CTA and MRA equally accurate for coronary imaging

Newer MRI and CT-angiography proved nearly equal in identifying significant stenosis, and were equally accurate in predicting the need for revascularization in patients with known coronary artery disease (CAD), in the first direct comparison of MRA and CTA, say German researchers.

32-channel MRI offers equal accuracy in diagnosing stenosis with CTA, and is less invasive than conventional angiography.
In their study, the researchers led by Dr. Ashraf Hamdan, of the German Heart Institute, compared the diagnostic accuracy of 32-channel, 3.0-T MRI and 64-slice CT scan before conventional x-ray angiography. Their report appeared in the January, 2011, issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Cardiovascular Imaging.

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CTA and MRA equally accurate for coronary imaging

Tunstall Adds Just Checking To Its Products

Tunstall, a major company providing healthcare IT solutions, mentioned that it has added to its portfolio of market leading telehealthcare solutions the Just Checking product, which offers health and social care professionals with a flexible and cost-effective methods of social care evaluation.

Just Checking is considered a web-based activity monitoring system which uses movement sensors in order to generate a 24 hour chart of activity of an individual living alone in their own homes. Currently, over than half of UK councils with social services responsibilities use Just Checking for evaluation and planning care for individuals leaving hospitals and for those with dementia.

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Tunstall Adds Just Checking To Its Products

EHR did not Significantly Improve Healthcare Quality in the US, Study

According to a new study, Electronic Health Records (EHR) did not significantly improve healthcare quality in the United States. The study was carried out by researchers from the Stanford University, School of Medicine, and its results appeared online in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Aiming to assess the relationship of EHRs and clinical decision support (CDS) to the provision of guideline-concordant care, the research team analyzed nationwide survey data from more than 250,000 healthcare visits between 2005 and 2007.

Results showed that, EHRs were used in 30% of an estimated 1.1 billion annual US patient visits, 57% of which witnessed clinical decision support (17% of all visits). EHRs are much less likely used in solo practices than in multiphysician settings. Among the EHR visits, only 1 of 20 quality indicators showed significantly better performance in visits with CDS compared with EHR visits without CDS. Findings indicated no consistent association between EHRs and CDS and better quality.

Study co-author and medical student at Johns Hopkins, Max Romano, explained "Most studies before ours focused on how single EHR systems work in a few premier academic medical centers, and some of those studies have found significant benefits," adding "Our study takes a different approach: We looked at all non-federal outpatient settings in the United States, from solo private practices to community health centers, to see whether EHRs were having any noticeable impacts in the real world, and we found no significant differences in care quality,"

EHR did not Significantly Improve Healthcare Quality in the US, Study

Akron Children's Hospital Receives Award For Its Promoted Scheduling MRI Project

Akron Children's Hospital, Akron, OH, has recently received an honorary mention award for its project that promoted the effectiveness in scheduling MRI scans at the facility.

Akron Hospital was awarded by the International Quality and Productivity Center (IQPC), in a ceremony that took place during the Lean Six Sigma & Process Improvement Summit that was held on the 19th of January in Orlando.

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Akron Children's Hospital Receives Award For Its Promoted Scheduling MRI Project

Niteo Partners Offers SmartPredict Healthcare

Niteo Partners, a NEC company, presented its SmartPredict Healthcare which is the latest iteration of Niteo's award-winning SmartPredict solutions. It brings cutting edge performance dashboards, data integration and predictive analytics to the healthcare industry to develop patient satisfaction, track meaningful use compliance metrics, and develop operational outcomes.

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Niteo Partners Offers SmartPredict Healthcare

Humber River Regional Hospital Implements New MRI System

The Church Street Site of Humber River Regional Hospital, Weston, Ontario, has recently improved its diagnostic imaging services following the implementation of a new MRI system in the facility.

The new MRI unit is the second for Humber River Regional Hospital. It is going to permit the hospital to perform more than 3000 scans annually. The new system was added to the facility aiming to reduce waiting time for patients who are in need on an MRI scan.

Moreover, River Regional Hospital is going to get an immediate one-time investment of $235,600 to aid the facility in performing about 1400 other MRI scans using the currently used unit. The implementation of the new MRI system represents a part of the Open Ontario Plan, carried out by the government, to improve the access to healthcare for patients.

