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 lands Mexico PEM install

The National Institute of Cancer, a Mexican oncologic center, is the first in the country to offer positron emission mammography (PEM), which is a breast application of Naviscan's PET scanner that shows the location as well as the metabolic phase of a lesion.

Nature: MRI scans show IQ can change during adolescence

IQ scores can increase or fall significantly during a persons teenage years, and these changes are associated with changes in the brain's structure, according to a study published in the Oct. 20 issue of the journal Nature.

CDC: Coronary heart disease prevalence drops to 6% in U.S.

The prevalence of coronary heart disease (CHD) in the U.S. declined from 6.7 percent in 2006 to 6 percent in 2010, according to a report released Oct. 14 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The results suggest that CHD incidence has declined, thanks to the prevention and control of CHD risk factors.

Report: California could realize big savings from expanded telehealth

Numerous California healthcare associations and organizations helped craft and pass the Telehealth Advancement Act of 2011, signed into law Oct. 7 by Gov. Jerry Brown. Among the groups leading the charge was the Center for Connected Health Policy, which released a report Sept. 30 that highlighted the potential cost savings to be realized from an expansion of telehealth in the Golden State.

White House blog clarifies CMS plan to collect patient data

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) does not propose that states collect personal data such as name, social security number or address for the risk adjustment program, wrote Steve Larsen, Director of the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight in a White House blog posting.

BJS: Sentinel node biopsy may suffice for some breast cancer patients

Sentinel lymph node (SLN) biopsy, which is associated with fewer complications than axillary lymph node dissection (ALND), may be safe and effective for most patients who do not have axillary mode metastases. Furthermore, some SLN-biopsy positive patients can omit ALND at the physicians discretion, according to an article published in the November issue of the British Journal of Surgery.

Siemens nets U.K. PET/MR install

The UKs first Biograph mMR, a hybrid molecular MR system from Siemens Healthcare, has been delivered to the University College Hospital (UCH) Macmillan Cancer Centre in London.

AAMI releases new device-related, adverse-event terminology

To help report device-related adverse events with greater accuracy and consistency, the Association for the Advancement of Medical Instrumentation (AAMI) has put together a glossary of terms and posted it for free on its website.

Around the web

Harvard’s David A. Rosman, MD, MBA, explains how moving imaging outside of hospitals could save billions of dollars for U.S. healthcare.

Back in September, the FDA approved GE HealthCare’s new PET radiotracer, flurpiridaz F-18, for patients with known or suspected CAD. It is seen by many in the industry as a major step forward in patient care. 

After three years of intermittent shortages of nuclear imaging tracer technetium-99m pyrophosphate, there are no signs of the shortage abating.