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) scientific symposium this week.

Researchers at Duke University Medical Center have developed a modified catheter that can be used to prevent injuries to patients in the administration of contrast materials, according to a study published in the October issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology.

A strategy of systematic coronary angiography can positively impact the long-term outcome of peripheral arterial disease surgical patients at medium to high risk, according to a study in the Sept. 8 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

Adenosine stress CT can identify stress-induced myocardial perfusion defects with diagnostic accuracy comparable to SPECT, with similar radiation dose and the advantage of providing information on coronary stenosis, according to a study in the Sept. 15 issue of the Journal of American College of Cardiology.

Dynamic contrast material-enhanced magnetic resonance (DCE-MR) combined with pharmacokinetic modeling could be useful in monitoring therapy and predicting the response of new agents in treating type 2 diabetes, according to an article published in the September issue of Radiology.