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Humber River Regional Hospital Implements New MRI System

CT Scans Help In Abdominal Pain Diagnosis In Emergency Departments, Study

According to a recent study, using Computed Tomography (CT) scans can significantly aid doctors in diagnosing the causes of abdominal pain in emergency departments more accurately and rapidly. The study took place at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), and its findings are highlighted in the February issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology.

Researchers mentioned that abdominal CT scans offered details that resulted in changing the plan of treatment of nearly 50% of the participating patients in the study, and the scans also helped in reducing the number of hospital admissions. Scott Gazelle, MD, MPH, PhD, an MGH radiologist and director of the Institute for Technology Assessment, senior author of the study, explained "Our report addresses an important question with substantial policy relevance – what is the value of CT scanning in the emergency department setting? We specifically looked at how the use of CT for patients with abdominal pain affects physicians' thinking about their patients' diagnosis, their confidence in the diagnosis and the treatment plan; and we found that it significantly affected all three."

Dr. Gazelle mentioned that studies have been taking place on medical imaging in order to design new methods for reducing healthcare costs. He said "We've strongly believed that the use of CT in the emergency department can improve efficiency in the workup for many conditions, but we haven't had the evidence we would like to back up that assertion. We chose abdominal pain for our study because it's a common presenting symptom that doesn't have the clearly defined diagnostic guidelines available for other common symptoms that can lead to CT, like headache."

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CT Scans Help In Abdominal Pain Diagnosis In Emergency Departments, Study

A New XFELs Technology To Measure The Structure Of Membrane Proteins

new method has been created by the Australian researchers in order to measure the structure of membrane proteins despite being damaged when using X-ray free-electron lasers (XFELs), that discovery will aid in tracking the improvement of targeted drugs using new XFELs technology.

Today, about 70% of drugs in the market rely on the activity of membrane proteins, which are complex molecules that form the membranes of the cells in our body. The main problem for the design of new pharmaceuticals, often defined as “membrane protein problem,” is because they do not form the crystals necessary to enable further investigation of the structure to design better drugs.

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A New XFELs Technology To Measure The Structure Of Membrane Proteins

MRI Services will be Improved at Brampton Civic Hospital

Queen’s Park announced that access to important MRI diagnostic scans will be improved at Brampton Civic Hospital due to a one-time cash investment declared by the government Friday (Jan. 21).

“This investment in our community will make it easier for people who need an MRI scan to get tested and treated more quickly, thereby providing families with the peace of mind knowing the care they need is close to home,” said Brampton-Springdale MPP Linda Jeffrey of the $235,000 cash injection.

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MRI Services will be Improved at Brampton Civic Hospital

South Lincoln Medical Center to Offer Digital Mammography

Thanks to the Helmsley Charitable Trust, South Lincoln Medical Center (SLMC), Kemmerer, WY, is on the way to have digital mammography service provided through its facility. SLMC lately received a fund from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Charitable Trust.

The fund will be used to promote SLMC’s mammography service. A new state-of-art digital mammography unit will be acquired, in addition to upgrading radiology workstations, mammography room and the changing area of patients. Robert Berlin, M.D., Staff Radiologist, SLMC, said "This acquisition is a major enhancement to the services that we offer our patients. Although the new equipment will have a similar appearance to the patient, the quality of the examinations will be superior, with increased sensitivity and decreased radiation dose."

Digital mammography generates significantly clearer images of the breast tissue. The images can be magnified or enhanced, which results in promoting the abilities to identify breast abnormalities, especially breast cancer, much earlier, where the condition can be treated more effectively.

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South Lincoln Medical Center to Offer Digital Mammography

ABM Hospitals To Use New CT & MRI Systems

ABM Health Board, in Wales, United Kingdom, has recently announced that it is going to replace its 9 MRI and CT imaging systems. The replacement will be taking place thanks to funds provided by WAG. Within the next months, four hospitals will receive the new imaging systems; as Morriston Hospital and the Princess of Wales Hospital will have new MRI units, while Singleton, Neath Port Talbot, and Morriston Hospitals will get new CT scanners.

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ABM Hospitals To Use New CT & MRI Systems

PET scan with F-18 moves closer to FDA approval of Alzheimer’s diagnostic test

By Michael O'Leary:
The presence of beta-amyloid plaques shown on PET brain scans using the imaging agent florbetapir correlated with autopsy confirmed Alzheimer’s disease 96 percent of the time, a study appearing in today’s Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) shows.
Led by Dr. Christopher Clark of Avid Radiopharmaceuticals, the study moves the Philadelphia company a step closer to approval for a diagnostic test for Alzheimer’s, which currently often isn’t confirmed in patients until after death.

In early stages of Alzheimer's distribution of beta-amyloid plaques is low, causing mild symptoms of memory loss and reduced brain function. (Illustration courtesy of National Institute on Aging)

According to background information in the study, diagnosing Alzheimer’s as distinct from other forms of cognitive decline is imprecise at best. Between 10 percent and 20 percent of patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s are found not to have had the disease following autopsy exam of brain tissues. Another 33 percent of patients with mild signs and symptoms are found to have had undiagnosed Alzheimer’s following autopsy.
“Both diagnosis and treatment of Alzheimer’s disease are hampered by the lack of noninvasive biomarkers of the underlying pathology,” the authors wrote. “The ability to identify and quantify brain beta-amyloid could increase the accuracy of a clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease."

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PET scan with F-18 moves closer to FDA approval of Alzheimer’s diagnostic test

New Mexico Software Launches Full-Function iPad App for its PACS system

By Michael O’Leary
It is not often a company executive has the chance to conduct a real-life test of his company’s products, but New Mexico Software CEO Richard Govatski did just that over this past holiday season. Having slipped getting into his hot tub he twisted his knee, and of course being the holiday, found himself at an urgent care clinic in Albuquerque testing the company’s new iPad app for its PACS.

The XR-EXpress iPad app allows full-function access to New Mexico Software's PACS system.

“The doctor took X-rays of my knee, sent them to XR-EXpress, where they were read by a physician in Los Angeles who then sent the report back to the XR-EXpress,” Govatski told The Hub. “The attending physician then accessed the images and radiologist’s report from his iPad and was able to show me a knee spur that could be causing the pain, and suggested I have an MRI to see if there was any soft-tissue damage.”
It is a scenario that Govatski thinks will become more and more common as the explosion of tablet devices announced at the recent Consumer Electronics Show accelerates the convergence of Internet and mobile computing.

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New Mexico Software Launches Full-Function iPad App for its PACS system

Display Requirements for Radiology and Use of Commercial Grade Monitors

It is not uncommon for me to walk into an ER or ICU and find physicians using a commercial grade monitor that is obviously not calibrated and does not have the required contrast range needed to make a proper diagnosis. This is a major potential liability and could impact patient wellness if critical decisions are made based on viewing images of hairline fractures or a potential pneumo-thorax on these monitors.
This is not to say that one ought not use commercial grade monitors for clinical review, rather, if used for diagnostic purposes, one needs to make sure that they are properly calibrated and meet the requirements for diagnostic viewing. The question is, what are these requirements?
There are actually two sets of guidelines, one from the American College of Radiology (ACR) and one from the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM). Unfortunately, each group’s guidelines are slightly different, hard to interpret, and leave out some basic requirements such as stability and the capability for calibration and the requirement for accessing the calibration information. The latter is critical from a liability perspective.
As an example of the latter, I recently talked with a PACS administrator who was required to show the calibration records of a particular monitor that was used three years ago for a diagnosis that was later questioned in court. He had to prove that the monitor was within calibration at that time. Another example where the access to calibration data might be important is when the reading is done at a remote site, which does not have a person responsible for the image quality and integrity, so that the proper calibration can be verified and managed remotely.

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Display Requirements for Radiology and Use of Commercial Grade Monitors

Imaging Advances And Proper Displays Are Needed For Accuracy

By Michael O'Leary:
At the center of the continuing controversy over mammograms is the potential that too frequent screening will produce too many unneeded biopsies and surgeries. As with all imaging technologies, however, mammography technology continues to advance. This issue of the Health Imaging Hub newsletter carries two stories about research advances that continue to improve the value of imaging tools for clinical practice.
The report, “Density of Mammographic Masses are a Significant Predictor of Cancer”on a research study that shows that the long suspected, but often-underutilized descriptor of suspicious lumps, may be more useful than thought. Dr. Ryan Woods and colleagues at the University of Wisconsin found that of 118 malignant lesions biopsied, 70.2 percent were high-density masses compared to 22.3 percent of the isodense or low-density masses. While it is an incremental advance, Woods points out that,  “We know that mammograms are the best screening tool we have for finding cancer early, so anything we can do to improve diagnostic accuracy is useful.”
At the same time, in the article, “Advance Makes Real-time Imaging of Cellular Processes Possible” an imaging advance that may some day allow doctors to see disease processes in real time promises to improve treatments as doctors will be able to see at the cellular level whether treatments are working, or even necessary as immune cells mount a response to injury or disease.
Reporting in the journal Nature Methods, a research team led by Dr. Max Krummel, associate professor of Pathology at UCSF, has developed a new imaging technique that allows researchers to observe cellular interactions in real time without disrupting normal function. In their study they showed a series of events in an immune response to lung injury in mice. The advance overcomes the problem of blurred images produced by conventional means and results in clear images of cells interacting. A stunning series of videos are posted online in supplementary materials created by Dr. Mark R. Looney, co-first author and assistant professor in Medicine and Laboratory Medicine at UCSF.
While the clinical application of the technology is a long way off, Looney says it could soon be applied to lung biopsies. For now, Krummel says the research application could potentially lead to significant advances in understanding how cells are organized and deployed.

