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