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March 2010 Blog Posts (37)

PACS vendors forge tools for distributed radiology services

(DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING) -- PACS vendors in the technical exhibition at ECR 2010 are demonstrating some of the hottest gadgets that will be filling the toolbox of tomorrow’s distributed radiology services.

Facing the intractable problem of stretching finite resources to meet an ever-growing demand, healthcare providers are increasingly seeking regional, or even national, solutions. New technologies offer the hope of being able to maintain quality of service by sharing professional… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on March 30, 2010 at 5:30pm — No Comments

Image Gently Steering Committee Members to Highlight Pediatric Imaging Concerns at FDA Public Meeting on Radiation Exposure from Medical Imaging

Image Gently Steering Committee Members to Highlight Pediatric Imaging Concerns at FDA Public Meeting on Radiation Exposure from Medical Imaging

Washington, DC – Marilyn Goske, MD, chair of the Alliance for Radiation Safety in Pediatric Imaging and Silverman Chair for Radiology Education at Cincinnati Children’s Medical Center, along with several key members of the Image Gentlysm Steering Committee will highlight the unique concerns associated with the imaging of children at the U.S.… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on March 29, 2010 at 10:04am — No Comments

ACR Safety Committee and Adult Radiation Protection Chairs to Speak at FDA Public Meeting on Radiation Exposure from Medical Imaging

Washington, DC ─ E. Stephen Amis, MD, FACR, co-chair of the ACR/RSNA Joint Task Force on Adult Radiation Protection and past chair of the ACR Board of Chancellors, and Richard L. Morin, PhD, FACR, chair of the American College of Radiology Safety Committee, will represent the ACR… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on March 29, 2010 at 10:01am — No Comments

Scientists Say FDA Ignored Radiation Warnings (NYTimes)

(WASHINGTON, DC) -- According to the latest article in the NY Times covering radiology and radiation issues, this article discusses how warnings by scientists and government experts about CT scans were "ignored" by the FDA. Now there will be a two day hearing called by the FDA to discuss how patients can be protected from unnecessary radiation. There is increasing awareness and also fear of the risks of routine radiology by various physician groups and patients. To read more, please visit the… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on March 29, 2010 at 8:52am — No Comments

ACR Case in Point - Preview for Week of March 29th, 2010

http://caseinpoint.acr.org

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on March 29, 2010 at 8:09am — No Comments

Elastography advances feature prominently among ultrasound exhibits

(DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING) -- The exhibition booths occupied by vendors of ultrasound systems at ECR 2010 are likely to be very busy places throughout the congress. Difficult economic conditions are causing a dip in global demand for the more capital-intensive modalities like CT and MRI, and hospital managers are keen for their staff to explore the clinical potential of this versatile and cost-effective technology.

Delegates are eager to hear more about the latest hardware and software… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on March 28, 2010 at 5:30pm — No Comments

Osirix 3.7.1 is now available

Brief Update: The latest version of Osirix 3.7.1 is now available as of today!…

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Added by radRounds Radiology Network on March 28, 2010 at 7:18am — No Comments

Attendance at ECR 2010 rose by 5%

(DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING) -- The overall number of attendees at this year’s European Congress of Radiology was 19,017, representing an increase of nearly 5% compared with the 2009 event, according to congress organizers.

There were 11,817 professional and 7200 industry/other delegates at ECR 2010. The country breakdown for professional delegates is given below. Of the 1036 radiographers who attended, 165 came from Denmark and 117 came from Norway.

By comparison, a total of… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on March 27, 2010 at 4:30pm — No Comments

Clinical audits raise standards without assigning blame

(DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING) -- When conducting a clinical audit, you should never assess other people’s work without their knowledge. You must audit teams, not individuals, and you should be constructive and confidential. Do not assign blame, and remember that poor performance may be environment-related, not person-related.

These are the golden rules of Dr. Jane Adam, founding chair of the Audit and Standards Committee of the European Society of Radiology. She presented them during… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on March 26, 2010 at 5:30pm — No Comments

ACR Backed Amendment to Mitigate Damage to Medical Imaging Access Blocked in Senate

March 25, 2010 - Washington, DC – An American College of Radiology backed amendment was submitted by Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS) on Wednesday (March 24) to strike from the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010 (H.R. 4872) a provision raising the medical imaging equipment utilization rate from 50 percent to 75 percent, effective Jan. 1, 2011 for all imaging equipment priced over $1 million. Although submitted, the amendment was never offered for a vote as an agreement… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on March 25, 2010 at 8:35pm — No Comments

E-prescribing could help control medical radiation exposure

(DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING) -- There has been considerable discussion on the federal stimulus program and the impact it will have in bringing about an improved patient care model through the use of technology. This anticipates care providers having access to electronic health records (EHRs) that can communicate, or “interoperate,” with other health providers and health systems so a complete record of all a patient’s episodes of care, including pharmaceutical records, are available in real-time for… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on March 25, 2010 at 3:30pm — No Comments

Waste not, want not: Getting the most from imaging procedures

(DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING) -- The amount of data obtained in a single MR or CT scan is mind-boggling. At least some of the data radiologists throw away could save patients money while reducing their exposure to radiation and risk of complications from invasive procedures.

