September 15, 2008 Task force recommendation on prostate cancer screening galvanizes imagers H. A. Abella -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Prostate cancer imaging proponents are advising physicians to follow recent federal recommendations against prostate cancer screening for men over the age of 75, but they say more government attention to care standards could lead to improved diagnosis and treatment. Men 75 and older should not be screened for…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on September 15, 2008 at 11:00pm —
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September 12, 2008 Rising workload puts squeeze on academic departments Yomi S. Wrong -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A survey of academic radiologists' clinical productivity shows that workload continues to increase, in both exam volume and complexity. Academic department heads could use the survey data to help set staffing levels and evaluate the performance of individual radiologists. "It's a great tool to decide when to add a new chest…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on September 12, 2008 at 12:00am —
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September 10, 2008 Teleradiology stokes fears in Europe of loss of clinical community Douglas Page -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Outsourcing of some percentage of services may be inevitable, but the radiology community must take care to ensure that the benefits of teleradiology outweigh the risks, according to a recent European editorial. "Teleradiology may lead to fragmentation of well-established comprehensive services, which in turn may…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on September 10, 2008 at 8:30pm —
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September 10, 2008 Producers deny blame for European radioisotope shortage Paula Gould ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Industry sources blame a shortage of molybdenum-99 that is expected to frustrate nuclear medicine providers into mid-October on sheer bad luck, not a lack of cooperation between facilities. The three sites in Europe that generate Mo-99 coordinate their production and maintenance schedules so that at least one reactor is always…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on September 10, 2008 at 12:30am —
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September 9, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Zagat Survey asks patients to critique their physicians Long waits, unfriendly staff, and big copays could rival cold entrees in healthcare reviews posted on Internet -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Long waits, unfriendly staff, and big copays could rival cold entrees in healthcare reviews posted on Internet Diners have long relied on Zagat Survey for guidance when choosing a restaurant. Now, patients in…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on September 9, 2008 at 9:00pm —
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September 9, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. PET meets universal cancer screening -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ever wonder what could be learned about the incidence of cancer if everyone was scanned? This may be an outrageous question to pose in the U.S., but not so in Japan, where healthcare consumers have always been fascinated by the diagnostic possibilities of ad¬vanced imaging technology. The Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor, and Welfare is…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on September 9, 2008 at 9:00pm —
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September 9, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Patient Information: How RFA Works -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- At its most basic, tumor ablation is a method of destroying a tumor without major surgery. A needle electrode inserted inside the tumor produces either extreme heat or extreme cold, which destroys the tumor from the inside out. The treatment is focused on a very small area, so only the tumor itself is affected. Your doctor may also choose to…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on September 9, 2008 at 9:00pm —
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September 9, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Nuclear medicine dosing for kids varies widely -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A Boston Children's Hospital survey of 16 selected procedures at 13 pediatric hospitals in North America found a wide variation in radiopharmaceutical doses administered during nuclear medicine exams. The report reveals a need for consensus among nuclear physicians on appropriate doses for young patients. Lead author Dr. S. Ted…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on September 9, 2008 at 9:00pm —
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September 9, 2008 Most training programs allow techs to secure undergraduate or associate degrees American Society of Radiologic Technologists -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Results from a survey conducted by the American Society of Radiologic Technologists show that 73% of certificate RT education programs have articulation agreements in place with educational institutions that allow their graduates to obtain a bachelor's or associate degree.…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on September 9, 2008 at 9:00pm —
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September 9, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Milk outperforms barium as GI contrast medium -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Barium simply cannot compete with milk in cost or taste when it comes to contrast- enhanced CT of the gastrointestinal tract, according to Columbia University researchers. Radiologist Dr. Chi Wan Koo and colleagues enrolled 215 consecutive patients scheduled for abdominal and pelvic CT. One hundred received a 0.1% barium suspension,…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on September 9, 2008 at 9:00pm —
