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.

Due to legislative reform, demographic change and rising prosperity, demand for healthcare services is rising across the world, fueling the requirement for up-to-date medical equipment that plays an indispensable role in the provision of high quality healthcare. This is, however, exerting considerable financial strain on the European healthcare systems where a proportion of medical equipment is currently out-of-date and needs to be urgently replaced.

Yesterday, the U.S. Senate passed an amended version of the Responsible Helium Administration and Stewardship Act, or HR 527, which was approved by the House of Representatives earlier this year. It still needs to be officially signed into law, but this is a major step to averting a helium shortage that had been looming for months.

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.

Healthcare spending in the U.S. will grow at an average annual rate of 5.8 percent from 2012 through 2022, which is 1.0 percentage point faster than projected gross domestic product (GDP) growth, according to an article published online ahead of print in Health Affairs.

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.