Diagnostic Imaging's Blog

Senate legislation to avoid Medicare cuts stalls

June 12, 2008 Senate legislation to avoid Medicare cuts stalls H. A. Abella -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The U.S. Senate fell six votes short Thursday, June 12, of achieving the 60 votes needed to block debate on legislation that would have set aside an impending 10.6% cut in Medicare physician payments. Fifty-four senators, primarily Democrats, voted in favor of cloture for the Medicare Improvement for Patient and Providers Act 2008 (S 3101).… Continue

Added by Diagnostic Imaging on June 12, 2008 at 11:00pm — No Comments

Scientists image birth of HIV particle for first time

June 11, 2008 Scientists image birth of HIV particle for first time H. A. Abella -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Researchers at Rockefeller University in New York City have figured out a way to image the formation of a human immunodeficiency virus particle in real-time. The novel technique could change the approach to HIV research and lead to the development of new treatments. Nearly 0.6% of the world's population is HIV-positive, according to… Continue

Added by Diagnostic Imaging on June 11, 2008 at 11:00pm — No Comments

Web 2.0 spins new path to image integration

June 10, 2008 Web 2.0 spins new path to image integration Douglas Page -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Web 2.0 is a buzzword for emerging web technologies designed to enhance information sharing, boost creativity, and promote collaboration among users. A new paper documents how radiologists can use these applications to dynamically retrieve and integrate pertinent digital images into radiology websites (J Digit Imaging 2008 May 7 [Epub ahead of… Continue

Added by Diagnostic Imaging on June 10, 2008 at 11:30pm — No Comments

New cases of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis drop

June 10, 2008 New cases of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis drop James Brice -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A status report on nephrogenic systemic fibrosis suggests that new cases of the rare but devastating skin disease associated with exposure to gadolinium-based MRI contrast media have slowed to a trickle since the introduction of regulatory restrictions in the U.S. and Europe in 2007. Speaking at an NSF update at the 2008 International Society… Continue

Added by Diagnostic Imaging on June 10, 2008 at 11:00pm — No Comments

Global group creates framework to regulate teleradiology

June 9, 2008 Global group creates framework to regulate teleradiology Yomi Wrong -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- In what is likely a precursor to uniform standards for clinical teleradiology, an international network of radiology organizations has drafted guidelines for the burgeoning teleradiology industry. The "Top 10 Principles of International Clinical Teleradiology," approved this year in Vienna by the International Radiology Quality… Continue

Added by Diagnostic Imaging on June 9, 2008 at 11:30pm — No Comments

Endoscopic ultrasound proves to be safe and effective in children

June 9, 2008 Endoscopic ultrasound proves to be safe and effective in children Wendy Despain -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Endoscopic ultrasound, a common test for adults, is rarely used on children. Researchers in Israel who studied the efficacy of the test on these smaller patients have found it to be a safe and effective tool for diagnosing pediatric gastroenterology patients. Dr. Shlomi Cohen and colleagues in the Pediatric Gastroenterology… Continue

Added by Diagnostic Imaging on June 9, 2008 at 11:30pm — No Comments

Whole-body MR with diffusion imaging matches PET/CT for lung cancer staging

June 6, 2008 Whole-body MR with diffusion imaging matches PET/CT for lung cancer staging James Brice -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A little diffusion imaging goes a long way toward boosting the accuracy of whole-body MRI and matching the performance of whole-body FDG-PET/CT for M-staging of non-small cell lung cancer. Dr. Yoshiharu Ohno, an assistant professor of radiology at Kobe University Graduate School of Medicine in Japan, drew this… Continue

Added by Diagnostic Imaging on June 6, 2008 at 9:00pm — No Comments

Teleradiology lowers costs, increases efficiency of clinical trial

June 6, 2008 Teleradiology lowers costs, increases efficiency of clinical trial Douglas Page -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Teleradiology is playing a significant role in a major three-year international trial focused on sickle cell disease. The Silent Cerebral Infarct Multicenter Transfusion (SIT) Trial requires 1880 children with sickle cell disease from 28 pediatric clinical sites in the U.S., Canada, U.K., and France to undergo a screening… Continue

Added by Diagnostic Imaging on June 6, 2008 at 9:00pm — No Comments

Stopping restless reg(ulator) syndrome

June 5, 2008 Stopping restless reg(ulator) syndrome Greg Freiherr -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Click the video at the bottom of the American College of Radiology's website, myradiologist.com, and a board-certified radiologist appears, explaining how radiologists are an important part of the medical team. The explanation begins with the cyber radiologist posing the question, "Did you know that radiologists are physicians?" In the year 2008,… Continue

Added by Diagnostic Imaging on June 5, 2008 at 9:00pm — No Comments

SPECT identifies possible basis of social anxiety disorder

June 5, 2008 SPECT identifies possible basis of social anxiety disorder Don Rauf -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A physiological reason may explain why the shrinking violet in your family is so shy. Using brain SPECT, Dutch researchers have detected irregularities in dopamine and serotonin neurotransmitter systems in the brains of such individuals that appear to be linked to social anxiety disorder, a condition that affects an estimated 15… Continue

Added by Diagnostic Imaging on June 5, 2008 at 9:00pm — No Comments

CT-detected incidental adrenal masses prove to be mostly benign

June 4, 2008 CT-detected incidental adrenal masses prove to be mostly benign H. A. Abella -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A study of nearly 1000 patients with incidental adrenal tumors detected during abdominal CT scans has found that these lesions are almost always benign, according to Brown University researchers. The clinical literature notes that incidental lesions of the adrenal gland appear in about 5% of all CT exams performed. Researchers… Continue

Added by Diagnostic Imaging on June 4, 2008 at 9:00pm — No Comments

Benefits of abdominal CT in the ER outweigh risks

June 4, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Benefits of abdominal CT in the ER outweigh risks -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A prospective, ongoing study from Harvard University shows that CT's benefits may outweigh the risks of overutilization, at least for triaging abdominal pain. Radiologist Dr. Rathachai Kaewlai and colleagues at Massachusetts General Hospital asked ER physicians questions about the top diagnosis, their level of confidence regarding… Continue

Added by Diagnostic Imaging on June 4, 2008 at 9:00pm — No Comments

Role gadolinium plays in NSF incidence remains unclear

June 3, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Role gadolinium plays in NSF incidence remains unclear Evidence of effects of macrocyclic versus linear chelates and free versus bound elements lacks strength to provide proof of connection -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The controversial topic of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis featured prominently in this year's European Congress of Radiology program. This scleroderma-like disorder has been linked to the… Continue