The U.S. House of Representative passed the Middle Class Tax Relief & Job Creation Act (H.R. 3630) Dec. 13. Among other things, H.R. 3630 prevents an across the board 27 percent cut to Medicare physician reimbursement statutorily required by the Sustainable Growth Rate (SGR) formula. The bill provides physicians with a 1 percent increase in Medicare payments for 2012 and 2013.

It should come as a surprise to no one that new innovations in advanced visualization were introduced at the 97th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) held in Chicago Nov. 27 to Dec. 2. Just as notable were several speakers who offered some interesting insights into the future of advanced visualization.

Toshiba and Steris are teaming up to design and market hybrid surgery suites for use in vascular, cardiovascular, pediatric and neurosurgical interventions.

Women diagnosed with breast cancer are increasingly burdened by multiple imaging appointments prior to surgery, according to researchers from Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia, who presented the findings Dec. 9 at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium.

The FDA has okayed Boston Scientifics new percutaneous lead for use with the companys Precision Plus rechargeable spinal-cord stimulator, which is used to manage chronic pain.

The U.K. Department of Healths Whole System Demonstrator (WSD) program to study the effects of telemedicine has yielded positive results so far, according to a December report.

The Office of the Surgeon General (OSG) and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) are asking the U.S. public for help promoting their vision of being healthy and fit. Developers have been challenged to design mobile applications that provide users with customizable tools to engage in healthy behavior.

lifeIMAGE, a developer of tools for e-sharing of medical images, launched its LINCS service, which allows physicians to share medical images and associated information with each other, with medical centers and with their patients, at the 97th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) in Chicago, Nov. 27 to Dec. 2.