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Imaging Advances And Proper Displays Are Needed For Accuracy

A New Radiology Center Opened By Papastavros

A new diagnostic screening center has been opened recently by Papastavros' Associates in North Wilmington, North Carolina, that plays an important role in providing high –strength digital X-ray and MRI, while two other centers in Newark will provide open MRI , CT and digital X-ray. Papastavros offers detection and screening services in eight centers throughout Delaware, in addition to a number of walk-in X-ray offices.
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A New Radiology Center Opened By Papastavros

CIVCO Announces New Partnership with UltraLinq Healthcare Solutions

CIVCO Medical Solutions is announcing a co-marketing partnership with UltraLinq Healthcare Solutions of New York, New York. UltraLinq provides healthcare professionals with a secure, web-based solution for the reliable viewing, reporting, managing, sharing, distribution and archiving of multiple ultrasound and medical imaging modalities.

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CIVCO Announces New Partnership with UltraLinq Healthcare Solutions

iSOFT’s Lorenzo Expands In Spain

iSOFT Group Limited, a leading company providing healthcare IT solutions from Australia, announced recently that is has signed a €1 million contract with Cerdanya Cross-Border Hospital Private Foundation in Spain for iSOFT’s Lorenzo Enterprise.
The Foundation is located at the border of Catalonia and France and will be the first to provide a cross-national healthcare model between Spain and France under the European Grouping for Territorial Cooperation.
According to the recently signed contract, iSOFT is going to establish an enterprise-wide clinical and hospital management system at Cerdanya Hospital, a 216-bed facility that offers elderly care, the system will be also added to seven primary care clinics in Capcir region in France, along with the Cerdanya region of Catalonia. Lorenzo Enterprise will operate all the offered clinical services. Electronic patient record (EPR) and primary care solutions of the hospital are going to use iSOFT's Viaduct integration platform in order to establish a complete enterprise-wide, clinical and patient information management system. Based on the recent contract, iSOFT is going to set up its solution at the new Cerdanya hospital, which is currently under construction, and is expected to be finished by 2013.

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iSOFT’s Lorenzo Expands In Spain

GE And KeyHIE To Extend Healthcare IT Access In Pennsylvania

GE Healthcare, a major company providing medical imaging systems and healthcare IT solutions, and, Keystone Health Information Exchange (KeyHIE), a healthcare IT service provider in central and northeast Pennsylvania, announced that both are planning to expand the capabilities of Health Information Exchange (HIE) in the region to include chronic disease management, in addition to, improving HIE accessibility to more healthcare providers.
Jim Younkin, director, KeyHIE, said “Working with GE, we’ve achieved our initial goal of enhancing patient care by providing critical patient information, like problems, medications, and allergies to our emergency department physicians. Our next step is to use our health information exchange to accelerate collaboration among a broader set of clinicians.” Geisinger Health System, an integrated delivery network well-known for its creative use of healthcare IT care coordination, also a founding participant in KeyHIE, announced that it has received a $16 million Beacon Community award, provided by the Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT. A section of this award is going to be directed towards using KeyHIE in order to expand patient-focused care coordination throughout a community that involves around 250,000 residents.

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GE And KeyHIE To Extend Healthcare IT Access In Pennsylvania

MDCT Aids In Analyzing trajectories and wounds From Bullets

According to a study, published in the March issue of Radiology, Multi-detector computed tomography (MDCT) offers effective and efficient method in order to analyze wounds from bullets and explosive devices. Les R. Folio, D.O., M.P.H., the lead author of the study, from the Uniformed Services University in Bethesda, Md, mentioned that "The information provided by MDCT has the potential to improve patient care and aid in both military and civilian forensic investigations".

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MDCT Aids In Analyzing trajectories and wounds From Bullets

St. Joseph's Hospital Receives ACR Accreditation In Mammography

St. Joseph's Hospital, Buckhannon, WV, announced that it has received a three-year term of accreditation from the American College of Radiology (ACR) in mammography. ACR awarded its accreditation after a recent evaluation of the digital mammography services offered at the hospital.
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St. Joseph's Hospital Receives ACR Accreditation In Mammography

Mobile Breast Cancer Mammography Screening Unit To Offer Services In New Zealand

Breast cancer is one of the most frequently seen forms of cancer among women. However, the disease has high cure rate provided that it is detected early. Therefore, mammography screening programs are carried out in a wide range of countries. Females living in Albany, northern New Zealand, will be now able to use the services of a mobile mammography breast screening unit, offered by BreastScreen Waitemata Northland.
The mobile mammography unit is going to offer its services at in the Westfield Albany car park in the period from January the 10th to 14th. The service is an example of the continuous efforts from BreastScreen Waitemata Northland to promote the accessibility to breast cancer screening to women.
Moira McLeod, program manager for BreastScreen Waitemata Northland, explained “Breast cancer is the most common cancer among New Zealand women. Each year more than 2600 women in New Zealand are diagnosed with breast cancer. Between 90 to 95% of these women have no family history of breast cancer and more than 650 of these women will die from the disease. Early detection could help save the lives of many.”

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Mobile Breast Cancer Mammography Screening Unit To Offer Services In New Zealand

Clinical Decision Support Reduces Un-necessary Imaging Procedures

According to the results of a retrospective cohort study, published in the January issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology, Clinical decision support may decrease unsuitable use of improved screening exams.

C. Craig Blackmore, MD, MPH, from the Center for Health Care Solutions at Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle, Washington, and colleagues mentioned that "Decision support systems for advanced imaging are being implemented with increased frequency and are mandated under some new governmental health care initiatives. However, evidence of effectiveness in reducing inappropriate imaging utilization is limited."

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Clinical Decision Support Reduces Un-necessary Imaging Procedures

Case Reader Is The Latest System To Improve the Workload Of radiologists

It is possible now to offer better patient care through a new software solution that collects data from several sources. This new solution provides faster radiologic reporting with lower errors and cost. The design of this software aims to develop workflow by making key steps-currently performed manually-automatic. Case Reader has been released by Data Physics Research, Inc. (San Ramon, CA, USA). Case Reader is a software solution that improves the workload of radiologists and promotes the quality of image-based diagnostics.

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Case Reader Is The Latest System To Improve the Workload Of radiologists

fMRI Helps In Discovering How Romantic Love Can Last?

According to a new study, conducted by Arthur Aron, Ph.D., and Bianca Acevedo, Ph.D., of the Department of Psychology at Stony Brook University, and colleagues, used functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) to determine the neural correlates of long-term married and in love people in comparison with people who had recently fallen in love, they found that areas attributed with motivation, reward and "wanting'' in both sets of couples have highly similar brain activity. To read the rest of the article please visit:

 

fMRI Helps In Discovering How Romantic Love Can Last?

   

Pen Bay Medical Center Receives ACR Accreditation

Pen Bay Medical Center's Department of Radiology, the leading regional referral hospital in Midcoast Maine, has recently received accreditation from the American College of Radiology (ACR).
Since 1963, the American College of Radiology has been considered among the oldest and most experienced imaging accreditation bodies in the United States, as it administers accreditation programs to determine the quality of imaging facilities. National quality standards are being set by the ACR to continue developing patient care. The recent commitment is demonstrated by the ACR accreditation of the CT scanner under the name of Pen Bay X-Ray Associates and Pen Bay Medical Center in order to offer the safest and best possible quality care for the patients of Midcoast Maine.

