October 2, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Case of the Month -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CLINICAL HISTORY A 27-year-old woman with history of nephrolithiasis presented for a renal ultrasound prior to lithotripsy. FINDINGS Sagittal and transverse supine views (Figure 1A and 1B) of the right kidney demonstrate a cystic structure in the upper pole. This structure contained highly echogenic material that layered dependently and presented a sharp…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on October 2, 2008 at 2:30am —
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October 2, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Candidates poke at gorilla of health reform, but can they tame it? John C. Hayes -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In an online survey posted this fall on the Diagnosticimaging.com website, we asked respondents how important it is that the next president and Congress enact substantial reforms of the healthcare system. With 130 votes in as of this writing, 73% answered very important and 15% somewhat important.…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on October 2, 2008 at 2:30am —
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October 1, 2008 Wine-based antioxidant could shield against radiation exposure H. A. Abella -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- An antioxidant contained in red table wine could one day prove effective as protection against radiation from a nuclear attack, according to a study by University of Pittsburgh researchers. The University of Pittsburgh's Center for Medical Countermeasures Against Radiation is dedicated to discovering and developing drugs…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on October 1, 2008 at 4:00am —
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September 30, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Optimal planning aids avoidance of vessels Minimizing areas of resection benefits patient but requires precise localization, identification of lesions ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The complexity of the liver can make the removal of pathology difficult. The organ's dual blood supply gives it many vascular structures to avoid. So when surgery is planned, practitioners must have a good idea what they are…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on September 30, 2008 at 9:30pm —
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September 30, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Liver MR protocols address fibrosis threat Careful screening and a variety of contrast agents offer clinicians safe options for at-risk patients -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The apparent link between nephrogenic systemic fibrosis and certain gadolinium-containing MR contrast media has led to a tightening of procedures in radiology departments worldwide. Steps have been implemented to identify those…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on September 30, 2008 at 9:30pm —
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September 30, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Lesion identification taps new strategies Liver's 500 separate functions and dual blood supply lead to unique clinical challenges Paula Gould -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The largest solid organ in the human body and the largest gland, the liver dominates the field of abdominal radiology. Its complex arrangements for blood supply-drawing on not one but two separate sources-only add to the challenge.…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on September 30, 2008 at 9:30pm —
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September 30, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Interventional options open palliative avenues -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The options available for treating focal liver disease are expanding. For patients with advanced disease who are seeking temporary relief rather than restoration of full health, or those who want a downstaging solution to make them eligible for surgery, interventional radiologists have plenty to offer. "There has been a paradigm…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on September 30, 2008 at 9:30pm —
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September 30, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Functional techniques promise fast follow-up CT remains primary modality over MR, but choice depends on nature of cancer therapy being monitored -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cancer is being tackled from a host of new directions. Traditional methods of curing and controlling malignancy through surgery, systemic chemotherapy, and radiotherapy are no longer the only story. The development of targeted drug…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on September 30, 2008 at 9:30pm —
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September 30, 2008 European radioisotope supply woes continue James Brice -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The High Flux Reactor in Petten, the Netherlands, the primary source for the molybdenum-99 crucial to diagnostic nuclear imaging in Europe, will remain shut down until at least the end of November while officials devise a strategy to plug a gas leak. The facility's operator, the Nuclear Research and Consultancy Group (NRG), announced Sept. 17…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on September 30, 2008 at 9:30pm —
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September 26, 2008 Radiologists remain on top of salary pyramid Rebekah Moan -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Radiologists continue to be among the highest paid physicians, and the specialty has the fewest number of vacancies, according to a research letter recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Dr. Mark H. Ebell, a professor and assistant to the provost at the University of Georgia, compared the 2007 median income…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on September 26, 2008 at 10:00pm —