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September 9, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Hyperpolarized He-3 MRI flourishes in unique role -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Radiologists have learned a lot from hyperpolarized helium-3 imaging despite regulatory restrictions limiting its use. An absence of FDA clearance for clinical workups and the scarcity of the gas, a nonradioactive byproduct of nuclear weapons manufacturing, means He-3 MRI will not be coming to a community healthcare facility…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on September 9, 2008 at 9:00pm —
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September 9, 2008 European nuclear medicine services respond to technetium supply crisis Paula Gould -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- European hospitals and nuclear medicine clinics are taking action to prevent an acute shortage of medical isotopes from harming patients. Ongoing problems with access to technetium-99m are leading to the postponement of nonurgent scans, reintroduction of procedures that had been phased out, and off-label use of…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on September 9, 2008 at 9:00pm —
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September 9, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Case of the Month -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CLINICAL HISTORY A 70-year-old woman with a history of microcalcification of the right breast, lumpectomy, and whole-breast x-ray therapy on right side for microinvasive cancer presented for annual digital mammogram. FINDINGS Right breast: Category 3, probably benign finding. Postsurgical changes in the right breast are stable from prior examination on Sept.…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on September 9, 2008 at 8:30pm —
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September 9, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Brain MR identifies youth prone to aberrant behaviors Cerebral blood flow imaging may eventually help identify young people who need preventive therapy -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cerebral blood flow imaging may eventually help identify young people who need preventive therapy Adolescents at relatively high risk for depression and alcohol abuse demonstrate distinct patterns of resting cerebral blood flow…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on September 9, 2008 at 8:30pm —
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September 8, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Ultrasound gauges osteoporotic fracture risk -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- An ultrasound scan of the heel combined with other clinical parameters may predict the risk of fractures in elderly women afflicted by osteoporosis, according to a study from Switzerland. Dr. Idris Guessous and colleagues enrolled 6174 women aged 70 and older at 10 major Swiss osteoporosis centers. Patients underwent a quantitative…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on September 8, 2008 at 11:00pm —
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September 8, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Tomographic US spots ventricular septal defect -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tomographic ultrasound imaging on 4D volumes of fetal chest obtained with spatiotemporal image correlation and color Doppler shows good retrieval of diagnostic cardiac planes in fetuses with ventricular septal defects, according to an Italian study. Investigators retrospectively evaluated eight fetuses with ventricular septal…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on September 8, 2008 at 10:30pm —
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September 8, 2008 Three-T MRI bolsters diagnosis of focal epilepsy H. A. Abella -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A recent study at the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland has confirmed that 3T MRI improves on 1.5T MRI for detecting and characterizing structural brain abnormalities in patients with focal epilepsy. Senior author Dr. Bronwyn E. Hamilton and colleagues evaluated 74 epilepsy cases. Three-T MRI detected the brain…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on September 8, 2008 at 10:00pm —
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September 8, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Thermal effects of fetal US remain uncertain -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A study on thermal effects of diagnostic fetal ultrasound could not confirm a causal relationship between exposure and obvious adverse effects. Study authors cautioned, however, that subtle effects cannot be ruled out and called for more research. The report, led by Dr. Jacques S. Abramowicz of Rush University Medical Center, cited…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on September 8, 2008 at 10:00pm —
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September 8, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. PET finds early coronary disease in diabetic patients -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PET may be diagnostically more powerful than ultrasound or CT for identifying early coronary artery disease in patients with type 2 diabetes. Nuclear cardiologist Dr. Thomas Schindler and colleagues at the University of Geneva in Switzerland and the University of California, Los Angeles measured coronary endothelium…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on September 8, 2008 at 10:00pm —
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September 8, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Nighthawks prove less popular than fears suggest -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Dispelling concerns about teleradiology encroachment, a Yale University survey has found that use of external after-hours services accounts for a small percentage of radiology practices' total interpretations. Lead investigator Dr. Jonathan H. Sunshine and colleagues randomly selected 300 nonspecialty hospitals from the 2005…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on September 8, 2008 at 9:30pm —
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