Nomogram, A New Prediction Tool To Estimate Local Recurrence Of Non-Invasive Breast Cancer.

The decision concerning treatment for patients diagnosed with ductal carcinoma in-situ (DCIS) following breast-conserving surgery has long been a controversial area of debate and confusion for patients as well as doctors. The mortality rates for DCIS are relatively not high but the risk of local recurrence in the breast is high. Standard treatments following surgery include radiation therapy and hormone treatment. Both techniques incur serious hazards to the patients as well as unproven improved survival rates but they can lower the risk of local tumor recurrence in the breast.

A New Method To Calculate High Radiation Doses During Radiotherapy.

In a recent study, researchers from the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center-Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC-James) have designed a new mathematical model to determine radiation doses delivered during several conditions such as treating cancer patients. The study is highlighted in the journal Science Translational Medicine.
Usually, radiation doses are delivered, in small concentrations, to cancer patients on daily basis for several weeks. Radiation oncologists are used to determine the schedules for the fractionated, low-dose radiation courses applying a mathematical model named the linear-quadratic (LQ) Model. However, this model does not provide accuracy when used on high radiation doses. Dr. Nina Mayr, professor of radiation oncology at the OSUCCC-James, and the co-author of the study, explained "Unfortunately the LQ Model doesn't work well for high-dose radiation therapy. Our study resolves this problem by modifying the current method to develop the Generalized LQ (gLQ) Model that covers all dose levels and schedules." Dr.Mayr added that Generalized LQ offers new options for planning radiation doses and schedules used during recent procedures such as radiosurgery, stereotactic radiation therapy and high-dose brachytherapy techniques....

Perry Hospital Provided Faulty Mammography Procedure Results.

Mammography has been one of the most important medical imaging techniques. It has been used for early detection of breast cancer in women. Yet, mammography has its own drawbacks; among them are the inaccurate results that sometimes appear with women with dense breast tissues. Perry Hospital has conducted faulty mammogram procedures that affected about 900 women. A prosecutor is going to update the public in the US about the results of the investigation. Rabb Wilkerson, the Houston County District Attorney, is providing the update during a news conference that will take place on Tuesday. Meanwhile, Victor Moldovan, the Hospital attorney, said that the fault mammography procedure results were caused by an employee, as he was not delivering the mammography scans to doctors for interpretation. This employee has been fired. Perry Hospital suggested the 900 women to come again to have another mammography scan.

Intresco Trials Odyssey MarineAssess From Plain Healthcare.

Intresco, European based shipping management group, has announced its agreement with Plain Healthcare. According to the agreement, Intresco will trial Plain Healthcare’s Odyssey MarineAssess to provide its ships’ crews with fast and efficient medical advice when out at sea.

More about Odyssey MarineAssess.

The software, which will be provided on touch screen tablets, is developed to be used by the ships’ captains in cases such as a crew sickness or emergencies when the ship is located many miles off shore with inaccessible medical facilities and unavailable communications. Intresco has its own healthcare professionals, who will receive calls if a medical emergency happens..

CSC Receives Certification From EuroRec.

CSC has been awarded certification from EuroRec, a non profit organization dedicated to promoting high quality electronic health record (EHR) systems. CSC is one of the first software providers in Europe to receive certification from EuroRec. Freddy Lykke, managing director of CSC’s European healthcare solution centre, said: “EuroRec is driving standardization in EHR systems and CSC believes that this is a crucial step forward for the industry. We feel that common standards, which allow the performance of each vendor’s software to be measured and compared, are useful means through which vendors like CSC can demonstrate that EHR systems perform as described.”

Medical Radiation Technologists In New Zealand To Conduct Their National Strike On Tuesday.

A national industrial action, organized by Medical Radiation Technologists (MRTs) and their APEX Union, will take place next Tuesday the 7th of September, starting from 7 am, till 7 am on Wednesday the 8th of September. The strike means that X-ray service will be stopped in CDHB hospitals during the time of the strike. A larger number of hospitals will have their X-ray services affected by the strike, such as Christchurch Hospital, Christchurch Women’s Hospital, Burwood Hospital and Ashburton Hospital.
Moreover, some previously scheduled appointments for pre-surgical radiology examinations have been postponed. Dr.Nigel Millar, CDHB Chief Medical Officer, said “Members of the public affected by this action are being contacted and we will be doing all we can to minimize the impact of the strike on people in hospital. Our number one consideration in preparing for this strike is patients, maintaining urgent care and minimizing risks to them” Dr. Millar noted that according to a previous agreement with APEX Union, people with serious conditions will undergo X-ray examinations at hospitals......

Colonoscopy Needs Repeating If Conducted By Non-gastroenterologists.

