Screening

Diagnostic screening programs help catch cancer, abnormalities or other diseases before they reach an advanced stage, saving lives and healthcare costs. Screening programs include, lung, breast, prostate, and cervical cancer, among many others.

MacArthur genius inventing durable, user-friendly diagnostic equipment for the world’s poorest hospitals

Donated medical equipment fills many a junk room in the hospitals of developing regions around the world. Much of it is useless due to lack of staff training. Some of it is down for maintenance or repairs that nobody nearby knows how to perform. 

Microscopic ‘water bears’ in the service of medical imaging?

Tiny, peculiar and creepy but in a cuddly sort of way, eight-legged tardigrades—also known as “water bears”—may help advance radiation safety in medical imaging. 

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MRI techs team-trained in calming techniques cut patient walkouts and no-shows

A study drawing on data from nearly 100,000 patient visits has shown that team training of MRI technologists in patient-calming techniques can boost rates of patient show-ups as well as study completions.

Is there proof of a connection between early fetal ultrasounds and autism?

Autism symptoms in children could be exacerbated if their mothers undergo fetal ultrasounds early in pregnancy, according to a new study published in Autism Research. And now, the Wall Street Journal reported, doctors are looking for a way to cut back on first-trimester fetal ultrasounds without scaring away women who might need the procedure, while definitive proof of autism-related effects remains elusive. 

Imaging and computing tag-team to fight malaria

Engineers at Duke University have combined light-based holographic imaging with deep-learning algorithms to come up with a no-pathologist-needed way to identify blood cells infected with malaria. 

Fujifilm's Synapse VNA Reaches Milestone, Serving Over 300 Oncology Sites Worldwide

Stamford, CT, September 20, 2016 (Booth #8000) – The TeraMedica Division of FUJIFILM Medical Systems U.S.A., Inc., a leading provider of diagnostic imaging products and medical informatics solutions, recently announced a significant business milestone in serving cancer center customers. The company’s Synapse VNA, an enterprise-wide medical information and image management solution, is now installed at more than 300 oncology facilities worldwide for the management of cancer treatment data.

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MRIs getting ordered for knee pain when x-rays would do just fine

Physicians treating possibly osteoarthritic patients 40 and older for knee pain can save these patients time, trouble and quite a lot of money—while sacrificing little to nothing on diagnostic accuracy—by sending them for weight-bearing x-rays rather than MRI scans.

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Imaging utilization wrinkle: Patients who get CT scans for headaches return to the ED less often

In a retrospective analysis of an urban emergency department that sees more than 85,000 annual visits, atraumatic headache patients who received CT scans in the ED and had negative findings were much less likely than patients who were not scanned to come back to the ED for any reason within 30 days. 

Around the web

Positron, a New York-based nuclear imaging company, will now provide Upbeat Cardiology Solutions with advanced PET/CT systems and services. 

The nuclear imaging isotope shortage of molybdenum-99 may be over now that the sidelined reactor is restarting. ASNC's president says PET and new SPECT technologies helped cardiac imaging labs better weather the storm.

CMS has more than doubled the CCTA payment rate from $175 to $357.13. The move, expected to have a significant impact on the utilization of cardiac CT, received immediate praise from imaging specialists.