July 11, 2008 SNM panel finds no easy path to expand molybdenum-99 supplies James Brice -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A draft report from an SNM expert panel has found no quick fix for the medical imaging community's molybdenum-99m supply problems. Its results suggest that North American healthcare providers will continue to depend on Canada's National Research Universal reactor in Chalk River, ON, for most of the precursor isotope of…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on July 11, 2008 at 1:30am —
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July 10, 2008 Senate passes Medicare bill to avert physician payment cuts H. A. Abella -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Senate passed key legislation July 9 that forestalls a 10.6% cut in Medicare physician payments following intense lobbying from patient and physician advocacy groups over the Independence Day Congressional recess. The 69-30 tally in favor of the bill makes it veto-proof. The Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on July 10, 2008 at 1:30am —
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July 9, 2008 Ultrasound leads conservative treatment of calvarial dermoids Wendy Despain -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Calvarial dermoids and epidermoids in young pediatric patients can be monitored using ultrasound alone instead of x-ray based imaging, according to German researchers. Besides being safer and cheaper, sonography could rule out unnecessary surgeries. CT and MR represent the current imaging standard for the examination of these…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on July 9, 2008 at 1:30am —
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July 9, 2008 MDS files $1.6 billion suit over abandoned Mo-99 reactors James Brice -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MDS has filed a $1.6 billion breach of contract lawsuit against Atomic Energy of Canada Ltd. and the Canadian government for their decision in May to halt development of a twin nuclear reactor complex designed to provide a long-term supply of molybdenum-99, to be refined and distributed by MDS. The Toronto-based firm for medical…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on July 9, 2008 at 1:30am —
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July 9, 2008 Certification acknowledges care of dying patients Yomi Wrong -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The American Board of Radiology now offers a certificate in hospice and palliative care, designed for doctors whose work involves the care of seriously ill and dying patients. Hospice practices and palliative medicine are based on expanding scientific knowledge about symptom control when cure is not available and appropriate end-of-life care…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on July 9, 2008 at 1:30am —
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July 8, 2008 Productivity tools remain scarce in radiology Douglas Page -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Adoption of productivity systems in radiology has been disappointingly slow, according to a recent study. "A surprising number of radiologists still work without some basic supports," said Dr. Nikhil R. Nayak of the department of diagnostic radiology at Yale University School of Medicine. Nayak investigated what types of radiology practices are…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on July 8, 2008 at 2:00am —
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July 8, 2008 PET spots functional signs of early coronary artery disease in diabetes patients James Brice -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Molecular imaging researchers have shown that coronary vascular dysfunction uncovered with PET may be diagnostically more powerful than vascular ultrasound or CT calcium tests for identifying early coronary artery disease in type 2 diabetes patients. Dr. Thomas Schindler, chief of nuclear cardiology at the…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on July 8, 2008 at 1:30am —
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July 7, 2008 Imaging informatics offers key to reshaping radiology’s future H. A. Abella -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- With potential professional threats seeming to lurk around every corner, radiologists can expect medical imaging informatics to serve as their best defense from now until the year 2015. That was the message of Dr. Eliot Siegel's Moreton Lecture at the 2008 American College of Radiology meeting and Chapter Leadership Conference…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on July 7, 2008 at 2:00am —
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July 3, 2008 Medicare fee schedule proposal could force nonrads to close office-based imaging services H. A. Abella -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Proposed rules announced June 30 for the 2009 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule feature provisions that could both hinder and help radiologists who perform outpatient imaging practices. The proposal, issued by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, asks for a 5.4% cut in physician payments, but…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on July 3, 2008 at 2:00am —
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July 3, 2008 A little rad ’ll do ya Greg Freiherr -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A century ago, radiation exposure was considered a good thing. Roentgen's discovery ignited curiosity and an abundance of optimism that this new "X" ray and others like it would illuminate a path to good health. People wore radium pendants to treat rheumatism, drank radon water for pep, and wrapped themselves in uranium blankets for arthritis. Opinions changed as…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on July 3, 2008 at 2:00am —