According to a recent report, older individuals who undergo colonoscopy procedures carried out by family doctors, internists or general surgeons are more likely to have a need to repeat the procedure within one year. Meanwhile, individuals who undergo colonoscopy carried out by gastroenterologists do not usually need to repeat the procedure. The report is highlighted in the American Journal of Gastroenterology.

Colonoscopy procedures and chances of repeating.

The report used Medicare data for about 300,000 colonoscopy procedures. Data showed that nearly 5% of patients repeated colonoscopy procedures within a year. Data also noted that 6.4% of 7,700 colonoscopy procedures carried out by family doctors were requiring other follow procedures within the year. The percentages for general surgeons and internists were 5.6% and 5.3% respectively. On the other hand, in 240,000 colonoscopy procedures carried out by gastroenterologists, only 4.6% required another procedure within the year. After further considerations of other factors such as the ages of patients, medical conditions, and income, researchers noted that when a colonoscopy procedure is conducted by a family doctor, it is accompanied with 39% more chances of a need to repeat the procedure against only one chance for a procedure managed by a gastroenterologist......

Nightingale On Demand EMR Now Available In Saskatchewan Province.

Nightingale Informatix Corporation, a company providing electronic medical records (EMR) solutions, announced that it has extended its operations to the province of Saskatchewa. Nightingale On Demand, the innovative EMR solution from Nightingale, has been recently granted a certification as an Approved Vendor of the Saskatchewan EMR program. The Saskatchewan Ministry of Health and the Saskatchewan Medical Association (SMA) fund the EMR program.

More about Nightingale On Demand EMR solution.

Nightingale On Demand was chosen along with other three EMR solutions which will be available to about 1,400 physicians in Saskatchewan. Nightingale was named as an Approved Vendor following a request-for-proposal process. The Certification was granted to Nightingale’s solution after evaluation and confirmation that Nightingale On Demand was following all core SMA requirements. President & CEO, Nightingale, Sam Chebib, said "Entering the Saskatchewan market represents an opportunity for Nightingale to extend its footprint further across the country. Nightingale has already started to execute an aggressive strategy in an effort to capture a sizeable share of the Saskatchewan market. We believe that the SMA's funding model will encourage physicians to realize the full potential of their EMR at an accelerated pace. Nightingale will work tirelessly with physicians to ensure their successful transition to Nightingale On Demand."

PET/CT Technique To Detect Breast Cancer Metastasis.

According to a recent study, PET/CT scans can be used for the most accurate, efficient and effective detection of breast cancer metastasis to bone. The study was conducted by researchers from the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Breast cancer is one of the most common forms of cancer in women. Around 1/3 of breast cancer patients usually have their breast cancer metastasizing to reach other locations, mainly bone. The study is highlighted in June issue of the Journal of Clinical Oncology.

Canon U.S.A. Announces Its First Wireless Digital Radiography System.

Canon U.S.A., Inc., has launched its new wireless digital radiography system, CXDI-70C, at the Canon Expo 2010 in New York City. The CXDI-70C has been announced for the first time at the recently held AHRA Annual Meeting. The system has an image area of 14” x 17”, facilitating its mobility for radiologists and technologists. The new equipment weighs only 7.5 pounds and integrates a Canon-developed glass substrate with a pixel pitch of 125 microns. The unit also features a cesium iodide scintillator. At AHRA, the company also displayed several other systems, such as the CXDI-50RF Dynamic/Static Digital Radiography System, the CXDI-55G and CXDI-55C Digital Radiography systems, the CXDI-60C Multipurpose Portable Digital Radiography System, and the CXDI-40G COMPACT Digital Radiography System.

Philips Presents The Third Generation Of SpeechMike For Improved Dictation.

Philips Speech Processing, a company based in Andover, Mass, has recently presented the third generation of its SpeechMike audio recording system, which was developed to enhance the quality of dictation. The latest version of SpeechMike includes several features which will significantly provide more options for its useres.

Siemens Sells Calypso’s Tracking Technology Of Tumor Cells.

A new product distribution agreement has been signed between Calypso Medical Technologies, Inc., a developer of real-time technology for precise tracking, and Siemens Healthcare. Following this agreement, the capability of detecting and tracking tumor cells during radiation therapy treatments is expected to be markedly improved. According to this three-year period agreement, Siemens will have non-exclusive rights to deploy and sell Calypso’s real-time tracking technology to the current and potential Siemens' progressively increasing customers throughout Europe.

U.S. Hospitals Gain Little From Electronic Health Records Implementation.