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September 26, 2008 DRA drove down imaging costs by $1.7 billion in 2007 Rebekah Moan -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The General Accountability Office released a report on Sept. 26 that found reforms mandated by the 2005 Deficit Reduction Act cut Medicare Part B spending on medical imaging by $1.7 billion in 2007. The decline is a dramatic reversal from previous years. From 2000 to 2006, Medicare spending for imaging services doubled from about…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on September 26, 2008 at 9:30pm —
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September 24, 2008 Zerhouni announces resignation as NIH chief James Brice -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dr. Elias A. Zerhouni, the first board-certified radiologist to direct the National Institutes of Health, has announced that he will resign as chief of the giant medical research agency at the end of October 2008. Zerhouni was radiology director at John Hopkins University Medical Center in May 2002 when he was appointed to lead the NIH by…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on September 24, 2008 at 10:00pm —
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September 24, 2008 Feds pressure states to kill certificate of need programs Laura Newman -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission are pressuring state governments to repeal Certificate of Need laws that have lingered as a way to control healthcare costs by regulating health facility establishment, expansion, and purchase of capital equipment, such as MRI technology and CT scanners. In a joint…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on September 24, 2008 at 10:00pm —
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September 23, 2008 Report from ARRS: Three-T MR alone avoids complications of contrast-enhanced MR arthrography H. A. Abella -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A Duke University study has established that unenhanced 3T MR imaging can deliver the same diagnostic accuracy as contrast-enhanced 3T MR arthrography of the shoulder, but without the associated pain, radiation, and risk of adverse contrast reactions. The combined MRI-arthrography exam of…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on September 23, 2008 at 10:00pm —
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September 22, 2008 MRI reveals inner ear anomalies in children with hearing loss Archives of Otolaryngology -- Head & Neck Surgery -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A study involving the imaging histories of more than 200 children with sensorineural hearing loss recommends MRI instead of CT for identifying soft-tissue defects associated with inner ear anomalies. Sensorineural hearing loss affects thousands of children per year, according to…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on September 22, 2008 at 10:00pm —
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September 19, 2008 CT colonography’s proven clinical worth now invites reimbursement H. A. Abella -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- What radiologists gleefully celebrated almost a year ago has been officially validated for the entire medical community by The New England Journal of Medicine: CT colonography is an accurate alternative to colonoscopy to detect suspicious polyps and is primed for colorectal cancer screening. Virtual colonoscopy…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on September 19, 2008 at 10:00pm —
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September 18, 2008 Reliable In-Stent Lumen Visualization With Dual Source CT Coronary Angiography By Annick C. Weustink, MD, and Nico R. Mollet, MD, PhD Departments of Radiology and Cardiology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HISTORY A 58-year-old man with a history of hypertension and hypercholesterolemia was admitted to the hospital with symptoms of suspected stable angina pectoris. The patient…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on September 18, 2008 at 10:30pm —
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September 18, 2008 Improved Evaluation and Follow-up of Routine Diagnostic Oncology Exams By Axel Küttner, MD, and Alexander Aplas, MD, Institute of Diagnostic Radiology, University of Erlangen-Nuremberg, Erlangen, Germany -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Diagnostic, staging and follow-up exams for tumors are among the most frequent CT exams performed in many radiology departments. For the University of Erlangen, oncology related imaging…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on September 18, 2008 at 10:30pm —
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September 18, 2008 CT image summation boosts accuracy of RF ablation targeting Heather Curry, American Roentgen Ray Society -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Merging multiple CT images (summation of CT scans) increases the accuracy of probe repositioning during radiofrequency ablation treatments of various lesions, according to a recent study performed at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. "During radiofrequency ablation, the probe often needs to…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on September 18, 2008 at 10:30pm —
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September 18, 2008 Abdominal CTA With Direct Dual Energy Bone Subtraction -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HISTORY A 75-year-old man was referred for presurgical MDCT evaluation of a known abdominal aortic aneurysm that had been detected on screening abdominal ultrasound. A contrast enhanced CTA scan of the abdomen was performed. DIAGNOSIS The acquisition parameters allowed precise localization of the origin of the aneurysm with respect to the…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on September 18, 2008 at 10:00pm —
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