ACCURACY OF EBT CORONARY ARTERY SCAN CONFIRMED.Imatron Inc. (Nasdaq:IMAT) has announced that its proprietary electron beam tomography Electron beam tomography is a specific form of computed axial tomography (CAT or CT) in which the X-Ray tube is not mechanically spun in order to rotate the source of X-Ray photons. (EBT) technology was featured in more than 20 presentations, posters and debates during the 50th Scientific Sessions of the American College of Cardiology The American College of Cardiology (ACC) is a nonprofit medical association established in 1949 to educate, research and influence health care public policy. The president for the 2006–2007 year is Steven E. Nissen. [1] The organization has 39 chapters in the U.S. (ACC). In studies reflecting results in tens of thousands of patient examinations, the predictive accuracy and high sensitivity of the EBT coronary artery scan for the detection of sub-clinical coronary artery disease coronary artery disease, condition that results when the coronary arteries are narrowed or occluded, most commonly by atherosclerotic deposits of fibrous and fatty tissue. has been confirmed in both asymptomatic subjects and in those with a higher likelihood of heart disease. Of note were two papers from the Walter Reed Army Medical Center Walter Reed Army Medical Center, major hospital complex in Washington, D. C., and Forest Glen, Md.; est. 1923 and named for U.S. army surgeon Walter Reed. It is composed of seven units including a general hospital and a research institute. There are several thousand beds. presented by Dr. Allen Taylor who is conducting a large study of asymptomatic military personnel to investigate the relationship between risk factors, physical fitness and sub-clinical coronary disease as measured by EBT scans of the coronary arteries. These studies determined that the EBT coronary artery scan clearly defined a subgroup of seemingly healthy patients at high risk for coronary artery disease (CAD) that was not identified by standard coronary artery disease risk factors or a variety of commonly used exercise stress testing protocols. The EBT coronary artery scan was able to identify people at high risk of a heart attack or other cardiovascular event even though they were fit, athletic, healthy, did not smoke and were free of diabetes, hypertension and high cholesterol. Two other papers underlined the importance of obtaining scans in selected symptomatic patients: Roberto Wayhs and colleagues from Oak Lawn and Chicago, Illinois. showed an extremely high 42% annualized annualized Of or relating to a variable that has been mathematically converted to a yearly rate. Inflation and interest rates are generally annualized since it is on this basis that these two variables are ordinarily stated and compared. rate of death or heart attack among those with the highest EBT scores. This is significantly higher than that predicted by the presence of major perfusion defects on nuclear medicine stress tests. Dennis Laudon and investigators from the Mayo Clinic expanded their study of patients exhibiting chest pain admitted to the emergency room. They were able to select more than half of their patient population who could safely be sent home based upon their EBT calcium scores and the negative predictive value The negative predictive value is the proportion of patients with negative test results who are correctly diagnosed. Worked example
Condition (as determined by "Gold standard") True False of the coronary artery scan result was 99.3%. During follow up, no cardiac events were recorded in those with a negative scan. In another unrelated paper, published in the February 2001 issue of the International Journal of Cardiology, Dr. Matthew Budoff and colleagues at the Harbor-UCLA Medical Center Harbor-UCLA Medical Center is a hospital located within the city of Torrance, California, USA. The hospital was founded in 1946, and is funded by Los Angeles County Harbor-UCLA serves as the Level I Trauma Center for the South Bay area. demonstrated that spiral/helical CT achieved only 74% sensitivity and 70% specificity in the detection of coronary artery calcification when compared with the "gold standard" EBT. Dr. Budoff described the spiral/helical CT results as "disappointing" in that the overall diagnostic accuracy of spiral/helical CT was only 73% and the inter-test variability was 84.5%. He concluded that, "Caution should be used when evaluating the results of spiral/helical CT coronary artery calcium 'scores,' especially in patients with relatively low calcium scores (less than 200)." According to S. Lewis Meyer, CEO of Imatron, "The level of interest in and the cardiology community support of the powerful cardiac applications of our proprietary electron beam tomography technology has never been higher. A broad spectrum of physicians including internists, primary care physicians, endocrinologists, OB-GYN specialists and others who are confronted daily with the challenges and questions of heart disease are now incorporating the EBT coronary artery scan in their medical practices. In study after study and publication after publication, the unique information provided by Imatron's EBT scanner is proving to be critical in answering those questions that conventional risk factors cannot. Who is at highest risk of experiencing a heart attack? In spite of a perfectly normal risk factor profile, does this specific patient have significant atherosclerosis? If an individual is shown to have coronary artery disease, is he more likely to take his cholesterol reducing medication? The list of important clinical questions that the EBT coronary artery scan can play a crucial role in answering is virtually endless. These questions and more are being answered daily at EBT facilities across the country and around the world. EBT's unchallenged position as the 'gold standard' in sensitive and accurate quantification of coronary artery calcium is building strong momentum for current and future EBT scanner sales. In spite of today's economic uncertainties, Imatron is clearly on track to achieve our objective of 40+ EBT scanner sales in 2001." Imatron Inc. is primarily engaged in designing, manufacturing, marketing, and servicing high performance electron beam tomography (EBT) scanners based on the company's proprietary EBT technology. Imatron's EBT scanner is now in use at more than 150 major medical facilities and imaging centers around the world, including the Mayo Clinic, Hackensack University Medical Center Hackensack University Medical Center (HUMC) is a 781-bed non-profit, research and teaching hospital located just seven miles west of New York City, in Hackensack, New Jersey, providing tertiary and healthcare needs for northern New Jersey and the New York metropolitan area. , Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is a world-renowned hospital located in Los Angeles, California. History Cedars-Sinai is the result of a merger in 1961 between two major Los Angeles hospitals, Cedars of Lebanon and Mount Sinai Home for the Incurables, with Steve Broidy as , Abbott-Northwestern Hospital, Mount Sinai Medical Center, University of Iowa Not to be confused with Iowa State University. The first faculty offered instruction at the University in March 1855 to students in the Old Mechanics Building, situated where Seashore Hall is now. In September 1855, the student body numbered 124, of which, 41 were women. , Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, UCLA Medical Center UCLA Medical Center is a hospital located on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles in Los Angeles, California. It is rated as one of the top three hospitals in the United States and is the top hospital on the West Coast according to US News & World Report. , St. Francis Hospital St. Francis Hospital may refer to:
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