Shifting the healthcare system from paper-based to electronic-based in the United States may improve healthcare quality and reduce costs, but in a new study by Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), entitled "A Progress Report on Electronic Health Records in U.S. Hospitals", researchers suggest that goal is far off. The implementation of basic or comprehensive electronic health records (EHR) by U.S. hospitals has been elevated modestly from 8.7% in 2008 to 11.9% in 2009, but only 2% of hospitals met the federal "meaningful use" standard required to earn government financial incentives.

EHI Live 2010 Hosts UK PACS And Teleradiography Group Meeting.

E-Health Insider Live 2010 will host the UK PACS and Teleradiography Group meeting for this year, to provide delegates with an insight into next generation PACS (picture archiving and communications systems). The group is a special interest group of the Royal College of Radiologists and includes radiologists, radiographers, healthcare IT professionals and PACS managers. It carries out a very active public forum with more than 3,000 participated users, in which a wide variety of clinical IT and technical issues are discussed and best practice is shared.

Disclosing Medical Errors Leads To Decrease In Costs And Number Of Lawsuits.

A study published in the Annals of Internal Medicine by The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, entitled "Liability Claims and Costs Before and After Implementation of a Medical Error Disclosure Program", shows that complete disclosure of medical errors leads to lower costs and a decrease in the number of lawsuits. The study is based on a University of Michigan Health System (UMHS) program that was adopted in 2001. The system was developed to proactively search for medical errors and provide full disclosure and reasonable compensation offers to patients when shortage is proved rather than automatically defending claims that were a result of error.

Information Technology Improves Cardiovascular Disease Management.

Robyn Whittaker from the University of Auckland and colleagues argue that information technology (IT)- based programs can have a positive impact on cardiovascular disease (CVD) management and patient outcomes, but must be combined with supportive social and political environments and active patient and clinician engagement. In a report in this week's PLoS Medicine, the authors highlighted that despite good evidence for the effectiveness of CVD management, huge gaps between what is known and what is actually done in healthcare remain. IT has the ability to support doctors to close these gaps throughout processes of care delivery. For instance....

Varian Medical Systems Develops Radiotherapy Training And Education Center In India.

Varian Medical Systems, a world leader in radiotherapy equipment and software, has developed its first education center in India to train medical staff from physicists and technologists working on the company's advanced cancer treatment systems. The center, based in Mumbai, equipped with 16 planning system workstations and the VERT* training system for radiotherapy treatment simulations, will enable the country's increasing number of radiotherapists and medical physicists to be trained without the need to travel abroad. The official opening, which was attended by Kanta Chokkra, president of the Association of Medical Physicists of India, was carried out by Kolleen Kennedy, Varian's VP Customer Support Services.

New Algorithm To Identify Gene Signatures For Prediction Of Breast Cancer Prognosis.

By using readily available computer programs, scientists have designed a new algorithm to recognize genes that will be useful in the classification of breast cancer. The algorithm, explained in BioMed Central's open access Journal of Experimental & Clinical Cancer Research, will allow researchers to rapidly generate valuable gene signatures without specialized software or extensive bioinformatics training.

Radiologist Work Shifts Significantly Improves Patient Care.

According to a recent study, radiologist work shifts are capable of significantly improving communications regarding urgent findings and thus enhance the levels of patient care. The study is highlighted in the September issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology. It is clear that the radiology practice in the United States is currently shifting to start proving coverage in a 24/7 manner.  The continued coverage applies mainly to CT and MRI, where interpretation of generated images takes place rapidly either by on-call radiologists or teleradiology service providers. Yet, other medical imaging procedures, such as conventional X-rays, are still not covered completely, particularly during night and early morning hours.

Humanetics To Provide New Medications For Radiation Exposure.

Humanetics Corporation, a major company providing accelerated development and commercialization of proprietary drugs in markets with urgent and unmet needs, announced that it has signed a new global license for medications that are able to reduce the effects accompanied with radiation exposure such as that occurring during CT and radiotherapy scans.The Minneapolis-based Humanetics has signed the license of two compounds from the Henry Ford Health System in Detroit. One of these compounds is effective within 24 hours after radiation exposure while the other one remains active for more than 24 hours after exposure to radiation.

Radiographers In New Zealand Talk About Their Strikes.

Radiographers in New Zealand have planned a national strike next September to express their frustration with the negotiations about raising their salaries along with unaccepted work conditions. One of those radiographers, Pamela Aitken, a 29-year-old union delegate and medical radiation technologist at Auckland City Hospital, said that she and her colleagues are getting distressed and concerned about the effects of their fourth coming strikes on patients.

Cellerant Signs A Contract For Treatment Against Acute Radiation Syndrome.

