February 1, 2009 Diagnostic Imaging. Vol. 31 No. 2 Edgy NSF article may have gone too far To the editor: I read with interest your article on nephrogenic systemic fibrosis and the “heavy collateral damage” that radiologists face due to the off-label uses of gadolinium agents and subsequent development of NSF in some patients (“Radiologists meet with heavy collateral damage,” December, page 23). While the points are largely difficult to dispute, I just want to note that there is a lot that we do…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on February 1, 2009 at 8:30pm —
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February 1, 2009 Diagnostic Imaging. Vol. 31 No. 2 CT angiography data offer new approach to perfusion stroke imaging Perfused blood volume analysis results in CT stroke protocol that requires less time for imaging, lower dose of radiation, and smaller volumes of contrast BY DOMINIK MORHARD, M.D., MAXIMILIAN F. REISER, M.D., AND BIRGIT ERTL-WAGNER, M.D. Acute stroke is a medical emergency that is potentially treatable. Because "time is brain," however, the imaging workup must be fast and…
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February 1, 2009 Diagnostic Imaging. Vol. 31 No. 2 Clinicians identify tactics that minimize risk of NSF New York City hospitals using standard doses of gadolinium-based contrast media avoid new cases By James Brice Studies examining the clinical histories of patients who developed nephrogenic systemic fibrosis after treatment at distinguished teaching hospitals in New York City and Vienna suggest that gadoliniumbased contrast dose and post-MRI hemodialysis are keys to controlling the rare but…
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February 1, 2009 Diagnostic Imaging. Vol. 31 No. 2 Case of the Month FigureCLINICAL HISTORY A 44-year-old Asian man with a past medical history of left carotid artery stenosis presented to the emergency room with sudden onset of severe headache. An initial noncontrast head CT scan revealed acute hemorrhage within the left lentiform nucleus. CT angiography was subsequently performed for further evaluation. FINDINGS Axial CTA image at the level of the cavernous sinuses (Figure 1) demonstrates…
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February 1, 2009 Diagnostic Imaging. Vol. 31 No. 2 3D neuro imaging technique realizes Orwellian vision University of California, San Diego scientists are developing a new imaging modality that will study the body/brain dynamics of humans engaged in normal activity. The Swartz Center for Computational Neuroscience at UCSD is creating the concurrent brain and body imaging modality MoBI (Mobile Brain/Body Imaging) under a four-year $3.4 million research grant from the U.S. Navy Office of Naval…
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February 1, 2009 Diagnostic Imaging. Vol. 31 No. 2 Three-D rivals at RSNA 2008 bump competition up a notch Enhanced thin-client systems and web viewers exemplify advanced visualization unveilings By Greg Freiherr -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Competition among vendors hawking advanced visualization tools heated up on the RSNA 2008 exhibit floor with offerings from standard-bearer Vital Images and newcomers Ziostation and FiatLux Imaging, as…
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February 1, 2009 Diagnostic Imaging. Vol. 31 No. 2 Study confirms: Digital mammo lengthens read time -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Researchers at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston have confirmed what mammographers have long suspected: Digital screening mammograms may take twice as long to read as film. Dr. Tamara Miner Haygood and colleagues clocked four radiologists as they interpreted 268 digital and 189…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on February 1, 2009 at 8:30am —
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February 1, 2009 Diagnostic Imaging. Vol. 31 No. 2 Radiology gets sent off to the washhouse Subspecialists, teleradiology practices, and insurance companies all join in splashing fun BY BRADLEY M. TIPLER, M.D. Dr. Tipler is a private-practice radiologist in Staunton, VA. He can be reached by fax at 540/332-4491 or by e-mail at btipler@medicaltees.com. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Two years ago, my 70-yearold father-in-law decided his…
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February 1, 2009 Diagnostic Imaging. Vol. 31 No. 2 Proponents call proposed PET coverage ‘bittersweet' Researchers welcome CMS plan but share worries about its limitations, oncologic PET registry's future By H.A. Abella -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A proposal to expand Medicare coverage of FDG-PET studies for cancer staging and restaging has elicited mixed reactions among proponents. Though some applaud the move, others, particularly PET…
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February 1, 2009 Diagnostic Imaging. Vol. 31 No. 2 Interventional radiology offers refined approach to therapy Broadened applications in kidney, lung, and bone use MR imaging to guide electroporation and high-intensity focused ultrasound ablation BY SHAUN SAMUELS, M.D. Dr. Samuels is a course director of the International Symposium on Endovascular Therapy and an affiliate assistant professor of vascular and interventional radiology at the University of South Florida at Tampa.…
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February 1, 2009 Diagnostic Imaging. Vol. 31 No. 2 International experts, cutting-edge technology impress RSNA newbie BY DONNA DOMINO Ms. Domino is feature editor of Diagnostic Imaging. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- As an experienced journalist but a neophyte to radiology, I went to Chicago with a healthy mixture of curiosity and trepidation. I had prepared for the RSNA sessions I was assigned to cover but wondered if the megatechnical…
