Connecting Radiology | Enabling collaboration and professional development

January 2009 Blog Posts (68)

SIIM 2009 Resident Scholarship

Applications are being accepted for the SIIM 2009 Resident Scholarship. The deadline is March 2, 2009. The SIIM 2009 Resident Scholarship is available to all trainees (medical students, residents, and fellows) pursuing a career in radiology or medical imaging. Preference is given to radiology residents in the first half of their training. The Scholarship includes SIIM 2009 Annual Meeting registration and travel expenses, as well as a one-year SIIM membership. Applicants must submit a… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on January 31, 2009 at 2:00pm — No Comments

Report from SCMR: Salvage imaging offers fresh insight on benefits of heart therapy

January 30, 2009 Diagnostic Imaging. By James Brice Cardiac researchers assessing the benefits of revascularization therapies will operate a little less in the dark, thanks to salvage imaging, a new cardiac MR technique. Using T2-weighted pulse sequences, salvage imaging identifies the location and extent of edema that accumulates in the myocardium after an ischemic event such as myocardial infarction. The areas where edema accumulates correlate with heart muscle that is at risk for… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on January 30, 2009 at 7:30am — No Comments

radRounds Mobile Site Launches!

We have gone mobile! Check out our new radRounds Mobile website - a slim, mean, lean version of the site. It is optimized for Android and iPhone interfaces. Please let us know if you have any problems with the new website. Here is the address -- point all your mobile devices to:

http://www.radrounds.com/m

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on January 29, 2009 at 10:48pm — No Comments

Radiology Website Review: RadiologyQuality.com

We recently learned of a new website for radiologists who are interested in practice quality improvement. Check out this great website, RadiologyQuality.com On RQ, You will find radiology practice quality improvement projects... per their website, radiologists can do the following...

Who will this site help? * This site is for Radiologists undergoing Maintenance of Certification (MOC) by the… Continue

Added by Steven Chan MD on January 29, 2009 at 1:26am — No Comments

iPhone features Osirix on National Television! Check out their new iPhone Ad called "READ"

Check this out - Apple features its latest advertisement on national television entitled "Read." In the ad, the announcer says with the iPhone you can read anything... if you want to read restaurant reviews, there is an app for that... if you want to read an MRI, there is an app for that too!

iPhone Osirix… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on January 27, 2009 at 9:38pm — No Comments

Interventional Device Reviewers Wanted: $300 per Review

A paid consulting opportunity for all radRounds Members from our partner, WhichInterventionalDevice.com As per the WID team: "Now at just over a year old, we are expanding our review panel of radiologists. We would like to invite any of our interested members to join our international panel of reviewers. Reviews are easy to write and are based on the design and features of the device, what its like to use, ie. does it do what the manufacturer says it… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on January 25, 2009 at 8:00am — No Comments

ACR In-Service Exam: February 5th, 2009

2009 ACR In Training Exams are coming up soon! Diagnostic Radiology Exam is scheduled for Thursday February 5, 2009.

For past year exams or other resources and information, please visit the ACR Resident and Fellow Section Website here.

http://rfs.acr.org/

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on January 25, 2009 at 12:00am — No Comments

CMS begins coverage analysis of Cardiac Imaging MR Studies

CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) has started the review and analysis of the imaging appropriatness of flow analysis and mapping in cardiac MR studies. Cardiac MR studies are typically used to evaluate function including cardiac valves and intracardiac shunts.

"The CMS has determined that blood flow measurement, imaging of cortical bone and calcifications, and procedures involving spatial resolution of bone and calcifications, are not considered reasonable and… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on January 23, 2009 at 12:06am — No Comments

Taking our finger off the trigger

January 22, 2009 Diagnostic Imaging. Taking our finger off the trigger By Greg Freiherr -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We've entered the earnings season, and companies have begun a refrain of woe about a growing hesitancy among hospital administrators to spend money, about gathering headwinds in global currency markets, about tough times. No question about it, times are tough. And they could get tougher. Now more than ever, we need strong… Continue

Added by Diagnostic Imaging on January 22, 2009 at 8:00pm — No Comments

FDA warns against lidocaine for relieving mammography-related pain

January 21, 2009 Diagnostic Imaging. FDA warns against lidocaine for relieving mammography-related pain By James Brice -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The FDA has issued an advisory warning physicians and patients about potential health risks from topical anesthetic lidocaine used to reduce the discomfort of mammography. The potential value of lidocaine was the subject of a study published in the September 2008 issue of Radiology… Continue

Added by Diagnostic Imaging on January 21, 2009 at 8:00pm — No Comments

Congress report predicts blitz of reimbursement cuts

January 21, 2009 Diagnostic Imaging. Congress report predicts blitz of reimbursement cuts By H.A. Abella -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The American College of Radiology plans to fight proposals in the Congressional Budget Office's latest report on possible cost-cutting policies affecting medical imaging. College policy experts fear the report may represent the starting point for future payment cuts. The CBO report, Budget Options Volume I:… Continue

