As the dust settles following the official shutdown of a number of federal services, the effect on medical research is becoming clearer. Organizations like the National Institutes of Health that would normally be conducting clinical trials have had to furlough thousands of employees and turn away patient volunteers.

Kan-Di-Ki LLC, which operated in Southern California as Diagnostic Laboratories and Radiology, will pay $17.5 million to settle allegations that it paid kickbacks for the referral of mobile lab and radiology services billed to Medicare and Medi-Cal, California’s Medicaid program.

IMRIS Inc. today announced that the first brain tumor patient was enrolled by the Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, MO, for an expanding clinical neurosurgical database designed to study the use and benefits of ceiling-mounted high-field intraoperative MRI. 

Those working in healthcare may see a routine surgical procedure or imaging exam as totally unremarkable, just one of many medical tasks to perform or support on any given day. For patients, however, even the most routine procedures may cause unease.

In a 97-2 vote, the U.S. Senate has passed an amended version of the Responsible Helium Administration and Stewardship Act (HR 527) that will allow a major helium reserve to continue production and potentially avoid disruptions in the use of MRIs, which depend on liquid helium as coolant.

Image Wisely® recently launched its first Image Wisely Radiation Safety Case — a series of free, online and mobile-compatible educational offerings, developed with the assistance of the American College of Radiology, that allow radiologists, imaging technologists and medical physicists to assess their own understanding of important radiation safety concepts such as radiation dose monitoring and optimization.

Sudden cardiac death in seemingly healthy athletes is a rare, but shocking and tragic phenomenon. Unfortunately, predicting which individuals are susceptible is a challenge and current cardiac imaging techniques are not suitable as first-line screening tools for athletes at risk, according to a review article published in the September issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Cardiovascular Imaging.

Comfort pads that cradle infants during radiographic studies may snugly hold young patients in place, but they also catch x-ray beams before they get to the detector. Removing the pads may open the door for dose reduction, according to a study published in the October issue of Academic Radiology.