As the race to find an anticoagulant that is superior or equivalent to warfarin continues, despite seemingly positive study data, the FDA said that it will side against rivaroxaban (Xarelto, Bayer/Johnson & Johnson) at todays Cardiovascular and Renal Drug Committee meeting. The agency said that its concerns stem from the fact that data surrounding the drug may be lacking.

Aiming to streamline its reviews of new medical devices, the FDA will roll out two new training programs for product reviewers. The agency, in its Sept. 6 announcement of the programs, stated that the programs will improve the review process by enhancing the skills of those reviewing premarket applications at the Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH).

Carestream Health has upgraded Carestream Image Suite Software. The CR-based image acquisition and mini-PACS provides web-based patient scheduling, image review and reporting and offers archiving options.

Toshiba America Medical Systems has introduced Kalare Wireless x-ray system.

An analysis of breast cancer diagnosis data from nearly 6,000 women in Michigan suggested that mammography and self-breast exams remain important tools for detecting breast cancer, even among women ages 40 to 49 for whom routine mammography has been questioned by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), according to the abstract of a study presented at the annual Breast Cancer Symposium held in San Francisco, Sept. 8-10.

More than 100 hospitals appearing in the online July 19 edition of the U.S. News & World Reports Best Hospitals and Best Childrens Hospitals 2011-2012 received Stage 6 and 7 recognition by the HIMSS Analytics' EMR Adoption Model (EMRAM) scale.

The American Association of Cardiovascular and Pulmonary Rehabilitation (AACVPR) has developed an Outpatient Cardiac Rehabilitation Registry that will provide benchmarking data to national cardiac rehabilitation programs with the goal of enhancing quality of life in cardiac patients and positively impacting mortality.

The Ohio Third Frontier Commission has awarded Case Western Reserve University two grants, totaling nearly $1.7 million, to investigate cardiac CT and PET mammography.