Medical Imaging

Physicians utilize medical imaging to see inside the body to diagnose and treat patients. This includes computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), X-ray, ultrasound, fluoroscopy, angiography,  and the nuclear imaging modalities of PET and SPECT. 

Naviscan scores PEM orders in the EU

Naviscan PET scanners performing positron emission mammography (PEM) have been installed in two European centers: Radiologie und Nuklearmedizin in Ludwigshafen, Germany, and Medica in Istanbul, Turkey.

Prevent rather than provoke

As the population ages, the prevalence of cardiovascular disease continues to increase. Mortality rates have dropped but the number of people with comorbidities remains on the rise. In fact, nearly 26 million Americans have diabetes and it is estimated that 79 million are at risk for developing diabetes. While medical therapy and innovative technologies have helped patients, the current focus should be on the prevention of these diseases and comorbidities.

SIIM: CT dose reduction remains a work-in-progress

CT utilization has exploded in recent decades, and with it has come an increase in the amount of radiation the population is exposed to annually. While concerns about radiation dose are becoming more publicized, much work remains to fully understand the risks of radiation in medical imaging, according to the presenters in a webinar on Jan. 25 hosted by the Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine (SIIM).

New FDA guidance for makers of knee products

The FDA has issued newly-finalized guidance to help manufacturers of knee-replacement products properly apply for investigational device exemptions.

AJR: Algorithm reduces benign lung biopsy rate

When following a stringent diagnostic protocol in CT lung cancer screening, few biopsies will be recommended and performed on benign nodules, which should alleviate at least some concerns that low-dose CT screening produces a high false-positive rate, according to a study published in the February issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology.

Medical societies urge Congress to repeal SGR

The American Medical Association, along with a group of other healthcare trade associations, wrote a letter to House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Rep. Dave Camp (R-Mich.), encouraging him to push for the repeal of the sustainable growth rate (SGR) to allow for the formation of more accurate Medicare spending estimates while also suggesting that excess baseline projections for Overseas Contingency Operations be used to help offset necessary Medicare baseline changes.

AIM: Contrast media adversely affects thyroid function

Exposure to iodinated contrast media during imaging procedures is associated with changes in thyroid function and an increased risk of hyperthyroidism, according to a report in the Jan. 23 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine. An accompanying commentary argued that the study is a good example of why patients who may be particularly vulnerable to thyroid dysfunction should be monitored after iodine exposure.

Study: 18F-flutemetamol PET shows promise for Alzheimers diagnosis

18F-flutemetamol PET imaging demonstrates strong concordance with histopathology irrespective of timing and sequence of exams in prospective and retrospective settings, and shows promise as a valuable tool to study and possibly facilitate diagnosis of Alzheimers disease, both in patients with suspected normal pressure hydrocephalus, and among the wider population, according to a pooled analysis of four studies presented at the 2012 Human Amyloid Imaging (HAI) conference in Miami, Fla.

Around the web

RBMA President Peter Moffatt discusses declining reimbursement rates, recruiting challenges and the role of artificial intelligence in transforming the industry.

Deepak Bhatt, MD, director of the Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital and principal investigator of the TRANSFORM trial, explains an emerging technique for cardiac screening: combining coronary CT angiography with artificial intelligence for plaque analysis to create an approach similar to mammography.

A total of 16 cardiology practices from 12 states settled with the DOJ to resolve allegations they overbilled Medicare for imaging agents used to diagnose cardiovascular disease.