Low-dose CT provides an effective and more sensitive alternative to abdominal x-ray in the screening of people suspected of carrying intracorporeal drug packets, according to a study published online Sept. 5 in Radiology. The authors cautioned recent advances in packet materials may render x-ray obsolete for this application.

Several observational studies published recently highlighted the value of continued vigilance of pharmaceuticals after FDA approval. One looked at the side effects of statins and the other at the cardiotoxic effect of two chemotherapy drugs for treating invasive breast cancer.

In a study of older adults, cardiac MR imaging was able to detect more unrecognized heart attacks and was more strongly associated with mortality than electrocardiography, according to results published in the Sept. 5 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH)/National Cancer Institute has awarded a five-year research project grant to identify harmonized reconstruction parameters for each currently-produced PET/CT scanner for use in clinical trials. The Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imagings (SNMMI) Clinical Trials Network will serve as an administrative coordinating body for the Image Reconstruction Harmonization Grant, which was awarded in August to the Universities of Iowa, Pennsylvania and Washington.

The College of Healthcare Information Management Executives (CHIME) has released the first of its in-depth case studies, intended to highlight how IT can improve healthcare delivery and to detail how providers are successfully implementing technology to promote sharing of best practices in IT implementation.

Implementation of a preparation and support procedure helped reduce the need for sedation among children with sickle cell disease undergoing MR exams, according to a study published in Pediatric Radiology.

CircuLite has received CE Mark approval for the Synergy circulatory support system, a micro-pump designed to halt the progression of heart failure (HF).

The World Molecular Imaging Congress (WMIC 2012) is starting this week, Sept. 5, at the convention center in Dublin, which attracts thousands of researchers, practitioners and scholars from nore than 30 countries.