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Pen Bay Medical Center Receives ACR Accreditation

Redwood Memorial To Use Digital Mammography For Detecting Breast Cancer

Redwood Memorial Hospital in Fortuna, California, announced recently that it will promote its breast imaging capabilities following the implementation of a new digital mammography system in the facility for the first time. The new system was bought thanks to a raised fund of $100,000, which was collected during the 2010 Benefit Ball and Scramble for Redwood Memorial golf tournament.
The public are invited to a ceremony at the hospital next Tuesday celebrating the arrival of the new system at the imaging department of the hospital. Gwynna Morris, a longtime hospital supporter, will be honored during the ceremony. Previously, radiologists at the Redwood Memorial depended on X-ray scanning in order to detect breast cancer. However, diagnosing that disease has become easier thanks to digital mammography technology.
Among the main benefits of digital mammography is its capabilities of detecting cancer in women with dense breast tissue, which are usually more difficult to evaluate using X-ray scans. Digital mammography also offers the ability to edit the digital images, such as zooming or changing the lighting of the images, for better view of the breast tissue.

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Redwood Memorial To Use Digital Mammography For Detecting Breast Cancer

A New Development In MRI Provides Faster Brain Scans

A breakthrough in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) has been presented by an international team of neuroscientists and physicists; the new advance permits brain scans to be more than 7 times faster than currently possible.

According to the study, published in the journal PloS ONE, Berkeley, physicist and colleagues from the University of Minnesota and Oxford University in the United Kingdom described two developments that provide full three-dimensional brain scans instead of the typical 2 to 3 seconds in less than half a second. 
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A New Development In MRI Provides Faster Brain Scans

Philips Acquires MedSage Technologies

Royal Philips Electronics, a major company providing medical imaging systems and healthcare IT solutions, announced that it has completely acquired all the assets of MedSage Technologies LLC, a major company providing patient interaction and management solutions.

Following the acquisition, Philips will be able to provide a web-based solution that allows home healthcare providers to control ongoing compliance and replenishment services offered to patients undergoing treatment for several conditions obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) and diabetes. 

Steve Rusckowski, CEO of Philips Healthcare, said "We believe the need to manage chronic diseases by an aging population, coupled with health economics, will continue to drive a greater need for healthcare delivery at home," he added "This acquisition is fully aligned to our strategy of providing home care providers with new opportunities to enhance their service offerings with an effective and cost-efficient application."

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Philips Acquires MedSage Technologies

New Service Offered From St. Joseph’s Mobile Mammography Unit

On January 31, 2011 from 9 a.m. till 3 p.m. women will be able to receive a mammography screening at the Safeway store at 10635 Folsom Blvd., Rancho Cordova. St. Joseph’s Medical Center now offers mammograms through an innovative program which provides mammography services to the women who can't have access to the service, due to financial obstacles or not having their medical insurance covering the procedure.

The mammograms will cost only $80.00. But women who participate in certain medical programs will receive this service for free. Any woman can have an appointment with a physician in order to have the screenings.

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New Service Offered From St. Joseph’s Mobile Mammography Unit

The Preoperative Breast MRI Helps In Detecting The Undiscovered Cancer

American Journal of Roentgenology published in 2011 a study revealing that patients who are recently diagnosed with breast cancer can have that ability to discover any other invisible cancer through the use of preoperative Breast MRI. The University of Washington and Seattle Cancer Care Alliance in Seattle, WA was the performer of this study. About 592 patients who were recently diagnosed with breast cancer were included in study and gradually underwent preoperative breast MRI.

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The Preoperative Breast MRI Helps In Detecting The Undiscovered Cancer

BSGI Offers New Option For Breast Cancer Screening In West Texas

Joe Arrington Cancer Research and Treatment Center, one of Covenant Health System’s facilities in West Texas, has started offering women a new option, the Breast specific gamma imaging (BSGI), for screening to detect breast cancer. The center has recently welcomed 3 women who underwent imaging using the new technique for the first time.
The center is the sole facility in the region that provides breast specific gamma imaging. The technique is used in combination with mammography and ultrasound in order to have breast images with higher details, which aids doctors in reaching more accurate diagnosis. Dr. Cody Cox, a physician at Lubbock Diagnostic Radiology, commented “It’s the missing piece that we’ve been wanting for a long time. Any complete breast center should have this.”
Covenant Foundation acquired the BSGI system for a cost ranging from $200,000 to $300,000. The funds were raised during the cancer center golf tournament. The new imaging technique is used to assess women with high risk for breast cancer. Yet, the technique cannot be considered as a substitute for mammography or ultrasound.
Moreover, breast specific gamma imaging is somewhat similar to breast MRI, but also it cannot act as its replacement. BSGI offers simpler images with more specific details about the breast tissue, so it helps doctors in accurate detection of breast cancer especially in women with denser breasts, which are much difficult to evaluate using conventional mammography scans.

