The FDA has granted a breakthrough device designation for an artificial intelligence (AI) pattern recognition software being developed by Bayer and Merck & Co. in New Jersey that can identify signs of chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTEPH)—a rare form of hypertension—in CT pulmonary angiography (CTPA) scans, according to a Dec. 3 press release.

“We’d better make some rules because otherwise, you can have willy-nilly 3D printing...you can 3D print off your iPhone if you have the right hook-ups, right? But we don’t want that. We want to do really high-quality work," said Frank J. Rybicki, MD, PhD, at the American Heart Association’s 2018 Scientific Sessions in Chicago according to a report by Cardiovascular Business.

Performing CT analysis prior to percutaneous pulmonary valve implantation (PPVI) in patients with congenital heart disease (CHD) may assist physicians in detecting those who are most at-risk for coronary artery compression during the operation.

The study will determine whether CMAs can obtain echocardiograms that, when reviewed by cardiologists, will detect more patients with cardiac disease compared to a standard physical examination with an electrocardiogram (ECG) in a primary care setting, according to a Northwestern University press release.

Updated cholesterol guidelines from the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology suggest a more personalized approach to stroke risk assessment and address criticisms of five-year-old recommendations, according to CNN. But one new recommendation has generated pushback.

Last year, more than 56,000 angina patients across the U.K. were denied life-saving CT heart scans due to the continuing shortage of radiologists and scanners, according to data released Nov. 8 by the Royal College of Radiologists (RCR) and the British Society of Cardiovascular Imaging (BSCI), published in The BMJ.

Researchers from the Netherlands demonstrated, in a study published Oct. 30 in Radiology, that four-dimensional (4D) flow MRI with automated cardiac valve tracking reduces analysis time and improves reliability of valvular flow quantification compared to manual valve tracking in patients with congenital heart disease.

A patent filed in 2014 by Apple Inc. for a new method to print three-dimensional (3D) models using triangular tessellation was recently approved by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Tuesday, Oct. 23, according to a report by TechCrunch.com.