By MIKE STOBBE, AP Medical Writer
ATLANTA - Up to 1.4 million U.S. women — those with an unusually high risk of developing breast cancer — should get annual MRIs as well as mammograms, the American Cancer Society advises in new guidelines.
And a new medical study suggests that all women newly diagnosed with breast cancer should get MRIs, too. The scans revealed cancers in the opposite breast that were missed by ordinary mammograms in 3 percent of these cancer survivors.
The study came out after the cancer society developed its guidelines, which are the first to recommend MRI for screening women who show no signs of cancer.
The guidelines are directed at symptomless women age 30 and older who have a mutation in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes; those who were treated for Hodgkin's disease; or those with a strong family history of the disease, such as women with two or more close relatives who had breast or ovarian cancer or who have a close relative who developed breast cancer before age 50.
Source Article
Wednesday, March 28, 2007
Research Agreement To Advance New Imaging Technology
The University of Rochester Medical Center (URMC) and T.I.E.S., LLC a Rochester, New York-based start-up company, have entered into a research partnership to evaluate a new technology that could ultimately represent a major advance in medical imaging.
T.I.E.S. -- which stands for Tomographic Image Enhancement Systems -- has patented a new image processing technology called "Image Surgery" that allows scientists and radiologists to selectively focus on a specific organ or region of the body and, as a result, create clearer and more precise side by side images.
The company, which is led by two former Kodak imaging systems executives, will work with researchers in the URMC Department of Imaging Sciences to apply this technology to images from actual patients.
Source Article Here
T.I.E.S. -- which stands for Tomographic Image Enhancement Systems -- has patented a new image processing technology called "Image Surgery" that allows scientists and radiologists to selectively focus on a specific organ or region of the body and, as a result, create clearer and more precise side by side images.
The company, which is led by two former Kodak imaging systems executives, will work with researchers in the URMC Department of Imaging Sciences to apply this technology to images from actual patients.
Source Article Here
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Techs need advanced postprocessing skills
Dimag.com
Heather Brown, Ph.D.
Postprocessing software vendors sell their software based on the "push of a button" fantasy: Simply by pressing several buttons, the user completes the entire case. Although software interfaces are becoming increasingly more user-friendly, postprocessing volumetric data still requires an advanced skill set. This need is indicated by the number of physicians seeking specialized training courses to process cardiac cases. Unfortunately, while doctors are receiving advanced education, technologists are being left by the wayside, with only limited vendor-specific applications training.
Although many physicians are learning how to use postprocessing software, it is increasingly apparent that this task will become the responsibility of technologists. More and more postprocessing labs are popping up around the country where dedicated technologists prepare postprocessed data sets for a physician's review. The technologists who work in these labs are typically those who have taken the initiative to learn the software through applications training and/or trial and error.
Complete Article Here
Heather Brown, Ph.D.
Postprocessing software vendors sell their software based on the "push of a button" fantasy: Simply by pressing several buttons, the user completes the entire case. Although software interfaces are becoming increasingly more user-friendly, postprocessing volumetric data still requires an advanced skill set. This need is indicated by the number of physicians seeking specialized training courses to process cardiac cases. Unfortunately, while doctors are receiving advanced education, technologists are being left by the wayside, with only limited vendor-specific applications training.
Although many physicians are learning how to use postprocessing software, it is increasingly apparent that this task will become the responsibility of technologists. More and more postprocessing labs are popping up around the country where dedicated technologists prepare postprocessed data sets for a physician's review. The technologists who work in these labs are typically those who have taken the initiative to learn the software through applications training and/or trial and error.
Complete Article Here
Monday, March 19, 2007
Researchers Studying Usefulness of Full Body Scans
By Helen Chickering / NBC News
Your cholesterol checks out, your blood pressure is fine and your doctor sends you away with a clean bill of health. But, for some people that's not enough. They want a head-to-toe checkup.
Whole body scanning in healthy people has been dubbed a high-tech, and sometimes risky, waste of money by the medical community. But, advances in technology may soon change that perspective.
Today, state-of-the-art imaging technology is revolutionizing the diagnosis and treatments in a number of illnesses, everything from cancer to heart disease.
Hi-tech imaging tools that give a head-to-toe view inside the body have revolutioned the diagnosis of diseases like cancer, triggering the obvious question.
Read Complete Article Here
Your cholesterol checks out, your blood pressure is fine and your doctor sends you away with a clean bill of health. But, for some people that's not enough. They want a head-to-toe checkup.
Whole body scanning in healthy people has been dubbed a high-tech, and sometimes risky, waste of money by the medical community. But, advances in technology may soon change that perspective.
