In the current era of healthcare reform, spawned by the funding made available in the HITECH Act of February's stimulus package, there has been much discussion about producing transparent and quantifiable data on the performance of various departments.

A team of nanomaterial scientists, medical physicists and cancer biologists at the University of North Carolina has developed smaller, lower-cost x-ray tubes packed with sharp-tipped carbon nanotubes for cancer research and treatment. The technology was presented this week at the 2009 meeting of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM), in Anaheim, Calif.

For cardiology PACS, the explosion of cardiac-related advances across imaging modalities has created demand for expanded capabilities beyond simple image storage and distribution, providing physicians with access to patient-specific information related to images and reports within the facility or externally. Meanwhile, with this increased volume of image data, cardiologists also need to have access to more extensive patient data, such as hemodynamic monitoring, EKG and electronic medical record (EMR) information to create structured reports.

Cardiovascular information systems (CVIS) are providing the means to integrate the business of cardiology with the practice of cardiology at the point of care—with great results for managers.

AcerMed, an ambulatory EMR provider in Irvine, California, has gone out of business, and its president, Richard Younis, blames a lawsuit with MedInformatix for the company's demise.

With new and improved CVIS, electronic reporting and connectivity is now readily available to cardiology departments.

Eastman Kodak has integrated Siemens Medical Solutions’FUSION7D software that enhances visualization of cancerous tumors andlesions into the latest version of its KODAK CARESTREAM PACS platform.