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January 22, 2009 Diagnostic Imaging. Taking our finger off the trigger By Greg Freiherr -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We've entered the earnings season, and companies have begun a refrain of woe about a growing hesitancy among hospital administrators to spend money, about gathering headwinds in global currency markets, about tough times. No question about it, times are tough. And they could get tougher. Now more than ever, we need strong…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on January 22, 2009 at 8:00pm —
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January 21, 2009 Diagnostic Imaging. FDA warns against lidocaine for relieving mammography-related pain By James Brice -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The FDA has issued an advisory warning physicians and patients about potential health risks from topical anesthetic lidocaine used to reduce the discomfort of mammography. The potential value of lidocaine was the subject of a study published in the September 2008 issue of Radiology…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on January 21, 2009 at 8:00pm —
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January 21, 2009 Diagnostic Imaging. Congress report predicts blitz of reimbursement cuts By H.A. Abella -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The American College of Radiology plans to fight proposals in the Congressional Budget Office's latest report on possible cost-cutting policies affecting medical imaging. College policy experts fear the report may represent the starting point for future payment cuts. The CBO report, Budget Options Volume I:…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on January 21, 2009 at 8:00pm —
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January 20, 2009 High-volume production of Mo-99 appears feasible with low-grade uranium By James Brice -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A National Research Council panel has concluded that commercial volumes of molybdenum-99 can be produced cost-effectively with low-enriched uranium. Mo-99 is the precursor of technetium-99m, a radioisotope used in most nuclear imaging procedures. The finding establishes a framework for weaning manufacturers of…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on January 20, 2009 at 8:30pm —
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January 16, 2009 3T MRI vies with arthroscopy for detection of wrist ligament tears By H.A. Abella -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Researchers at a private diagnostic imaging center in central Florida have shown 3T MRI of the wrist is nearly as sensitive and specific as arthroscopy for detection of wrist ligament tears. MR could spot abnormalities missed by standard imaging tests and avoid needless surgeries, according to the investigators.…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on January 16, 2009 at 8:30pm —
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January 15, 2009 Imaging centers agree to $1.2 million settlement in MRI antikickback suit By James Brice Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan has reached a $1.2 million settlement with a group of 14 Illinois radiology centers that allegedly paid illegal kickbacks to doctors in exchange for referrals. The settlement, entered in court on Wednesday, resulted from a lawsuit brought by the attorney general in 2007 after Chicago-area outpatient MRI services challenged the practice of referring…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on January 15, 2009 at 5:00pm —
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January 14, 2009 Population-based study finds digital mammography equal to film By Rebekah Moan Digital mammography is at least as good as screen-film mammography for detecting breast cancer, according to a population-based screening program study presented at the RSNA meeting by Irish researchers. Dr. Niamh Hambly of the department of radiology at Mater Misericordiae University Hospital in Dublin and colleagues retrospectively reviewed the performance of full-field digital mammography for…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on January 14, 2009 at 5:00pm —
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January 13, 2009 Uninsured minorities should gain from Obama-style healthcare reform By H.A. Abella A recent study suggests that by lowering access barriers to mammography, the Obama administration could help combat the tendency of uninsured minority women to delay seeking diagnosis for breast cancer. Delayed diagnosis translates into delayed treatment and a poorer prognosis for many women. The study's investigative team was led by Dr. Cherie M. Kuzmiak, an assistant professor of radiology at…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on January 13, 2009 at 5:30pm —
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January 13, 2009 One way to help stop the dying By Greg Freiherr Last year he was the 94th richest man in the world. Last week Adolf Merckle stepped in front of a train near his home in Blaubeuren, Germany. The suicide note he left behind has not been made public, but Merckle's family said in a statement that "the distress to his firms caused by the financial crisis and the related uncertainties of recent weeks, along with the helplessness of no longer being able to act, broke the passionate…
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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on January 13, 2009 at 5:00pm —
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