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July 2, 2008 Teleradiology answers the ring of phone images Douglas Page -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A unique touchscreen iPhone-teleradiology application that allows physicians to navigate through diagnostic images from home, train, or golf cart was announced in June at the Apple user's meeting by an Ohio biomedical company. The system from MIMvista of Cleveland is called MIM. It lets radiologists and physicians retrieve digital images…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on July 2, 2008 at 2:00am —
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July 2, 2008 Study finds huge variations in pediatric nuclear medicine dosing Alison Fromme ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A survey of children's imaging services has found a twofold variation in radiopharmaceutical doses administered during pediatric nuclear medicine exams. For some radiopharmaceuticals, the reported maximum activities varied by as much as a factor of 10, and minimum activities differed by as much as a factor of 20, suggesting…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on July 2, 2008 at 2:00am —
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July 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Ultrasound spots mammo misses, but at high cost False-positives, special training needs hamper routine use of screening US for high-risk women By Shalmali Pal -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Screening ultrasound paired with mammography improved breast cancer detection in high-risk women, but the combination also caused a spike in the number of false positives, according to an update to the American College of…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on July 1, 2008 at 8:00pm —
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July 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Ultrasound could precede CT in acute appendicitis triage -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Color Doppler ultrasound, not CT, should be the first imaging modality for triage of adult patients with suspected acute appendicitis, according to a study from Israel. Dr. Diana Gaitini and colleagues at the Rambam Health Care Campus and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, both in Haifa, reviewed the medical records…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on July 1, 2008 at 8:00pm —
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July 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. SIIM vets discuss issues facing imaging informatics John C. Hayes -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A question from the radiology news media—What are the biggest challenges facing the field?—led some Society of Imaging Informatics in Medicine veterans, participants on a panel assembled by the association, into discussion of a list of issues facing radiology informatics. Their comments produced insights into hot…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on July 1, 2008 at 8:00pm —
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July 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. PET emerges as staging exam for cervical cancer By Shalmali Pal -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Preliminary study establishes PET/CT effectiveness for evaluating cancer after a negative CT finding Surgery has been the standard for cervical cancer staging for more than three decades, despite leading to complications, especially when followed by radiation therapy. Evidence continues to accumulate, however,…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on July 1, 2008 at 7:30pm —
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July 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Pediatric imagers put dose campaign on the road By Yomi Wrong -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Alliance for Radiation Safety in Pediatric Imaging rolled out its Image Gently campaign in January with a successful website launch and maintained that momentum through the first half of 2008 with showings at key medical conferences. As of May, www.imagegently.org had pledges from nearly 1000 imaging providers to…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on July 1, 2008 at 7:30pm —
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July 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. PACS must avoid driving radiology, patients apart BY DAVIDE CARAMELLA, M.D. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The International Society for Optical Engineering hosted the first conference and workshop on the subject. More than 25 years later, the development of PACS has followed paths that were then hard to predict. As PACS continues to evolve, I believe it will be progressively deployed in surgical departments to…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on July 1, 2008 at 7:30pm —
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July 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. PACS control debate - radiology or IT - spices SIIM meeting IT proponents argue trends in enterprise require closer integration of all data, while opponents counter that radiology must control its destiny John C. Hayes -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The choices may not be all that stark, but debate persists over who controls PACS—radiology or IT. The question was contested by two able advocates at the Society of…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on July 1, 2008 at 7:30pm —
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July 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Osteoplasty holds promise for repair of bone fractures H. A. Abella -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Minimally invasive repair of painful vertebral compression fractures has become an established treatment for osteoporosis. The development of similar techniques to treat other fractures caused by age and metastatic disease could be a cost-effective way to deal with declining reimbursements and a growing elderly…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on July 1, 2008 at 1:00pm —
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