“The same CT or MR scans that have been performed for other indications can be used to measure epicardial fat volume,” Dr. Paolo Raggi told me. “That is why this is such an easy piece of information to… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on March 24, 2010 at 5:30pm — No Comments

Number of imaging studies jumps 65% at Winter Olympics

DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING -- Imaging studies at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games increased 65% from when they were last held in Torino, Italy. At the Vancouver games 950 imaging studies were performed, according to Dr. Bruce Forster, a professor at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver and the Vancouver Organizing Committee imaging supervisor.

As previously reported, radiology played its greatest role to date at the most recent Winter Olympics, continuing to build on previous games.… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on March 23, 2010 at 5:39pm — No Comments

Naugatuck Valley Radiology Awarded Accreditation From The Joint Commission

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:

Paul Masotto

Executive Director of Imaging

(203) 264-7999

NAUGATUCK VALLEY RADIOLOGY AWARDED ACCREDITATION FROM THE JOINT

COMMISSION

Local Practice Gains Recognition Among Distinguished Group of

Approximately 100 Diagnostic Imaging Providers Nationwide, Meets New

Medicare/Medicaid Standards Nearly Two Years Ahead of Requirement

Waterbury, CT (March 22,… Continue

Added by Bill Hayward on March 23, 2010 at 9:44am — No Comments

ACR Strongly Opposes Imaging Cuts in Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act

Washington, DC -- The ACR strongly opposes medical imaging cuts contained in The Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010 (H.R. 4872) which will shift necessary imaging care to large hospitals, increase the cost to Medicare of appropriate imaging, produce longer commutes and wait times for patients to receive care, and cause potentially life threatening… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on March 19, 2010 at 9:35pm — No Comments

Primordial and Charlotte Radiology Partner on Next-Generation Workflow

SAN MATEO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Primordial, a leading vendor of communications, workflow, quality management and analytics applications for the medical imaging market, and Charlotte Radiology, one of the largest radiology groups in the United States, announced today a partnership to deploy and further develop Primordial's applications for use by Charlotte Radiology physicians across numerous hospitals and imaging centers.

As part of the agreement, Primordial will install its… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on March 16, 2010 at 10:50pm — No Comments

Uterine Fibroid Embolization Shows Fertility Rates Comparable to Myomectomy

First Global Study Indicates Comparable Fertility Rates for Minimally Invasive UFE and “Gold Standard” Surgical Myomectomy for Women Who Want to Have Children After Uterine Fibroid Treatment

TAMPA, Fla. (March 15, 2010)—Uterine fibroid embolization, a minimally invasive interventional radiology procedure that blocks blood supply to treat painful uterine fibroids, has a comparable fertility rate to myomectomy, the surgical removal of uterine fibroids, for women who want to conceive,… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on March 15, 2010 at 11:30pm — No Comments

Young radiologists, professional challenges pose difficulties for ultrasound

(DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING) -- Too few younger practicing radiologists are prepared to embrace ultrasound and push it to its clinical limits, according to Prof. Lorenzo Derchi, a professor of radiology at the University of Genoa in Italy.

They can perform the most common examinations, but insufficient attention is given to the advancement of the modality in areas like contrast enhacement, volume ultrasound, and musculoskeletal ultrasound. And new examination techniques are often introduced… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on March 12, 2010 at 5:45pm — No Comments

Society of Interventional Radiology Hosts 35th Annual Scientific Meeting

Society of Interventional Radiology Hosts 35th Annual Scientific Meeting

Latest Advances in Minimally Invasive Medicine Featured March 13–18 in Tampa, Fla.

FAIRFAX, Va.—The Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) will present the latest research on treatments for individuals with liver, breast, soft tissue, colon, prostate, lung and pancreatic cancers; painful spinal fractures; peripheral arterial disease (PAD); uterine fibroids; and more at its 35th Annual Scientific Meeting…

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Added by radRounds Radiology Network on March 10, 2010 at 9:30pm — No Comments

ACR Launches Online Nuclear Medicine and PET Accreditation Programs

Reston, VA ─ The American College of Radiology has launched an online nuclear medicine and positron emission tomography (PET) accreditation application program that streamlines the process and significantly reduces the time it takes for nuclear medicine and PET facilities to become accredited. The ACR nuclear medicine and PET accreditation programs are the latest modalities to allow providers to apply online via the new “ACRedit” system enabling facilities to more quickly and efficiently move… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on March 10, 2010 at 10:30am — No Comments