Imaging amino acid transporters with PET/CT significantly alters intended management plans for patients with brain tumors, according to research in the March issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine. As a result of imaging with the radiopharmaceutical 3,4-dihydroxy-6-F-18-fluoro-L-phenylalanine (F-18-DOPA), referring physicians changed the intended management plan for 41 percent of patients with brain tumors.

Technological improvements in image acquisition and software processing in nuclear cardiology should allow physicians to shave patient imaging times dramatically or cut radiation doses fourfold, according to a new preferred practice statement from the American Society of Nuclear Cardiology (ASNC).

French military and political leader Napoleon Bonaparte once said, A picture is worth a thousand words, and in terms of CT use in the medical field, he may not have been that far off. This week we shift gears from all the health IT chatter stemming from last weeks 2012 HIMSS conference to focus on a different issueCT.

Philips Healthcare has installed its Ingenuity TF whole-body PET/MR imaging system at Turku University Hospital in Turku, Finland.

The FDA has extended the action date by three months for the New Drug Application for apixaban (Eliquis, Bristol-Myers Squibb/Pfizer) for the prevention of stroke and systemic embolism in patients with atrial fibrillation. The new Prescription Drug User Fee Act goal date is June 28.

The Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS), the Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) and the American College of Medical Practice Executives(ACMPE) have partnered to produce the Ambulatory Health Information Exchange (HIE) Toolkit, an online resource for healthcare organizations considering and participating in HIE.

Healthland, a Minneapolis-based health IT vendor specializing in products for rural healthcare organizations, has partnered with health IT vendor Imprivata to resell the Lexington, Mass.-based companys OneSign Single Sign-On and OneSign Authentication Management products.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Forces (USPSTF) 2009 recommendation against routine breast cancer screening for women younger than age 50 continues to make waves. Recent research has shown that fewer women need undergo clinical screening to save a life than estimated by USPSTFs analysis, according to a study published in the March issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology.