Diagnostic Imaging's Blog – August 2008 Archive (55)

August 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. CT lung screening offers moderate benefit to smokers Modeling estimates increase in cancer detection, but randomized trials will offer final word -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A new study finds that CT screening can reduce lung cancer mortality among smokers but will not protect them from the other adverse effects of lighting up. Results from an evaluation of the long-term efficacy of screening fell between… Continue

August 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Case of the Month -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CLINICAL HISTORY Forty-one-year-old woman presented with lateral elbow stiffness and pain that have worsened over time. FINDINGS MR imaging shows abnormal morphology and signal in the common extensor tendon consistent with tendinosis and adjacent mild muscle edema in the extensor carpi radialis brevis in coronal T2-weighted (arrow, Figure 1) and axial T2-weighted… Continue

August 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Breakfast con cerveza brings enlightenment Pondering life's big questions on the beach is tough work, but somebody has to do it Bradley M.Tipler -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Both at home and at work, it is easy to lose sight of why I am doing what I do. I get so caught up in the work at hand, whether it is a pile of unread requests or a two-page honey-do list, I forget about the bigger picture. It can be good… Continue

August 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Beta-amyloid plaques predict cognitive disease advance PET imaging identifies affected elderly individuals at greatest risk for developing Alzheimer's disease -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Results from a preliminary PET imaging study suggest that 80% of elderly people with mild cognitive impairment and evidence of beta-amyloid plaque in their brains will develop Alzheimer's disease. Dr. Victor Villemagne, a… Continue

August 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Aunt Edna is key to secret family recipe for connecting with readers by Yomi Wrong -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- When I left a career in daily newspapers to join Diagnostic Imaging, I relied upon an old journalism proverb to guide me: "Tell it to your Aunt Edna." For the uninitiated, that means writing in a journalistic style that is conversational and easily readable, yet clear and concise. …

Continue

August 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. SPECT/CT replaces standard detector with flat-panel x-ray Philips' new hybrid system offers financial advantages and compact siting, yet still supports 3D imaging -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Philips Healthcare put a new twist on SPECT/CT with the unveiling at the SNM meeting in June of a hybrid that incorporates a flat-panel x-ray system in place of the typical multislice CT. The novel combination is attuned… Continue

August 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. SPECT zooms in on causes of social anxiety disorder -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Using brain SPECT, Dutch researchers found abnormalities in the brains of individuals with symptoms of social anxiety disorder, a condition that affects an estimated 15 million adults in the U.S. Dr. Nic J.A. van der Wee and colleagues at Leiden University used a binding radioactive compound as a tracer to visualize dopamine and… Continue

August 1, 2008 Slow implementation bogs down Medicare-mandated imaging accreditation James Brice -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Pro-radiology forces are claiming mandated Medicare accreditation as a victory. They will have to wait until January 2012, however, to see the actual implementation of federal law passed in July to mandate accreditation for high-tech medical imaging covered by outpatient Medicare. The Medicare Improvement for Patients… Continue

August 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Ritalin boosts brain's efficiency -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Assuming you can do the math, your brain may operate more efficiently if you have first taken Ritalin (methylphenidate), a drug intended to help patients with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the Institute of Drug Abuse at the National Institutes of Health, and colleagues at the Brookhaven National Laboratory… Continue

August 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Prostate MR meets challenge following ultrasound ablation Dynamic contrast enhancement offers better sensitivity, but diffusion-weighted imaging turns in higher specificity -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- High-intensity focused ultrasound ablation is used to manage localized prostate cancer after external-beam radiation therapy. But post-treatment alterations to prostate zonal anatomy hamper the assessment of… Continue

August 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Planning ahead ensures payoff in new projects Early involvement of billing company helps avoid cash crunch, payment surprises later BY KIRK REINITZ, CPA -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The nationwide shortage of radiologists, coupled with the growing acceptance and prevalence of teleradiology, has many radiologists and group practice managers seeing opportunities in places they previously would not consider.… Continue

August 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. PET/CT restaging alters breast cancer management -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FDG-PET/CT's power for staging and restaging breast cancer is attracting attention. It could also detect recurrence in more than two-thirds of these patients and change the management plan in up to a third, according to German investigators. Dr. Michael Souvatzoglou and colleagues in the nuclear medicine department at the Technical… Continue

August 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. PET avoids liver resection in colon cancer patients -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A multicenter prospective trial in the Netherlands has found that FDG-PET prevents unnecessary surgeries for one in six patients with metastatic colon cancer who undergo liver resection based on CT findings. Dr. W.J.G. Oyen of Radboud University Nijmegen Medical Center and colleagues enrolled 75 surgical candidates randomly… Continue

August 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. New medical imaging modality arises from hard work, inspiration BY JAMES BRICE, SENIOR EDITOR -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This month's cover story ("MR elastography inspires new wave of hepatic imaging," page 20) is devoted to a rare event: the birth of a new imaging modality. MR elastography is a wonder of human ingenuity that employs MRI, a modality that itself still seems like a miracle. Few physicians… Continue

August 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. MR elastography inspires new wave of hepatic imaging Technique achieves 97% negative predictive value for ruling out fibrois to avoid unnecessary liver biopsies BY JAYANT A. TALWALKAR, M.D., MPH, AND MENG YIN, PH.D. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Just in time for a looming onset of new liver disease, MR elastography has arrived to employ principles as old as palpation and as new as cross-sectional imaging to… Continue