Rebekah Moan

An addiction treatment and rehab center in Florida has become the first facility on the East Coast to use single-photon emission CT scans as part of its standard of care for treating addicts. The Hanley Center in West Palm Beach is using the modality to analyze the parts of the brain affected by addiction in order to customize treatment for patients.

Certain complex ovarian tumors may be safely monitored using ultrasound without raising the risk of ovarian cancer, according to a new study.

In a new policy that could make hospital-based radiologists breathe a bit easier, NightHawk Radiology has announced limits on what it will do to obtain new contracts in hospital settings.

Radiologists too often are either unwilling or unable to interpret screening mammography exams, so breast surgeons should learn the specialty and fill in when needed, an international speaker told a group of breast surgeons recently.

A recent study from Massachusetts General Hospital finding that radiologists suffer from poor ergonomics in the reading room put a spotlight on a relatively common problem in radiology.

Much is known about dose reduction and adult patients, but what about kids? The literature is scant, but that doesn’t mean solutions don’t exist, according to a presenter at the International Society for Computed Tomography conference May 21.

It may be possible to use ultrasound as a reliable, low-cost form of male contraception, according to ongoing research at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

While most physicians rely on serum creatinine levels to determine kidney function, it’s not the most reliable indicator, according to a nephrologist who presented at the International Society for Computed Tomography on May 18. Instead, he suggested providers look at the estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). In acutely ill patients in particular look at the changing serum creatinine (sCR) levels and not the specific values or specific eGFRs, he said.

What do you get when you mix contrast delivery with computer technology? Dr. Dominik Fleischmann, director of CT at Stanford Hospital and Clinics kicks off a session at the International Society for Computed Tomography conference starting May 18 on contrast medium delivery and image enhancement. He will focus on how power injectors are starting to act as computers.

The Imaging e-Ordering Coalition is concerned the Obama administration has failed to grasp the effectiveness of clinical decision support to control imaging utilization, instead favoring the conventional method of radiology benefit managers. In response, the coalition is preparing a white paper to explain the benefits of clinical decision support.

RadNet acquired three more multimodality facilities on Tuesday, concluding the company’s second acquisition in as many months. The new purchase, Sonix Medical Resources, came from a bankruptcy proceeding in New York.

A new ultrasound technique that measures cell death, tumor elastography, and vascular patterns can better predict how well cancer patients are responding to chemotherapy, Canadian researchers report.

A study finding relatively high false-positive rates for CT screening of lung cancer will probably not be the definitive word on the subject.

Data continue to accumulate showing that screening mammography rates are declining in the U.S. A survey recently conducted for Diagnostic Imaging by The MarkeTech Group found nearly half (47%) of hospital-based administrators surveyed said there is a decrease in the number of women receiving mammograms at their facility compared to 2009.

X-rays of Marilyn Monroe will be auctioned off June 26 at Planet Hollywood Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. The auction house, Julien’s Auctions, said they expect the films to sell for $800 to $1200.

Support from hospital medical staff and bylaws that give the staff a stronger role in scrutinizing staffing decisions could help protect radiology practices against hospital management dropping their contracts, the administrator of one of the largest practices in the country contends.

When Sutter Health Hospital in Sacramento, CA, recently terminated its contract with Radiology Associates of Sacramento, one of the largest and oldest practices in the U.S., the action sent shudders through elements of the radiology community.

Certain complex ovarian tumors may be safely monitored using ultrasound without raising the risk of ovarian cancer, according to a new study.

Utilization rates of CT, MRI, and PET for the Medicare population vary substantially from region to region with Atlanta having the highest rate and Seattle having the lowest, according to a study in the April issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology.

A new study questioning the efficacy of screening mammography has stirred up an international debate with researchers from around the world challenging its scientific validity.

Los Angeles-based firm RadNet announced on March 15 it entered into letters of intent to acquire Truxtun Radiology Medical Group and the New Jersey operating subsidiary of Health Diagnostics.

A regional secretary of the Indian Radiology and Imaging Association and two other doctors were accused of conducting sex determination tests on decoy patients, according to an article in the Times of India.

Imaging studies at the 2010 Winter Olympic Games increased 65% from when they were last held in Torino, Italy. At the Vancouver games 950 imaging studies were performed, according to Dr. Bruce Forster, a professor at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver and the Vancouver Organizing Committee imaging supervisor.

Two radiology practices have merged in North Carolina. That may seem like a flash in the pan, but is actually indicative of a growing trend.

Months after a pair of randomized trials published in the New England Journal of Medicine found that vertebroplasty is no better than placebo in relieving pain from vertebral fractures, a debate still rages in scientific communities.

A consortium that will include more than 750 radiologists from 13 practice groups announced it was beginning operations this week. The consortium will focus on the business side of radiology, determining things like common billing platforms across the groups.

Never in the history of the Olympics has diagnostic imaging played such a huge role. For the first time ever at the Winter Olympic games taking place in Vancouver, Canada, all four modalities–digital radiography, ultrasound, CT, and MRI–are represented in both the Alpine and city settings.

As Diagnostic Imaging previously mentioned, most women at high risk for breast cancer come in for their breast MRI. However, claustrophobia and reluctant patients still exist. Below breast imagers offer their tips.

Breast ultrasound is having its moment. Multiple scientific presentations at the RSNA 2009 meeting showed how careful use of ultrasound could allow imagers to so precisely characterize lesions that women could avoid biopsies.