Added by Diagnostic Imaging on January 21, 2009 at 8:00pm — No Comments

High-volume production of Mo-99 appears feasible with low-grade uranium

January 20, 2009 High-volume production of Mo-99 appears feasible with low-grade uranium By James Brice -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A National Research Council panel has concluded that commercial volumes of molybdenum-99 can be produced cost-effectively with low-enriched uranium. Mo-99 is the precursor of technetium-99m, a radioisotope used in most nuclear imaging procedures. The finding establishes a framework for weaning manufacturers of… Continue

Added by Diagnostic Imaging on January 20, 2009 at 8:30pm — No Comments

GE Healthcare to cut jobs in recession

radRounds (NEW YORK) -- GE Medical Systems, one of the more successful divisions of GE is beginning a cost cutting program that unfortunately will involve job cuts. The medical systems and bioscience division of General Electric Co. began a cost-cutting program a month ago approximately. According to company spokesperson, John McKaig, GE Healthcare, which has a global work force of 47,000, will see worldwide staff reductions of "low to mid-single digits in terms of percentage… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on January 19, 2009 at 11:41am — No Comments

Virtual Radiologic Ranked Top Teleradiology Services Provider in 2008 KLAS Report

MINNEAPOLIS, Jan 8, 2009 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX) -- KLAS, a leading independent research firm focused on the healthcare industry, has ranked Virtual Radiologic Corp. the Category Leader in the Teleradiology Services category in its 2008 "Top 20 Best in KLAS Awards" report.

"We are proud to achieve the Category Leader ranking from KLAS, particularly since the ranking measures performance based on customer surveys and interviews," said Sean Casey, chief executive officer of Virtual… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on January 17, 2009 at 10:26pm — No Comments

3T MRI vies with arthroscopy for detection of wrist ligament tears

January 16, 2009 3T MRI vies with arthroscopy for detection of wrist ligament tears By H.A. Abella -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Researchers at a private diagnostic imaging center in central Florida have shown 3T MRI of the wrist is nearly as sensitive and specific as arthroscopy for detection of wrist ligament tears. MR could spot abnormalities missed by standard imaging tests and avoid needless surgeries, according to the investigators.… Continue

Added by Diagnostic Imaging on January 16, 2009 at 8:30pm — No Comments

Imaging centers agree to $1.2 million settlement in MRI antikickback suit

January 15, 2009 Imaging centers agree to $1.2 million settlement in MRI antikickback suit By James Brice Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has reached a $1.2 million settlement with a group of 14 Illinois radiology centers that allegedly paid illegal kickbacks to doctors in exchange for referrals. The settlement, entered in court on Wednesday, resulted from a lawsuit brought by the attorney general in 2007 after Chicago-area outpatient MRI services challenged the practice of referring… Continue

Added by Diagnostic Imaging on January 15, 2009 at 5:00pm — No Comments

Population-based study finds digital mammography equal to film

January 14, 2009 Population-based study finds digital mammography equal to film By Rebekah Moan Digital mammography is at least as good as screen-film mammography for detecting breast cancer, according to a population-based screening program study presented at the RSNA meeting by Irish researchers. Dr. Niamh Hambly of the department of radiology at Mater Misericordiae University Hospital in Dublin and colleagues retrospectively reviewed the performance of full-field digital mammography for… Continue

Added by Diagnostic Imaging on January 14, 2009 at 5:00pm — No Comments

Uninsured minorities should gain from Obama-style healthcare reform

January 13, 2009 Uninsured minorities should gain from Obama-style healthcare reform By H.A. Abella A recent study suggests that by lowering access barriers to mammography, the Obama administration could help combat the tendency of uninsured minority women to delay seeking diagnosis for breast cancer. Delayed diagnosis translates into delayed treatment and a poorer prognosis for many women. The study's investigative team was led by Dr. Cherie M. Kuzmiak, an assistant professor of radiology at… Continue

Added by Diagnostic Imaging on January 13, 2009 at 5:30pm — No Comments

One way to help stop the dying

January 13, 2009 One way to help stop the dying By Greg Freiherr Last year he was the 94th richest man in the world. Last week Adolf Merckle stepped in front of a train near his home in Blaubeuren, Germany. The suicide note he left behind has not been made public, but Merckle's family said in a statement that "the distress to his firms caused by the financial crisis and the related uncertainties of recent weeks, along with the helplessness of no longer being able to act, broke the passionate… Continue

Added by Diagnostic Imaging on January 13, 2009 at 5:00pm — No Comments

EUFORA (European Forum for Radiologists) Returns! Inviting all radiologists.

Recently a new group called EUFORA (European Forum for Radiologists) was launched on radRounds. Administrator of the list is Dr. Erik Ranschaert, who is happy to be able to relaunch the original Eufora mailing list that he had to stop in 2001. At the time Eufora was one of the largest mailing lists for radiologists, counting more than 400 members from all over the world. Many interesting discussions… Continue

Added by Steven Chan MD on January 13, 2009 at 1:00pm — 1 Comment