Cellerant Therapeutics Inc., a major biotechnology company from San Carlos, California, announced that it has signed a five-year contract with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA). The contract’s value is up to $153 million, and according to it, Cellerant is going to design a cellular therapy addressing Acute Radiation Syndrome. Cellerant will get about $63.3 million during the first couple of years of the new contract. The company is going to have another $89.9 million during the following three years. The contract has been signed with the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority in the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response of the Department of Health and Human Services. It comes following another contract signed in 2008.

Merivale Medical Imaging Implements IntelePACS Breast Imaging Solution.

Intelerad Medical Systems, a leader in medical imaging PACS and workflow solutions, has announced that Merivale Medical Imaging (MMI), one of the largest independent health facilities in Ontario, is now using the IntelePACS Breast Imaging solution for reading and reporting of all its screening and diagnostic mammography studies. MMI is a multi-modality clinic which provides imaging services such as ultrasound, mammography, nuclear medicine and general radiography. MMI is accredited with the Canadian Association of Radiologists (CAR) and is an affiliate of the Ontario Breast Screening Program.

TomTec Releases 4D MV-Assessment For Diagnosis Of Mitral Valve Disease.

TomTec Imaging Systems has announced the release of its new 4D MV-Assessment© 2.0 software. The 4D MV- Assessment software merges between the strength of 2D and the advantages of 3D echocardiography to provide the physician with important and unique diagnostic information and measurements for the mitral valve. There is an increasing trend to operate patients suffering from mitral regurgitation even the asymptomatic cases. Using 3D echocardiographic datasets, 4D MV- Assessment provides the detailed anatomical structures of the mitral valve, annulus and the closure line of the two leaflets in a three dimensional model which for the first time can be analyzed dynamically.

Jiangsu Jinmayangming Develops A Regional Medical Real-Time Imaging Remote Diagnosis System.

The Changzhou National Hi-Tech District announced that Jiangsu Jinmayangming Information Technology Co., Ltd., a leading medical imaging software company in China, has recently finished the development of a regional medical real-time imaging remote diagnosis system in the Changzhou National Hi-Tech District. The project is pioneer for being established in Jiangsu province, as well as, it is the first to pass inspection and be approved by industry experts.
Diagnostic services for remote rural patients.

Fast Mammography Results At Chicago’s Northwest Community Hospital.

Mammography screening has been one of the most important measures carried out to control breast cancer, a common form of cancer in women. However, women are used to wait for several days till receiving the results of their mammograms.  Recently, a suburban hospital in Chicago, The Northwest Community Hospital, has started providing the results of mammography scans within two days. Yet, several doctors are supporting the fast mammography service.

Hormonal Therapy Increases False Positive Mammography Results.

According to a new study, using hormonal therapy for women after menopause may affect the accuracy of mammography scans, which are carried out to detect breast cancer in women. The study also noted that the effect of hormonal therapy is stronger when hormones are giving by injection and not in the form of pills. The findings of the study are highlighted in the journal Menopause. Previous studies reported that hormone replacement therapy (HRT) results in more difficulties when interpreting mammography scans. The study also mentioned that a recent form of hormonal therapy, a drug named tibolone, also affects the accuracy of mammography scans like the other types of conventional HRT. Tibolone is a compound which has weak estrogen-like effect.

Toshiba And AHRA To Fund "Putting Patients First" Imaging Safety Program.

Toshiba America Medical Systems, a major company providing medical imaging systems, and The Association for Medical Imaging Management (AHRA) are starting to provide grants for their program, "Putting Patients First". Toshiba is offering $7, 5000 grants which are going to be given to six healthcare facilities which are capable of submitting training for safety programs for both adult and pediatric medical imaging procedures such as CT, MR, ultrasound, or x-ray. The chosen facilities will get a chance to implement their safety programs in other healthcare facilities.

INFINITT Provides PACS For 18 Hospitals In Colombia.

INFINITT, a major company providing medical imaging and information capabilities to numerous radiology, cardiology, orthopedics, and dental healthcare facilities worldwide, has signed a multi-site, multi-phased agreement with Medison Econet Corp. (MEC) to supply INFINITT PACS (Picture Archiving and Communications System) for an 18-hospital PACS Project in Colombia, South America. MEC obtained an 18-hospital contract with SaludCoop EPS towards the end of 2009, and recently has entered an agreement with INFINITT to implement INFINITT PACS DS (Distributed Server) solution at each of the hospitals and their centralized medical data center. SaludCoop Group is considered one of the major ten companies in Colombia and it is  the private insurance company number one in the country; it ranks first in sales and net profits in the medical sector. SaludCoop Group and the Colombian Government have been collaborating to organize the SaludCoop EPS Project which aims to converting hospitals and healthcare organizations to fully-digital operations.
Steps of the SaludCoop EPS Project.