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The Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography has announced the election of Dr. Daniel S. Berman, MD, FACC, to the office of president.

The Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography announces the election of Dr. Daniel S. Berman, MD, FACC, to the office of president.  Dr. Berman is the Director of Cardiac Imaging at Cedars Sinai Medical Center, and Professor of Medicine at the UCLA School of Medicine, and brings years of distinguished experience in noninvasive imaging to the role.

Dr. Berman has previously served as the founding vice-president of SCCT, and has held leadership positions in numerous other professional medical associations.  His contributions to the field of cardiac imaging in research, with over 300 original manuscripts, and his track record of leadership in the field make him a natural choice for the SCCT presidency.

SCCT also elected Dr. Jack A. Ziffer, MD, PhD, to the office of President-Elect.  Dr. Ziffer is the Chief of Radiology at Baptist Hospital of Miami, and Director of Cardiac Imaging at the Baptist Cardiac and Vascular Institute.  In addition to his distinguished research and practice, Dr. Ziffer’s leadership experience in both radiology and cardiology make him well suited to guiding the professional society devoted exclusively to cardiac CT.

In his acceptance speech at the 2008 SCCT Scientific Sessions, Dr. Berman outlined his vision for the future of cardiovascular CT.  "The 'way ahead'," according to Berman, "is an ascent of cardiac CT to its deserved place in prevention, diagnosis, and guiding management."  Central to the future of cardiac CT are "research, innovation, education and training, and an emphasis on quality."

With coronary artery disease expected to become the leading cause of death worldwide, the ability to identify patients at risk has never been more important.  "We already have treatments that could prevent about 70 per cent of heart attacks. Cardiac CT promises to become one of the most powerful tools we have to identify the patient in need of treatment," Dr. Berman stated in his acceptance speech.  Acknowledging the need to reign in the rapid rise of health care costs, Berman said, "I predict that cardiac CT will save lives while at the same time it will reduce costs, since it will eliminate redundant treatments and tests based on the information derived from cardiac CT."

"The SCCT will lead the way by establishing guidelines for the performance and interpretation of cardiac CT, and by working with other professional societies to ensure that patients always receive the most appropriate diagnosis and treatment," Dr. Berman went on to say.  "Throughout my career of over thirty years in noninvasive imaging, researchers and clinicians have dreamed of a high resolution noninvasive imaging modality for imaging the coronary arteries. We have that modality in cardiac CT, and SCCT will ensure its potential is developed to the fullest."