Article preview reprinted Medtech Insight - October 2008
Find out how more than 30,000 delegates attended this year's European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress, held in September in Munich, Germany. The conference's imaging theme drew cardiologists from across the globe to packed sessions, and while drug-eluting stent (DES) results were a mixed bag, remote catheter navigation explored new frontiers, and emerging hypertension devices drew a lot of interest.
ESC Highlights: Imaging, Hypertension Devices Take Center Stage
Article preview reprinted Medtech Insight - October 2008
Juhani Knuuti, MD, director of the PET Centre of the University of Turku in Finland, described the rapidly developing area of cardiac imaging as undergoing a "revolution" with handheld echocardiography devices enabling bedside scans and integrated images facilitating noninvasive diagnosis as well as real-time visualization during procedures.
Knuuti said that handheld miniature echo devices look set to play an increasing role from ambulance to bedside follow-up. Accessible, inexpensive, and producing increasingly sophisticated images without ionizing radiation, they offer multiple advantages. SonoSite Inc.'s SonoHeart Elite and Royal Philips Electronics NV's CX50 CompactXtreme were two highlighted devices. "The handheld echos are getting smaller and smaller," Knuuti said, "They will soon be as common as a stethoscope in everyday practice." Useful in ward rounds or outpatient visits to check valve and wall function, he also envisions that early echos will be performed in ambulances on the way to the hospital and transmitted so physicians have an early read as the patient arrives.
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Companies mentioned in this article:
Abbott Laboratories Inc.
Ardian Inc.
Boston Scientific Corp.
CVRx Inc.
Erasmus Medical Center
General Electric Co.
GE Healthcare
Hansen Medical Inc.
Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
Johnson & Johnson
Biosense Webster Inc.
Cordis Corp.
Leicester University
Royal Brompton Hospital
Royal Philips Electronics NV
SonoSite Inc.
Stereotaxis Inc.
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