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. 

HHS rejects Trustmark's proposed 13% rate increase

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), as allowed by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, has deemed health insurance premium increases in five states unreasonable.

Respironics recall of 52 ventilators close to completion

Philips Healthcare-owned Respironics has completed notifying customers of a voluntary recall of 52 Trilogy 100 ventilators sold in the U.S.

Radiology: 7T MRI sheds new light on MS lesions

Combined analysis of 7T R2* and phase data could improve characterization of multiple sclerosis (MS) lesions, according to a study published in the January issue of Radiology.

Study: Schizophrenia associated with progressive brain changes in adolescents

Adolescents diagnosed with schizophrenia show greater decreases in gray matter volume and increases in cerebrospinal fluid in the frontal lobe when compared to healthy adolescents, and also when compared to patients suffering from bipolar disorder, according to a study published in the January issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.

AAPM: Put rad dose risk in perspective

A discussion of radiation risks from medical imaging procedures should be accompanied by acknowledgement of the benefits of a given imaging procedure, according to the Message of the Month for December 2011, posted on the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) website.

AMIC: Reduced DEXA payments may curb screening, up fracture incidence

The Access to Medical Imaging Coalition (AMIC) is urging the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) to consider the correlation between Medicare reimbursement and patient outcomes as it advises Congress about physician payments.

AAMI publication points way to safer device reprocessing

Following up on last falls summit on medical device reprocessing, the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI)which co-sponsored the summit with the FDAhas released a 40-page summary of the events discussions and decisions.

LabLogic's nabs two French orders

Two healthcare organizations in Grenoble, France, are using LabLogics Laura radio-chromatography system and instrumentation.

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.