Diagnostic Imaging's Blog

Habitat for Humanity beckons to SNM meeting volunteers

May 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Habitat for Humanity beckons to SNM meeting volunteers -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The molecular imaging community will lend a hand in efforts to rebuild New Orleans during a special event June 13 before the start of the 2008 Society of Nuclear Medicine meeting. IBA Molecular, a radiopharmacy chain in Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium, has arranged for a day of volunteer construction help through the New Orleans-area… Continue

Added by Diagnostic Imaging on May 1, 2008 at 9:30pm — No Comments

Google-based search tool mines RIS data

May 1, 2008 Google-based search tool mines RIS data Douglas Page -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Radiology text and image data account for a significant portion of patient electronic medical record information in hospital archives, yet few means exist to aid radiologists in extracting relevant information from these databases. Recent work adds a new data mining tool in the form of a secure Google-based search engine. "Radiologists are just… Continue

Added by Diagnostic Imaging on May 1, 2008 at 9:00pm — No Comments

fMRI predicts response to liver tumor treatment

May 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. fMRI predicts response to liver tumor treatment H. A. Abella -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Contrast enhancement and metabolic changes detected with functional MR imaging can help interventional radiologists anticipate the effects of transarterial chemoembolization on primary and metastatic tumors of the liver. Clinical trials from Johns Hopkins University and Northwestern University come on the heels of a third… Continue

Added by Diagnostic Imaging on May 1, 2008 at 9:00pm — No Comments

Flat polyps raise questions in colon cancer screening

May 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Flat polyps raise questions in colon cancer screening Study stirs up dispute among experts over how often CT colonography and other advanced visualization tools miss nonpolypoid neoplasms BY SHALMALI PAL -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Truly flat or depressed colorectal polyps pose a diagnostic dilemma and are always worth a closer look. A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association may have overstated… Continue

Added by Diagnostic Imaging on May 1, 2008 at 9:00pm — No Comments

Emphasis shifts from detection to diagnosis

May 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Emphasis shifts from detection to diagnosis Breast imaging, lung cancer assessment, and liver intervention tools will all benefit from advances Paula Gould -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Computer-aided detection and diagnosis tools continue to advance and could at some point become superior to radiologists, presenters from Germany said during a special session at the European Congress of Radiology in Vienna in… Continue

Added by Diagnostic Imaging on May 1, 2008 at 9:00pm — No Comments

Dual-source CT lowers barriers to comprehensive exam

May 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Dual-source CT lowers barriers to comprehensive exam James Brice -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Innovative cardiovascular imagers are driving CT toward a golden era when a single comprehensive imaging exam can answer all the essential questions to diagnose and characterize coronary artery disease and then recommend appropriate treatment. Dr. Balázs Ruzsics and colleagues at the Medical College of South Carolina… Continue

Added by Diagnostic Imaging on May 1, 2008 at 9:00pm — No Comments

Don't skimp on better management in DRA era

May 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Don't skimp on better management in DRA era Value of a skilled manager to flailing practice increases just when times get toughest BY STEVEN R. RENARD -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Declining reimbursements in outpatient diagnostic imaging pose significant challenges for center operators across the county. What was once a fairly easy business to operate has in many ways become a challenge, especially during the… Continue

Added by Diagnostic Imaging on May 1, 2008 at 8:30pm — No Comments

Display technology advances hold promise for radiology

May 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Display technology advances hold promise for radiology BY DAVID HIRSCHORN, M.D., AND KEVIN CONWAY -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As display technology evolves, radiology departments are presented with a growing variety of PACS displays with increased brightness, sharper contrast, and improved calibration capability. Two developments on their way to the consumer market are likely to offer significant potential… Continue

Added by Diagnostic Imaging on May 1, 2008 at 8:30pm — No Comments

Diffusion tensor imaging lines up unique view of muscles

May 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Diffusion tensor imaging lines up unique view of muscles Early studies correlate structure and function, with potential to guide injury management and disease therapy planning Karen Sandrick -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Diffusion tensor imaging at 1.5T MRI just was not practical. While MRI at 1.5T could generate diffusion tensor maps, it required lengthy scan times to get resolution decent enough to eliminate… Continue

Added by Diagnostic Imaging on May 1, 2008 at 8:30pm — No Comments

Universal coverage may mean practice changes

May 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Universal coverage may mean practice changes Side effects could cut two ways as utilization goes up and reimbursement goes down BY KIRK REINITZ, CPA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- It's not too early to look ahead to 2009 and beyond, at least not during an election year in which healthcare financing reform is a major issue. Trying to predict who the next president will be would be a gamble. Much safer is the bet… Continue