Today, state-of-the-art imaging technology is revolutionizing the diagnosis and treatments in a number of illnesses, everything from cancer to heart disease.
Hi-tech imaging tools that give a head-to-toe view inside the body have revolutioned the diagnosis of diseases like cancer, triggering the obvious question.
Read Complete Article Here
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Flat-panel CT device invades operating room
Diagnostic Imaging Magazine
By: Greg Freiherr
CT scanners are going places they have never gone before. One system is headed into the operating room.
Xoran Technologies' xCAT is being designed to take brain images of anesthetized patients to track progress made during surgery. Prototypes of the scanner have entered limited clinical use at the University of Pennsylvania and New York University. Dr. David W. Kennedy, director of rhinology at the Penn Health System, uses xCAT scans to update a computer-assisted navigation system.
"The low radiation dose makes it possible to scan a patient toward the end of a surgery and identify what, if any, disease we may have left, and then go and remove it while the patient is still asleep," said Kennedy, a pioneer of endoscopic sinus surgery in the U.S. and an early adopter of image-guided surgery.
Complete Article Here
By: Greg Freiherr
CT scanners are going places they have never gone before. One system is headed into the operating room.
Xoran Technologies' xCAT is being designed to take brain images of anesthetized patients to track progress made during surgery. Prototypes of the scanner have entered limited clinical use at the University of Pennsylvania and New York University. Dr. David W. Kennedy, director of rhinology at the Penn Health System, uses xCAT scans to update a computer-assisted navigation system.
"The low radiation dose makes it possible to scan a patient toward the end of a surgery and identify what, if any, disease we may have left, and then go and remove it while the patient is still asleep," said Kennedy, a pioneer of endoscopic sinus surgery in the U.S. and an early adopter of image-guided surgery.
Complete Article Here
Thursday, March 15, 2007
Correct Patient Positioning Can Decrease CT Radiation Dose
Simply centering the patient appropriately on the CT gantry can reduce radiation dose by as much as 56%, yet nearly all patients are incorrectly positioned for their examinations, a new study shows.
Nearly all, (42 out of 45) patients undergoing abdominal CT examinations were off-center. All 18 patients in the study undergoing chest CT were off-center too, said Mannudeep Kalra, MD, currently at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Dr. Kalra is one of the authors of the study.
Complete Article Here
Nearly all, (42 out of 45) patients undergoing abdominal CT examinations were off-center. All 18 patients in the study undergoing chest CT were off-center too, said Mannudeep Kalra, MD, currently at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston. Dr. Kalra is one of the authors of the study.
Complete Article Here
Wednesday, March 14, 2007
CAD Marks Cancers Missed in Double Reading of Screening Mammograms
Newswise
Computer aided detection (CAD) is a potentially useful adjunct to double reading of screening mammograms, according to a recently released study.
The study included 3,683 women who were part of the Oslo I study comparing screen-film mammography and full-field digital mammography. All women had both film and digital mammograms which were then independently interpreted by two radiologists. “Twenty nine cancers were prospectively diagnosed in the initial screening round,” said Per Skaane, MD, of Ullevaal University Hospital in Norway, and lead author of the study.
Read complete article
Computer aided detection (CAD) is a potentially useful adjunct to double reading of screening mammograms, according to a recently released study.
The study included 3,683 women who were part of the Oslo I study comparing screen-film mammography and full-field digital mammography. All women had both film and digital mammograms which were then independently interpreted by two radiologists. “Twenty nine cancers were prospectively diagnosed in the initial screening round,” said Per Skaane, MD, of Ullevaal University Hospital in Norway, and lead author of the study.
Read complete article
Saturday, March 10, 2007
Study Questions Ability of CT Screening to Reduce Lung Cancer Deaths
Diagnostic Imaging Online
An eight-year international study of more than 3000 current and former smokers has found that screening CT leads to early lung cancer diagnosis but does not cut lung cancer death rates for people who receive annual screening.
Although CT screening found nearly three times as many lung cancers as predicted, lead author Dr. Peter Bach, a pulmonologist/intensivist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, found that early detection and treatment did not lead to a corresponding decrease in advanced lung cancers or a reduction in deaths from lung cancer.
The multicenter study found no advantage to using CT screening on current or former smokers, the population at highest risk for developing lung cancer. The findings appear in the March 7 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
An eight-year international study of more than 3000 current and former smokers has found that screening CT leads to early lung cancer diagnosis but does not cut lung cancer death rates for people who receive annual screening.
Although CT screening found nearly three times as many lung cancers as predicted, lead author Dr. Peter Bach, a pulmonologist/intensivist at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City, found that early detection and treatment did not lead to a corresponding decrease in advanced lung cancers or a reduction in deaths from lung cancer.
