November 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Vol. 30 No. 11 Missed lung cancers carry medical, legal implications Both chest radiography and CT interpretations fall prey to mistakes in decision making, poor visualization, and atypical appearance Missed lung cancers carry medical, legal implications Both chest radiography and CT interpretations fall prey to mistakes in decision making, poor visualization, and atypical appearance Missed lung cancer is a source of great concern among radiologists and an…
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November 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Vol. 30 No. 11 Innovation spurs novel nontraditional applications Ultrasound strengths make it a favorite alternative for initial assessments By Greg Freiherr The inherent strengths of ultrasound—low cost, wide availability, nonionizing radiation—make this modality a favorite to get the diagnostic ball rolling. Technological advances headed for the RSNA exhibit floor will give added impetus to its use, as engineers have tackled some of sonography's most…
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November 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Vol. 30 No. 11 In PACS, 15 years makes a world of difference Retrospective examines things that have changed—or not—at Baltimore VA BY ELIOT SIEGEL, M.D. Dr. Siegel is chief of radiology and nuclear medicine at the VA Maryland Health Care System with the Baltimore VA Medical Center. Without much fanfare, the Baltimore VA Medical Center passed its 15-year milestone as the first filmless (with the exception of mammography) hospital on June 23, 2008. Instead of…
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November 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Vol. 30 No. 11 GE Healthcare seeks better image quality, lower dose High-definition imaging gets new detector technology for faster speed and greater afterglow performance By Gene Saragnese Mr. Saragnese is vice president and general manager of Global CT and Molecular Imaging for GE Healthcare. Our vision for the future of CT here at GE Healthcare revolves around one central question. If clinicians struggle to see anatomy or pathology, how can they make a…
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November 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Vol. 30 No. 11 Toshiba sets 'dynamic volume' as new CT frontier Aquilion One scanner covers 16 cm to allow whole-organ images with temporal uniformity By Doug Ryan Mr. Ryan is senior director of the CT business unit for Toshiba America Medical Systems. Early CT systems delivered insights about the body’s anatomy that were previously impossible. The following generations of scanners provided new capabilities to cover more anatomical area and acquire volume…
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November 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. GE Healthcare seeks better image quality, lower dose BY GENE SARAGNESE Our vision for the future of CT here at GE Healthcare revolves around one central question. If clinicians struggle to see anatomy or pathology, how can they make a confident diagnosis? While today's coverage and temporal resolution in CT are more than adequate to handle most CT exams (80% are of the head, abdomen, or pelvis), better image quality and lower dose both benefit the patients…
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November 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Vol. 30 No. 11 Enterprise imaging unfolds as future direction of PACS By Douglas Page Mr. Page is a contributing editor to Diagnostic Imaging. The PACS market has changed. It is no longer just about the images. Over the past decade, hospitals have been the primary PACS consumers. The increase in imaging procedures measured against the decrease in the number of radiologists, however, has created a coverage crisis. Offsite reading and reliance on day and…
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November 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Vol. 30 No. 11 Elite medical facilities ban commercial support of CME Restrictions for drug and device companies attempt to eliminate conflicts of interest in programs Stanford University has joined other high-profile medical schools and research institutions in severely restricting funding from pharmaceutical and device companies for continuing medical education programs—including programs for radiologists and radiology technologists. Under the new Stanford…
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November 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Vol. 30 No. 11 Dynamic breast MRI helps assess axillary nodes Dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI may be an alternative to invasive exploratory surgery for assessing lymph node status and determining if breast cancer patients require radiation treatment. A study from the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance and the University of Washington Medical Center found that certain kinetic parameters of breast cancer tumors can determine the presence and absence of cancer…
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November 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. DRA pain lingers, but other changesshow progress for radiology practice BY JOHN C. HAYES, EDITOR Advanced imaging procedures covered by Medicare took a beating in 2007 under a congressionally mandated deficit reduction law, falling $1.7 billion, a drop of 12.7%, to $12.1 billion, according to a report from the federal General Accountability Office. The report was striking because it was the first to detail impact on imaging of the much-despised Deficit…
