9: MR explodes at New Jersey veterinary facility 3/9/2015
There were roughly 60 animals and 100 staff members in the western part of the Oradell Animal Hospital, when the facility's MR unit exploded. While local businesses heroically came together to minimize the impact of the disaster, it served as a sobering reminder of the consequences that may accompany improper deinstallation (or maintenance) of these powerful systems.

8: The trouble with duodenoscopes 2/27/2015

In February Olympus began facing lawsuits for negligence and wrongful death stemming from the UCLA Ronald Reagan Medical Center “superbug outbreak” linked to use of its TJF-Q180V duodenoscopes. The headlines persisted for months, the FDA intervened, new protocols were instated for maintaining the devices, and the challenge of keeping increasingly small parts sanitary has triggered a yellow traffic light on some aspects of endoscopy's robotic and mechanical progress.

7: Department of Defense chooses EHR provider 7/29/2015
After months of speculation and jockeying among three competing teams, Leidos — in partnership with Cerner and Accenture Federal Services — won the coveted Department of Defense contract. The contract could be worth $10 billion and is expected to improve care for 55 affiliated hospitals and 600 clinics, servicing 9.5 million active and retired military servicemen and women. An investment of this could shift the balance of power among health IT companies.

6: Crossing the blood-brain barrier with focused ultrasound 11/10/2015
A medical team at Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre in Toronto used focused ultrasound to temporarily open the blood-brain barrier, to more effectively administer chemotherapy to a patient’s malignant brain tumor. This is the first time that the BBB has been opened noninvasively and could have a major impact on how tomorrow's surgeons and physicians approach diseases of the brain.

5: Cybersecurity: Learning the hard way 3/17/2015
Moreso than in any other year, health care discovered in 2015 how important it is to keep sensitive information secure online. After Anthem's 80 million member data breach in February, Premera Blue Cross announced a cyberattack in March that jeopardized Social Security numbers, bank account numbers, clinical information and addresses of 11 million of its members in the Pacific Northwest. Meanwhile, Hospira partnered with independent researchers to illustrate the vulnerability of drug infusion pump dosages to hacking.

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