The multicenter study found no advantage to using CT screening on current or former smokers, the population at highest risk for developing lung cancer. The findings appear in the March 7 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.
Friday, March 9, 2007
HHS Launches New Online Toolkit For Medical Responses To Radiation Emergencies
Press Release
Health and Human Services
HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt today announced the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has developed a new downloadable online diagnostic and treatment toolkit designed for health care providers, primarily physicians, who may have to provide medical care during a radiation incident.
The new information package includes easy-to-follow procedures for diagnosis and management of radiation contamination and exposure, guidance for the use of radiation medical countermeasures, and a variety of other features to facilitate medical responses. All of this is now available on the Radiation Event Medical Management (REMM) Web site (http://REMM.NLM.GOV).
"The REMM toolkit is part of our effort to improve public health emergency preparedness and response," Secretary Leavitt said. "It reflects the department's commitment to help instill a spirit of preparedness throughout our nation."
Health and Human Services
HHS Secretary Mike Leavitt today announced the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has developed a new downloadable online diagnostic and treatment toolkit designed for health care providers, primarily physicians, who may have to provide medical care during a radiation incident.
The new information package includes easy-to-follow procedures for diagnosis and management of radiation contamination and exposure, guidance for the use of radiation medical countermeasures, and a variety of other features to facilitate medical responses. All of this is now available on the Radiation Event Medical Management (REMM) Web site (http://REMM.NLM.GOV).
"The REMM toolkit is part of our effort to improve public health emergency preparedness and response," Secretary Leavitt said. "It reflects the department's commitment to help instill a spirit of preparedness throughout our nation."
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
X-ray System to Show Moving Bones in 3-D
A new project, being developed at Brown University, promises to improve our understanding of the complex motions of bones and joints.
Computed tomography, or CT, delivers detailed 3-D images, but CT scanners are too slow to capture rapid motion. Cinefluoroscopy, a technique that uses X-rays to view objects, can produce moving images in two dimensions, but not 3-D.
The new system, dubbed CTX, will combine the 3-D capability of CT scanners and the real-time movement tracking of cinefluoroscopy. CTX technology is expected to deliver images with exceptional precision and detail. Researchers will be able to track 3-D skeletal movements with 0.1 millimeter accuracy and see the equivalent of 1,000 CT images per second.
Complete article here
Computed tomography, or CT, delivers detailed 3-D images, but CT scanners are too slow to capture rapid motion. Cinefluoroscopy, a technique that uses X-rays to view objects, can produce moving images in two dimensions, but not 3-D.
The new system, dubbed CTX, will combine the 3-D capability of CT scanners and the real-time movement tracking of cinefluoroscopy. CTX technology is expected to deliver images with exceptional precision and detail. Researchers will be able to track 3-D skeletal movements with 0.1 millimeter accuracy and see the equivalent of 1,000 CT images per second.
Complete article here
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Merge Healthcare unveils diagnostic mammography tool
Merge Healthcare has released a new medical imaging product for mammography workstations that is designed to enhance the image reading capabilities of radiologists.
According to Merge, the vendor-neutral product, marketed as Merge Mammo(TM) version 7.0, will make possible simultaneous display and reading of images on devices ranging from ultrasound to digital mammography, regardless of which vendor's acquisition device is used to secure the images.
Link to Complete Article
According to Merge, the vendor-neutral product, marketed as Merge Mammo(TM) version 7.0, will make possible simultaneous display and reading of images on devices ranging from ultrasound to digital mammography, regardless of which vendor's acquisition device is used to secure the images.
Link to Complete Article
Monday, March 5, 2007
MRI Contrast Agent Linked To Rare Disease
Medical News Today -Radiology
New research has shown a possible association between a popular magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agent and the incidence of a rare disease called nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF) in patients with kidney disease, according to an editorial appearing in the March issue of Radiology.
"We recommend avoiding the use of gadodiamide in patients with any degree of renal disease," said Phillip H. Kuo, M.D., Ph.D., assistant clinical professor of diagnostic radiology at Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Conn. "At this point, the data clearly show the vast majority of NSF cases are associated with the use of gadodiamide."
Complete Article Here
New research has shown a possible association between a popular magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) contrast agent and the incidence of a rare disease called nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (NSF) in patients with kidney disease, according to an editorial appearing in the March issue of Radiology.
"We recommend avoiding the use of gadodiamide in patients with any degree of renal disease," said Phillip H. Kuo, M.D., Ph.D., assistant clinical professor of diagnostic radiology at Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Conn. "At this point, the data clearly show the vast majority of NSF cases are associated with the use of gadodiamide."
Complete Article Here
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