Patient price-shopping has driven headlines throughout 2012, and today, United Healthcare contributed to the conversation with the roll-out of its digital procedure cost estimator.

A Maryland radiologist is challenging Virginia certificate-of-need laws in federal court, saying that the laws requiring him to demonstrate a patient demand for his services prior to opening a new imaging center are outdated and anti-competitive.

Although the number of CT procedures performed across the country is still increasing annually, a new survey from market researchers IMV shows that the days of double-digit growth are behind the industry.

Cardinal Health announced that it will manufacture and distribute Amyvid, Eli Lilly and Company's new diagnostic imaging agent that aids in the evaluation of adult patients with cognitive impairment who may have Alzheimer's Disease and other causes of cognitive decline.

The percentage of consumers who shop around for healthcare prices is up from 2010 levels, according to a poll from NPR-Thomson Reuters, and patients are seeking information almost equally from doctors and insurers.

After weeks of public campaigning, the movement to repeal a medical device manufacturer tax that will impact all makers of medical devices, including imaging equipment manufacturers, is scheduled to come to a vote this week in the House of Representatives.

Maryland-based IT developer Force 3, a provider of dental imaging for military customers, has acquired secureRAD of Annapolis, MD, which develops secure, cloud-based image-sharing technologies.

GE Healthcare signed a deal with Swedish contrast agent developer Affibody AB for the development of a PET imaging agent that targets Human Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor 2 (Her2), a breast cancer biomarker.