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BSGI Offers New Option For Breast Cancer Screening In West Texas

Non Radiologists Receive Medicare Payments For Medical Imaging More Than Radiologists

According to a study, appearing in the January issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology (JACR), Medicare payments for non-invasive medical screening, involving computed tomography (CT) scans and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are lower to radiologists than to non radiologists.

  

David C. Levin, MD, lead author of the study mentioned that “Radiologists have always been considered the physicians who “control” non-invasive diagnostic imaging (NDI) and are primarily responsible for its growth. Yet non-radiologists have become increasingly aggressive in their performance and interpretation of imaging".

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Non Radiologists Receive Medicare Payments For Medical Imaging More Than Radiologists

PET Used To Study Epilepsy In Children

According to a recent study, positron emission tomography (PET) scans are able to provide an assessment and determine prognosis of cases of cognitive dysfunction of fever-induced refractory epileptic encephalopathy in school-age children (FIRES). The findings of the study were published in the January issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine.
FIRES is a recently-identified disorder that develops in healthy children. Subjects suffer a brief fever followed by acute seizures that are highly resistant to medication and these seizures continue for several weeks. Once they stop, children experience severe cognitive dysfunction, affecting mainly the functions of language, memory and behavior.
The study was titled "18F-FDG PET Reveals Frontotemporal Dysfunction in Children with Fever-Induced Refractory Epileptic Encephalopathy," It involved 8 children identified to have FIRES. The participants underwent neuropsychologic evaluations, brain MRI and 18F-FDG PET scans. Researchers reported severe cognitive dysfunction in each child; MRI scans did not show any brain abnormalities in these children, while PET scans indicated that they were suffering significant cognitive impairment.

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PET Used To Study Epilepsy In Children

Risks Of Radiation Exposure Is Increasing Among Children

U-M research reveals that children are more frequently exposed to medical imaging procedures that utilize radiation. Adam L. Dorfman, M.D., clinical assistant professor of pediatrics and communicable diseases and of radiology at the U-M Medical School says that it was found that the continuous use of these techniques should be noticed by healthcare providers, hospitals and parents. He adds "Despite it is necessary to utilize imaging tests to get good care, the increasing number of these techniques make question arises about whether we are wisely using this technology".
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 Risks Of Radiation Exposure Is Increasing Among Children

A New ER Wireless Systems Improve Patient Care

For the first time, a remote-controlled flat detector system was introduced in the United States; this system combines fluoroscopy applications and digital radiography in one system enabling a wider range of applications. The system’s dual screening raises room utilization, besides raising patient throughput and offers workflow in a faster way.

At the 96th annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) in Chicago, IL, USA, ER Wireless systems, two versatile diagnostic X-ray solutions that offer the following step in patient care, were presented.

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A New ER Wireless Systems Improve Patient Care

CompuGroup Enters Belgian Markets By Acquiring Belgiedata

CompuGroup Medical, a major company providing eHealth services, has recently extended its position in Europe following the acquisition of Belgiedata BVBA, a healthcare IT service provider from Belgium. CompuGroup is currently present in 24 countries.
Belgiedata designs and distributes doctor information systems (DIS) to more than 2,400 general practitioners across Belgium. The company leads the market in its field and its market share is about 25%. Belgiedata’s solutions provide support to physicians in patient treatment and medical office administration. During 2010, revenues of 700,000 Euros were planned, with an estimated EBITDA of 145,000 Euros.

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CompuGroup Enters Belgian Markets By Acquiring Belgiedata

Radisphere Adds The Twin Lakes Regional Medical Center To Its Clients

The Twin Lakes Regional Medical Center of Leitchfield, KY has been added to the clients of Radisphere National Radiology Group, a leading, US-based full-service radiology interpretations provider. Radisphere leads the industry by offering exceptional radiology professional services to community hospitals. Radisphere will offer its solutions at Twin Lakes, including remote interpretation services and full night-tim radiology coverage.  

Stephen Meredith, CEO of Twin Lakes Regional Medical Center, said "One of the biggest benefits that Radisphere is able to deliver to Twin Lakes is the depth of their staff experience.

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Radisphere Adds The Twin Lakes Regional Medical Center To Its Clients 

New Study Reveals The Increasing Role Of Home Healthcare And Telemedicine

According to the latest RAND Corporation study, home healthcare technology can be the only solution to aid healthcare systems threatened by increasing costs and manpower lack. But this change will face many challenges to be accomplished. It was found that many healthcare stakeholders approve to expand home-based health tools and telemedicine to provide the patients with the ability to self-manage their conditions in partnership with their medical providers then improve their health and overall well-being.