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November 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Vol. 30 No. 11 Disruptive behavior gets slammed down In meetings, roll eyes at your own risk or claim temporary nystagmus BY ERIC TREFELNER, M.D. I would like to end this month's Utilization Review Committee meeting by once again addressing the radiology department's failure to rein in inappropriate studies and reports without proper clinical history. The most recent audit shows that we continue to lose revenue because of denials for these cases. Dr. Lurch,…
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November 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Vol. 30 No. 11 Digital mammography: CR and tomo could change game Throughput, price, and spector of obsolescence muddy competitive waters Full-field digital mammography was built on solid-state technology. The first such machines, introduced eight years ago, were based on flat-panel detectors, a tradition that continued until the commercial introduction of computed radiography a few years ago. These CR-based products work with the generators, x-ray tubes,…
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November 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Vol. 30 No. 11 Three-T MRI enhances diagnosis of focal epilepsy A recent study at the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland has confirmed that 3T MR imaging improves on 1.5T MRI for detecting and characterizing struc-tural brain abnormalities in patients with focal epilepsy. Surgery can cure focal epilepsy, but only patients with a specific imaging-diagnosed structural brain abnormality are candidates for the treatment. An accurate, one-go MRI…
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October 31, 2008 Ultrasound nears its potential in breast cancer By Greg Freiherr It’s been a long time coming. Nearly a decade has passed since ATL took a serious run at advancing the medical art of breast cancer diagnosis. The company, long-since absorbed by Philips Healthcare, developed a novel algorithm designed for its Ultramark 9 HDI, later adapted for its HDI 3000 and 5000. The goal was to eliminate the need for at least some biopsies. In an effort to reach it, ATL took on the arduous…
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October 31, 2008 Final rules in 2009 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule disappoint some, elate others By James Brice The 2009 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule reflects the recent tendency of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to propose stringent reforms for in-office imaging and independent diagnostic imaging facilities in the summer and decide against their implementation when the final MPFS rules are published in the fall. This year, CMS deferred taking action on its proposal that…
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October 30, 2008 Spokane VA Medical Center and NightHawk Radiology Services Improving Patient Care with After-Hours Reads NightHawk Radiology Services is leading the transformation of the practice of radiology. Its team of U.S. board-certified, state-licensed, and hospital-privileged physicians located in the US, Australia, and Switzerland, provides services 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for more than 750 radiology group customers and the 26% of all U.S. hospitals they serve. NightHawk…
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October 30, 2008 NightHawk third quarter results show scan volume up 1%, prices off 3% COEUR D'ALENE, Idaho, Oct 29 -- NightHawk Radiology Holdings announced Wednesday financial results for its third quarter ended Sept. 30. The following are third quarter 2008 highlights: * Revenue was $43.4 million compared with $45.2 million in the year-ago quarter. Scan volume grew 1% to 792,000 scans while pricing declined 3%. * Revenue from new service offerings, including final reads and business…
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October 30, 2008 Chest CT shows value during follow-up for head and neck cancer patients By Rebekah Moan Multislice CT chest studies should be routinely performed, especially during follow-up exams, for some head and neck cancer patients, according to a recent study from Taiwan in the Archives of Otolaryngology -- Head and Neck Surgery. Chest CT is recommended for newly diagnosed head and neck cancer patients at high risk for developing a malignant neoplasm of the lung during follow-up,…
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October 29, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. CT colonography offers number one choice after failed colonoscopy By Rebekah Moan An Italian investigation suggests virtual colonography is a better follow-up test for failed colonoscopy than a double-contrast barium enema. Dr. Lapo Sali of the radiodiagnostic section within the department of clinical physiopathology at the University of Florence and colleagues conducted a population-based screening program for colorectal cancer in Tuscany (World J…
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October 29, 2008 Brain imaging uncovers why people overbid at auctions New York University neuroscientists and economists have combined functional MRI with behavioral economic research to discover why people tend to overbid for products sold at auction: fear of losing a social competition. The next step may be explaining irrational Wall Street behavior. Functional MRI was used to examine brain activation patterns while volunteers played either an auction game with a partner or a lottery game.…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on October 29, 2008 at 10:00pm —
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