Diagnostic Imaging's Blog – November 2008 Archive (97)

November 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Vol. 30 No. 11 Multislice CT and CAD bring new efficiencies to diagnosis Existing and potential applications can open doors to faster and better interpretations when minutes count in patient management By ANAND K. SINGH, M.D., HIROYUKI YOSHIDA, PH.D., AND DUSHYANT SAHANI, M.D. Computer-aided detection is gradually gaining acceptance in radiology and has become a major research focus in the past few years. The development of CAD with multislice CT has reached… Continue

November 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Vol. 30 No. 11 MRI spots anomalies in children with hearing loss Data from more than 200 children with sensorineural hearing loss suggest MRI tops CT for identifying soft-tissue defects associated with inner ear anomalies. Dr. John E. McClay and colleagues at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas and Children's Medical Center Dallas analyzed the medical records of 227 children (average age 5.3 years) with a diagnosis of sensorineural… Continue

November 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Vol. 30 No. 11 MRA finds value in hydrocephalus interventions Imaging research from the University Medical Center Utrecht, the Netherlands, suggests that measuring with MRI the intracranial pressure of infants with progressive hydrocephalus helps physicians to determine the right time for surgical intervention. According to a study published in the Journal of Neurosurgery: Pediatrics (2008;2[3]:163-170), the clinical signs of raised intracranial pressure… Continue

November 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Vol. 30 No. 11 MR offers different option for pregnant appendicitis patients CT and ultrasound lose ground as first-response modalities because of radiation concerns and lack of anatomical detail Diagnosing pregnant women suspected of appendicitis is tricky business. Often the enlarged uterus will displace the appendix, making it hard to find with ultrasound. Using CT because the physician can't see the appendix on ultrasound raises the issue of fetal… Continue

November 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Vol. 30 No. 11 Missed lung cancers carry medical, legal implications Both chest radiography and CT interpretations fall prey to mistakes in decision making, poor visualization, and atypical appearance Missed lung cancers carry medical, legal implications Both chest radiography and CT interpretations fall prey to mistakes in decision making, poor visualization, and atypical appearance Missed lung cancer is a source of great concern among radiologists and an… Continue

November 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Vol. 30 No. 11 Innovation spurs novel nontraditional applications Ultrasound strengths make it a favorite alternative for initial assessments By Greg Freiherr The inherent strengths of ultrasound—low cost, wide availability, nonionizing radiation—make this modality a favorite to get the diagnostic ball rolling. Technological advances headed for the RSNA exhibit floor will give added impetus to its use, as engineers have tackled some of sonography's most… Continue

November 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Vol. 30 No. 11 In PACS, 15 years makes a world of difference Retrospective examines things that have changed—or not—at Baltimore VA BY ELIOT SIEGEL, M.D. Dr. Siegel is chief of radiology and nuclear medicine at the VA Maryland Health Care System with the Baltimore VA Medical Center. Without much fanfare, the Baltimore VA Medical Center passed its 15-year milestone as the first filmless (with the exception of mammography) hospital on June 23, 2008. Instead of… Continue

November 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Vol. 30 No. 11 GE Healthcare seeks better image quality, lower dose High-definition imaging gets new detector technology for faster speed and greater afterglow performance By Gene Saragnese Mr. Saragnese is vice president and general manager of Global CT and Molecular Imaging for GE Healthcare. Our vision for the future of CT here at GE Healthcare revolves around one central question. If clinicians struggle to see anatomy or pathology, how can they make a… Continue

November 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Vol. 30 No. 11 Toshiba sets 'dynamic volume' as new CT frontier Aquilion One scanner covers 16 cm to allow whole-organ images with temporal uniformity By Doug Ryan Mr. Ryan is senior director of the CT business unit for Toshiba America Medical Systems. Early CT systems delivered insights about the body’s anatomy that were previously impossible. The following generations of scanners provided new capabilities to cover more anatomical area and acquire volume… Continue

November 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. GE Healthcare seeks better image quality, lower dose BY GENE SARAGNESE Our vision for the future of CT here at GE Healthcare revolves around one central question. If clinicians struggle to see anatomy or pathology, how can they make a confident diagnosis? While today's coverage and temporal resolution in CT are more than adequate to handle most CT exams (80% are of the head, abdomen, or pelvis), better image quality and lower dose both benefit the patients… Continue

November 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Vol. 30 No. 11 Enterprise imaging unfolds as future direction of PACS By Douglas Page Mr. Page is a contributing editor to Diagnostic Imaging. The PACS market has changed. It is no longer just about the images. Over the past decade, hospitals have been the primary PACS consumers. The increase in imaging procedures measured against the decrease in the number of radiologists, however, has created a coverage crisis. Offsite reading and reliance on day and… Continue

November 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Vol. 30 No. 11 Elite medical facilities ban commercial support of CME Restrictions for drug and device companies attempt to eliminate conflicts of interest in programs Stanford University has joined other high-profile medical schools and research institutions in severely restricting funding from pharmaceutical and device companies for continuing medical education programs—including programs for radiologists and radiology technologists. Under the new Stanford… Continue

November 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Vol. 30 No. 11 Dynamic breast MRI helps assess axillary nodes Dynamic contrast-enhanced MRI may be an alternative to invasive exploratory surgery for assessing lymph node status and determining if breast cancer patients require radiation treatment. A study from the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance and the University of Washington Medical Center found that certain kinetic parameters of breast cancer tumors can determine the presence and absence of cancer… Continue

November 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. DRA pain lingers, but other changesshow progress for radiology practice BY JOHN C. HAYES, EDITOR Advanced imaging procedures covered by Medicare took a beating in 2007 under a congressionally mandated deficit reduction law, falling $1.7 billion, a drop of 12.7%, to $12.1 billion, according to a report from the federal General Accountability Office. The report was striking because it was the first to detail impact on imaging of the much-despised Deficit… Continue

November 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Vol. 30 No. 11 Disruptive behavior gets slammed down In meetings, roll eyes at your own risk or claim temporary nystagmus BY ERIC TREFELNER, M.D. I would like to end this month's Utilization Review Committee meeting by once again addressing the radiology department's failure to rein in inappropriate studies and reports without proper clinical history. The most recent audit shows that we continue to lose revenue because of denials for these cases. Dr. Lurch,… Continue

November 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Vol. 30 No. 11 Digital mammography: CR and tomo could change game Throughput, price, and spector of obsolescence muddy competitive waters Full-field digital mammography was built on solid-state technology. The first such machines, introduced eight years ago, were based on flat-panel detectors, a tradition that continued until the commercial introduction of computed radiography a few years ago. These CR-based products work with the generators, x-ray tubes,… Continue

November 1, 2008 Diagnostic Imaging. Vol. 30 No. 11 Three-T MRI enhances diagnosis of focal epilepsy A recent study at the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland has confirmed that 3T MR imaging improves on 1.5T MRI for detecting and characterizing struc-tural brain abnormalities in patients with focal epilepsy. Surgery can cure focal epilepsy, but only patients with a specific imaging-diagnosed structural brain abnormality are candidates for the treatment. An accurate, one-go MRI… Continue