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New Study Reveals The Increasing Role Of Home Healthcare And Telemedicine

Neurological Services of Orlando Implements Waiting Room Solutions’ EHR

Neurological Services of Orlando announced that it is about to implement a new Web-based neurology-specific electronic health record (EHR) system, designed by the Goshen, New York-based Waiting Room Solutions (WRS).
Neurological Services of Orlando appeared for the first time 11 years ago. The facility includes four physicians; each has a certain specialty in neurology, which are epilepsy, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, sleep disorders and memory testing. The practice also has one nurse, and it offers its services 5 days every week. The facility has been mainly using paper-formatted documents through its operations. Yet, with the implementation of the WRS electronic health record and practice management (PM) system, Neurological Services of Orlando will promote its turning into electronic-based operations.
After evaluation and assessments, the 2011 Waiting Room Solutions Web Based EHR and Practice Management System V4.0 received a recognition as a fully CCHIT Certified 2011 Ambulatory EHR. The solution also has an extra certification for Child Health, along with a rating of 4 stars for usability. The implementation of this system allow facilities to fulfill the "meaningful use" criteria designed previously by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), which means that such facilities will be qualified for the incentive program offered by the US government as per the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA).

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Neurological Services of Orlando Implements Waiting Room Solutions’ EHR

A New Platform For CT Scanners Helps In The Reduction Of Radiation Dose

A hospital crew has used a new technology platform for computed tomography (CT) scanners in order to aid them to carry out CT tests quickly and more accurate than before besides making the dose as low as possible.

Lower radiation doses and shorter examination times are considered useful for patients as the system performs a lot of operating procedures, besides suggesting parameter settings for picture quality and dose reduction, and standardizes operations that make results more readily reproducible.  During scanning and in the preparation of picture rebuilding, the FAST CARE applications from Siemens Healthcare simplify workflows. The improvements aid service providers and CT operators to develop their productivity.
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A New Platform For CT Scanners Helps In The Reduction Of Radiation Dose

CMS Launches Its Physician Compare Website

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has recently announced that new improvements have been added to its Physician Directory tool. One of these enhancements includes the launch of the first phase of its Physician Compare website. The website offers users more details about healthcare providers.
The Physician Compare website was developed after being required as per the Affordable Care Act of 2010. The website has information about physicians included in the Medicare program, such as doctors specializing in osteopathy, optometry, podiatric medicine, and chiropractice. Details about other medical practices are also added to the website, such as clinical psychologists, nurse practitioners, and physical therapists.
Donald Berwick, MD, CMS administrator, said "The new Physician Compare tool begins to fill an important gap in our online tools by providing more information about physicians and other healthcare workers," He added "This helps to pave the way for consumers to have similar information about their physicians as they have for nursing homes, home health agencies and health and drug plans."

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CMS Launches Its Physician Compare Website

MRI Can Not Predict Whether Knee Cartilage Can Be Repaired, Study

A new study published in the American Journal of Sports Medicine found that while MRI can diagnose a tear in the disc of cartilage cushioning the knee, it does not reliably predict which tears can be repaired with surgery.
It's estimated that more than 850,000 Americans undergo surgery each year for injuries to the menisci, two wedges of shock-absorbing cartilage in the knee joint. That surgery can involve either suturing the tear back together or removing the damaged part of the meniscal tissue altogether.
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MRI Can Not Predict Whether Knee Cartilage Can Be Repaired, Study

CCHIT Certifies Ophthalmic Imaging Systems' EMR As A Complete EHR.

Ophthalmic Imaging Systems (OIS), a leading ophthalmic digital imaging and informatics company, today announced that Certification Commission for Health Information Technology (CCHIT), an ONC-ATCB, has accredited the OIS EMR VERSION 4.1.7 as a Complete EHR on December 28 and currently the new EMR is 2011/2012 compliant. The 2011/2012 criteria support the Stage 1 meaningful use measures required to qualify eligible providers and hospitals for funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

OIS announced earlier that Abraxas EMR VERSION 4.1.7 had received CCHIT 2011/2012 certification as a Complete EHR. Abraxas EMR was developed and is distributed by Abraxas Medical Solutions, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of OIS.

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CCHIT Certifies Ophthalmic Imaging Systems' EMR As A Complete EHR.