Quality

The focus of quality improvement in healthcare is to bolster performance and processes related to diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. Leaders in this space also ensure the proper selection of imaging exams and procedures, and monitor the safety of services, among other duties. Reimbursement programs such as the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS) utilize financial incentives to improve quality. This also includes setting and maintaining care quality initiatives, such as the requirements set by the Joint Commission.

The imaging iodine contrast shortage is delaying procedures and causing rationing at hospitals. impact is it having on hospitals and the tough decisions that are being made to triage patients to determine if they will get a contrast CT scan or an interventional or surgical procedure requiring contrast. Photo by Dave Fornell

Higher radiation doses don't always improve CT image quality

Dose reduction protocols vary across scanners and organizations. This can create inconsistencies in both image quality and measuring patients’ total radiation exposure. 

July 25, 2024
Danish researchers reported in Radiology that an artificial intelligence system was able to interpret more than 114,000 screening mammograms using a reading protocol with high sensitivity and specificity.

LG rolls out new monitors targeted at mammography reads

The new monitor, which was recently approved by the FDA, is intended to improve the process of reading breast MRIs, mammograms and DBT exams.

July 23, 2024
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Assistive robot could increase mammogram accessibility to more people with disabilities

The robot is expected to be operational and safety checked within the next three years.

July 15, 2024
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All mammograms from the last 2 years 'could be subject to an inaccurate interpretation,' hospital warns

Per an order from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the hospital has had to halt all mammography services.

July 11, 2024
functional MRI brain scan

How patients' focus affects data derived from functional MRI scans

As a person’s concentration dwindles during resting state or task-based sequences, the resultant brain activity observed on imaging could be misleading.

June 19, 2024
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'Too many cooks in the kitchen': How AI is both helpful and a hindrance to radiologists

Recent research suggests that, in many cases, radiologist performance only improves minimally with AI assistance.

May 22, 2024
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IAEA: When selecting medical imaging equipment, don’t assume ‘new’ means ‘low dose’

Advanced imaging equipment using ionizing radiation enters the global market at the rate of one new technology every five years.

April 22, 2024
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Even AI struggles to work under stress, study suggests

Apparently, it isn’t just humans who occasionally struggle to work under stress. According to a recent study, the performance of AI flounders, too. 

April 18, 2024

Around the web

HeartFlow is using SCCT 2024 to introduce the world to its updated Plaque Analysis platform. “Accurately diagnosing a patient’s risk for coronary artery disease is critical for determining the best treatment," Chief Medical Officer Campbell Rogers, MD, explained.

The new images were captured at the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility using hierarchical phase-contrast tomography. One specialist called them "Google Earth for the human heart." 

New data out of England provides cardiologists and radiologists with another reminder of AI's potential to transform healthcare. 

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