RadNet launches Alzheimers imaging program
RadNet will offer PET/CT imaging with Amyvid (Eli Lilly) to rule out Alzheimer's disease (AD) in patients who are being evaluated for cognitive impairment.
Amyvid binds to beta-amyloid plaque and allows a PET/CT image to detect its presence. A positive Amyvid scan indicates moderate to frequent beta-amyloid plaques are present. While this amount of beta-amyloid plaque is present in patients with AD, it is also found in patients with other types of neurologic conditions and in older people with normal cognition.
Prior to the release of Amyvid PET/CT imaging, physicians had limited tools to definitively diagnose a patient with AD. More than 20 percent of AD cases are currently misdiagnosed, according to RadNet's release. AD is the sixth leading cause of death in the U.S., and among the top 10 causes of death, AD is the only one that cannot be medically cured, prevented or slowed down. Between 2000 and 2008, the U.S. saw a 66 percent rise in deaths caused by AD.
RadNet has established an Amyvid reading protocol; two Amyvid certified radiologists will arrive at a single consensus after independently interpreting each scan.
Amyvid scans will initially be available at the following RadNet locations through the "Shine a New Light on Dementia" initiative (a prescription is required):
Amyvid binds to beta-amyloid plaque and allows a PET/CT image to detect its presence. A positive Amyvid scan indicates moderate to frequent beta-amyloid plaques are present. While this amount of beta-amyloid plaque is present in patients with AD, it is also found in patients with other types of neurologic conditions and in older people with normal cognition.
Prior to the release of Amyvid PET/CT imaging, physicians had limited tools to definitively diagnose a patient with AD. More than 20 percent of AD cases are currently misdiagnosed, according to RadNet's release. AD is the sixth leading cause of death in the U.S., and among the top 10 causes of death, AD is the only one that cannot be medically cured, prevented or slowed down. Between 2000 and 2008, the U.S. saw a 66 percent rise in deaths caused by AD.
RadNet has established an Amyvid reading protocol; two Amyvid certified radiologists will arrive at a single consensus after independently interpreting each scan.
Amyvid scans will initially be available at the following RadNet locations through the "Shine a New Light on Dementia" initiative (a prescription is required):
- Beverly Tower Wilshire Advanced Imaging Center in Beverly Hills, Calif.;
- Liberty Pacific Advanced Imaging in Encino, Calif.;
- Orange Advanced Imaging Center in Orange, Calif.;
- Rancho Mirage Interventional Radiology and Imaging Center in Rancho Mirage, Calif.;
- Temecula Valley Imaging Center in Temecula, Calif.;
- Rolling Oaks Radiology in Thousand Oaks, Calif.;
- NorCal Imaging in Walnut Creek, Calif;
- Advanced Radiology Imaging in Baltimore;
- American Radiology Services in Columbia, Md.; and
- Hudson Valley Radiology Associates in Nyack, N.Y.