H.A. Abella

Following a stream of new clinical applications for ultrasound elastography, researchers at New York Medical College have announced new evidence suggesting the technology is sensitive and accurate for characterization of carotid artery plaque. Sonoelastography could help prevent strokes and other vascular ischemic diseases, according to investigators.

A new endovascular sonic lysis system reduces thrombolytic dosage for treating peripheral thrombi while lessening the risk of hemorrhage by dissolving clots in as little as 12 hours, according to a report from southern Florida interventionalists at the 2009 International Symposium on Endovascular Therapy held last week in Hollywood, FL.

At a Senate Finance Committee hearing Tuesday, Republican senators questioned whether hefty expenditures for healthcare informatics in the Obama administration’s $825 billion stimulus package will actually help jumpstart the economy.

The American College of Radiology plans to fight proposals in the Congressional Budget Office’s latest report on possible cost-cutting policies affecting medical imaging. College policy experts fear the report may represent the starting point for future payment cuts.

Researchers at a private diagnostic imaging center in central Florida have shown 3T MRI of the wrist is nearly as sensitive and specific as arthroscopy for detection of wrist ligament tears. MR could spot abnormalities missed by standard imaging tests and avoid needless surgeries, according to the investigators.

A recent study suggests that by lowering access barriers to mammography, the Obama administration could help combat the tendency of uninsured minority women to delay seeking diagnosis for breast cancer. Delayed diagnosis translates into delayed treatment and a poorer prognosis for many women.

Researchers at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston have confirmed what mammographers have long suspected: Digital screening mammograms may take twice as long to read than film. Understanding all variables could boost or make up for interpretation speed.

A proposal by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to expand coverage of FDG-PET studies elicited mixed reactions among proponents. Though some applauded the move, others, particularly PET researchers, felt that it fell short of expectations.

Preliminary results from a Mayo Clinic study suggest that patients who undergo vertebroplasty may die sooner than patients with vertebral fractures who do not undergo the procedure.

Radiation dose reduction was a dominanttheme at the 2008 RSNA scientificassembly.

The Alliance for Radiation Safety inPediatric Imaging is expanding thescope of its Image Gently campaign.Efforts to protect children from unnecessaryexposure to CT scanningradiation won an endorsement byCareCore National, a radiology benefitsmanagement company that willapply the campaign's guidelines to itsnetwork.

Not long ago, our approach to treating difficultmetastatic tumors was to “spray and pray.” Weknew that chemotherapy and other traditionaltreatment approaches could cause great damageand had a limited chance of successfully destroyingthe entire tumor.

Radiologists were urged at the RSNA meeting to combat distortedreports about cardiac CT radiation exposure that raiseunreasonable public anxiety about the risk of medical imaging.

Efforts to raise awareness about the associated risks of CT-based radiation exposure and the need to keep children from receiving unnecessary scans seem to be achieving traction among healthcare providers, according to a study by Ohio researchers. Their findings suggest that such increased awareness may make referring physicians less likely to order imaging that involves ionizing radiation for young patients.

Researchers from Austria, Italy, and Egypt are taking a leap of faith to evaluate several possible ultrasound elastography applications in musculoskeletal radiology. Everyone from weekend warriors to elite athletes may benefit if the test is proven effective, according to papers released at the 2008 RSNA meeting.

High-resolution sonography can accurately detect the causes of residual limb pain in amputees, according to British researchers, who found that ultrasound can guide proper treatment and rehabilitation, help educate patients about their condition, and even help with design and fitting of prostheses.

Recommendations from an Oregon Health and Science Center study have clashed with the findings from a University of Wisconsin trial on the value of polypectomy for small polyps identified during CT colonography. The Oregon study calls for immediate resection while the Wisconsin trial concludes that removal would be costly, risky, and, by definition, unnecessary.

Results from PET scans can influence the management of cancer patients regardless of their cancer type or the reason for ordering the exam, according to the latest update from the National Oncologic PET Registry.

Educational efforts to raise awareness about the associated risks of CT-based radiation exposure and the need to keep children from receiving unnecessary scans seem to be achieving traction among healthcare providers, according to a study by Ohio researchers. Their findings suggest that such increased awareness may make referring physicians less likely to order imaging that involves ionizing radiation for young patients.

Educational efforts to raise awareness about the associated risks of CT-based radiation exposure and the need to keep children from receiving unnecessary scans seem to be achieving traction among healthcare providers, according to a study by Ohio researchers. Their findings suggest that such increased awareness may make referring physicians less likely to order imaging that involves ionizing radiation for young patients.

Educational efforts to raise awareness about the associated risks of CT-based radiation exposure and the need to keep children from receiving unnecessary scans seem to be achieving traction among healthcare providers, according to a study by Ohio researchers. Their findings suggest that such increased awareness may make referring physicians less likely to order imaging that involves ionizing radiation for young patients.

A lesion’s type and location, and the number of muscles that a needle has to pierce to reach it, rather than the number of procedures, determine the level and duration of pain after radiofrequency ablation of osteoid osteomas, according to Mayo researchers.

A new 3D, fast spin-echo MR sequence at 3T could one day help musculoskeletal radiologists perform a comprehensive evaluation of articular cartilage of the knee in only five minutes, according to researchers from Wisconsin and California.

Radiologists should aggressively contest otherwise scientifically sound information on cardiac CT radiation risks that is taken out of context or blown out of proportion, fomenting unreasonable fears of medical imaging among patients.

Results of a study by University of Vermont researchers suggest that 3T MRI should be considered as an alternative to CT in the evaluation of pediatric and young adult patients presenting to the emergency room with acute abdominal pain.

Results from papers released Sunday at the 2008 RSNA suggest that a less rigid approach to treatment, coupled with knowledgeable practitioners and judicious patient selection can improve the commercial prospects of outpatient MRI-guided focused ultrasound ablation of uterine fibroids. There are caveats, though.

Researchers from Egypt and Austria are taking a leap of faith to evaluate several possible ultrasound elastography applications in musculoskeletal radiology. Everyone from weekend warriors to elite athletes may benefit if the test is proven effective, according to papers released Monday at the RSNA meeting.

Results from the largest and longest trial of its kind suggest that patients with intermediate and advanced hepatocellular carcinomas who undergo systematic treatment with three chemotherapeutic agents and arterial embolization plus imaging follow-up have better survival rates than those who undergo nonstandardized chemoembolization regimes.

Nearly 16 million U.S. patients underwent nuclear imaging procedures in 2007, according to a report by marketing research firm IMV Medical Information Division. The figure shows a 3% jump compared with the 15.2 million patients who had a nuclear medicine exam back in 2006.

A decision by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services not to expand coverage for carotid artery stenting has stirred mixed responses among physicians who are either outraged with the denial or satisfied that the decision was scientifically sound.