Connecting Radiology | Enabling collaboration and professional development

RadRounds Radiology Network's Blog – November 2009 Archive (39)

RSNA 2009: Too Much Physical Activity May Lead to Arthritis

CHICAGO — Middle-aged men and women who engage in high levels of physical activity may be unknowingly causing damage to their knees and increasing their risk for osteoarthritis, according to a study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

"Our data suggest that people with higher physical activity levels may be at greater risk for developing knee abnormalities and, thus, at higher risk for… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on November 30, 2009 at 12:30am — No Comments

RSNA 2009: Smart Phones Allow Quick Diagnosis of Acute Appendicitis

CHICAGO — Radiologists can accurately diagnose acute appendicitis from a remote location with the use of a handheld device or mobile phone equipped with special software, according to a study presented today at the annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

"The goal is to improve the speed and accuracy of medical diagnoses, as well as to improve communications among different consulting physicians," said the study's… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on November 30, 2009 at 12:00am — No Comments

Merge Healthcare and InSite One Expand License Agreement to Include New Solution

A Universal Viewing Tool for “Image-Enabled” Health Information Exchange (HIE) Solutions

MILWAUKEE--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Merge Healthcare (NASDAQ:MRGE), announced today that InSite One, a leading service provider of medical data archiving, storage, and disaster-recovery solutions, has expanded its contract with Merge to provide a universal viewing solution for their InDex® archiving services. “We are excited about joining forces to bring new InDex® solutions into additional verticals… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on November 29, 2009 at 6:07pm — No Comments

RSNA 2009 - PACS upgrade to appear in Carestream RSNA booth

Carestream Health will show work-in-progress upgrade to its PACS at the upcoming RSNA meeting that will allow cross-site reading through a unified global worklist. The new capability will allow radiologists to add key images, measurement results, and other content directly into reports with the click of a button or through voice commands. A single display interface will associate imported DICOM and non-DICOM data into an existing patient portfolio, complementing the current ability of the PACS… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on November 28, 2009 at 11:30am — No Comments

RSNA 2009: Don't Miss the ACR Booth at RSNA 2009

(CHICAGO) -- ACR / RSNA 2009 Announcement

Stay Ahead of the Learning Curve

Visit the ACR booth #6403A at RSNA 2009 in Chicago to speak with the ACR staff and preview the latest education products essential to your profession. Here’s what you can expect to discover at the ACR booth, Nov. 29–Dec. 3, 2009:

Get more than 100 pages of the newest, relevant casework from outstanding chest radiology experts with the latest release from the Continuous Professional… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on November 25, 2009 at 6:30pm — No Comments

New KLAS report: The Growing Market for Anesthesia Software: Liability, Integration and the Benefits of Adoption

(KLAS) -- New KLAS report: The Growing Market for Anesthesia Software: Liability, Integration and the Benefits of Adoption

Report highlights:

* Almost universally, anesthesia information system (AIS) customers report holes in functionality when it comes to reporting and integration.

* However, every AIS product KLAS measured generally earned high marks for ease of use and frequently saw strong adoption within the anesthesia department.

* In the past,… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on November 24, 2009 at 10:49pm — No Comments

With meeting approaching, RSNA responds to H1N1 flu risk

(DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING) -- With no major health organization advising delay, the Radiological Society of North America is moving forward with its 2009 meeting, despite evidence suggesting the week-long event will be held in the midst of an H1N1 flu epidemic.

More than 60,000 people are expected to attend the RSNA scientific sessions and technical exhibits at McCormick Place in Chicago Nov. 29 to Dec. 4.

The RSNA is holding to its position against delay or cancellation while… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on November 23, 2009 at 8:30pm — No Comments

RSNA 2009 Program - radRounds Guide to Finding Courses and Exhibits in Chicago

(CHICAGO) -- Every year, the RSNA puts up the largest medical conference in the world. With such a vast number of exhibits, abstracts, courses, and lectures, how does one approach the RSNA? Gone are the days of lugging around the thousand page program guide. RSNA has made significant advances in their website. Their website is evolving yearly to make browsing the RSNA program easier and easier. This year's online RSNA program is probably the best we have seen. …

Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on November 23, 2009 at 6:00pm — No Comments

House Votes to Repeal SGR, Physician Payment Cut

(AMERICAN COLLEGE OF RADIOLOGY) -- On Nov. 19, 2009, the U.S. House of Representatives voted 243-183 to approve HR 3961, the Medicare Physician Payment Act that seeks to reform the way Medicare pays physicians. This bill repeals the sustainable growth rate (SGR) formula and provides an MEI, or Medicare Economic Index, update for 2010 instead of a 21 percent Medicare physician payment cut. It also eliminates all debt associated with the SGR that has accumulated over the years because of… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on November 23, 2009 at 11:31am — No Comments

Pro football player concussion study leads parade of physiological neurorad research at 2009 RSNA meeting

(DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING @ RSNA 2009) -- The evolution of neuroradiological research from anatomy to biochemistry can be seen in the frequency with which MRI techniques have led to research that will be presented at the 2009 RSNA meeting. Nearly all of the hottest papers this year employ some form of physiological or metabolic imaging. These techniques expand the horizons of medicine because most chronic, degenerative, metabolic, and inherited brain diseases demonstrate few anatomical findings,… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on November 22, 2009 at 8:00pm — No Comments

