The Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) has published a revised standard for sterility which may ease requirements for selecting a sterility assurance level (SAL) for manufacturers. The revised standard could allow manufacturers to use a less-restrictive SAL for medical devices that are sensitive to 10-6 sterilization processes, according to the association.

This session will begin with a brief overview of the structure of the ambulatory payment classifications (APCs) in the Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (HOPPS) as it relates to radiology procedures and studies in 2011.

Enrollment in U.S. clinical trials is waning, forcing many to offshore clinical research to international participants, according to study results published Aug. 9 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Researchers urged that future research must assess why underenrollment in U.S. trials is so prevalent and an accompanying editorial questioned whether U.S. clinical research has become so expensive and inefficient that it is no longer a viable competitive enterprise.

FDG PET/CT is a valuable imaging study in the management of HIV-infected patients, according to a review published in the August issue of American Journal of Roentgenology.

Siemens Healthcare has launched a 3.0 software upgrade for the Acuson S2000 diagnostic ultrasound system and a 6C1 HD transducer in the U.K.

Abbott has received FDA approval for its RX Herculink Elite renal stent system for the treatment of renal artery stenosis in patients with uncontrolled hypertension. Over time, narrowed kidney arteries can lead to kidney failure and increased risk of heart disease, stroke and peripheral artery disease.

BOSTONWhy did healthcare reform pass in 2010after various versions had failed to pass for decades? Because it finally had to. So said Jamie Orlikoff, president of Orlikoff & Associates of Chicago, in Tuesdays general session of the 2011 Association for Healthcare Resource and Materials Management (AHRMM) annual conference.

The University of California (UC), San Diego Health Sciences has joined other U.S. life science research institutions as part of Pfizer's Centers for Therapeutic Innovation.