Health services RSNA sessions will focus on quality, patient care process

(DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING @ RSNA 2009) -- RSNA meeting attendees can expect health services scientific sessions to focus on quality, according to the committee chair. The sessions will define quality and how radiologists can work on the entire care experience. "We are more than the images and reports we generate," said Dr. Ruth Carlos, chair of the RSNA subcommittee on health services policy and research. "We are active participants in the patient care process, and it is up to us to make sure that… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on November 21, 2009 at 7:30pm — No Comments

CT colonography papers flood the gates at McCormick Place

(DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING @ RSNA 2009) -- Rather than retreating after the hard blow handed them by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which refused to grant reimbursement for the application in May, CT colonography researchers will arrive at the 2009 RSNA meeting with more of what CMS wants: hard data. CMS' decision intensified the debate on CTC's worth for colorectal cancer screening and whether it should be accepted in routine practice. When it came to CTC's alleged weaknesses, the… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on November 20, 2009 at 7:30pm — No Comments

ACR Responds to HHS Secretary Statement Regarding USPSTF Mammography Recommendations

(RESTON, VA) -- The American College of Radiology (ACR) is pleased to see that Secretary Sebelius has reaffirmed that mammography is a vital and lifesaving tool in the battle against breast cancer. We strongly urge women and providers to continue to adhere to the current American Cancer Society and American College of Radiology policies regarding mammographic screening. Additionally, as the Task Force is referenced in health care reform legislation as a significant factor in determining which… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on November 19, 2009 at 8:03pm — No Comments

RSNA musculoskeletal sessions showcase dual-energy CT applications, including gout

(DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING) -- RSNA Preview Musculoskeletal scientific sessions at the RSNA meeting will address the use of dual-energy CT in multiple settings, including the possibility of combined heart and bone density scans. Submitted papers also show the use of dual-energy CT for imaging other indications, such as gout. "When we do a dual-energy CT scan it requires a lot of time and a lot of imaging and so the question becomes what else can we use that data for?" said Dr. Michelle Barr, RSNA… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on November 19, 2009 at 7:56pm — No Comments

Coronary CTA triages ER chest pain patients safely, inexpensively

(DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING) -- Cardiac CTA has matched the clinical safety of a standard emergency room protocol for triaging chest pain patients with suspected myocardial infarction while cutting costs by more than a third in a multicenter randomized clinical trial involving more than 700 patients. Dr. Kavitha Chinnaiyan, a cardiologist at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, MI, described the results of the 16-center Coronary Computed Tomography Angiography for Systematic Triage of Acute Chest… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on November 19, 2009 at 7:54pm — No Comments

USPSTF Mammography Recommendations Will Result in Countless Unnecessary Breast Cancer Deaths Each Year

USPSTF Mammography Recommendations Will Result in Countless Unnecessary Breast Cancer Deaths Each Year

Reston, Va. — If cost-cutting U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) mammography recommendations are adopted as policy, two decades of decline in breast cancer mortality could be reversed and countless American women may die needlessly from breast cancer each year. The recommendations ─ created by a federal government-funded committee with no medical imaging representation ─… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on November 16, 2009 at 6:05pm — No Comments

DeJarnette readies “cloud” storage offering for RSNA 2009

(DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING) -- DeJarnette Research Systems will showcase newly developed storage services at RSNA 2009. The offerings, dubbed iNA SST (Simple Storage Technology) and iNA Premium, are based on Internet Neutral Archive technology that extends the company’s own xDL to allow offsite storage. The “Software as a Service” products enable reliable storage and retrieval of DICOM objects to and from the “storage cloud”, which is achieved by networking computers together over the Internet.… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on November 15, 2009 at 8:55am — No Comments

Medicare approves FDG-PET for cervical cancer staging

(DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING) -- Medical imagers can now expect Medicare to routinely cover FDG-PET for initial staging of cervical cancer, thanks to a national coverage ruling announced Nov. 10. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services reconsidered an earlier decision against coverage. Ruling on an appeal, it concluded that enough clinical evidence has been published to show that FDG-PET helps guide the clinical management of cervical cancer patients and has a positive effect on patient outcomes.… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on November 14, 2009 at 5:30pm — No Comments

Carestream to unveil mobile x-ray upgrade at RSNA 2009

(DIAGNOSTIC IMAGING) -- A work-in-progress retrofit for mobile x-ray units will debut in the Carestream Health booth at RSNA 2009. Earlier this year Carestream released a digital upgrade featuring its wireless, cassette-size DRX-1 detector for stationary radiography systems. The retrofit now in development converts the x-ray generators onboard mobile systems, which are widely used to x-ray bed-ridden hospital patients, to work with Carestream’s new digital detector. The company will demonstrate… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on November 13, 2009 at 5:38pm — No Comments

ACR Chair Letter to Members - from the American College of Radiology

(RESTON, VA) -- ACR Chair Letter to Members: Imaging, the Medicare Fee Schedule and the Road Ahead

"As you may know, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released their 2010 Medicare Fee Schedule which contained significant cuts to the technical component of medical imaging reimbursement. The provisions in the final rule are not what we want, or are working toward, but the proposed rule contained far deeper imaging cuts.

The final rule… Continue

Added by radRounds Radiology Network on November 13, 2009 at 5:16pm — No Comments