Low back pain is extremely common in Western society.1 It is second only to upper respiratory illness as a symptom-related reason for visits to the doctor.2
Practice meets theory at the Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine 2008 Annual Meeting, May 15-18, in Seattle. The SIIM meeting has always provided a collegial environment for practical education and demonstration combined with the latest research and science in imaging informatics.
Several oncologic imaging modalities have evolved significantly since CT was developed in 1973. Although CT provides a noninvasive method for evaluating cancer patients, first-generation scanners were limited in their speed of data acquisition and spatial resolution. Current multislice CT scanners can evaluate a patient completely, with exquisite anatomic detail, in as little as 15 to 30 seconds.
With big data comes big responsibility, but radiologists can benefit from the continuing big data trend.
Junior high school student with proper training could read certain cardiac CT studies
Cholangiocarcinoma is an adenocarcinoma that arises from the intra- and extrahepatic bile duct epithelium.
CT angiography is a powerful technique for assessing visceral arteries that may obviate catheter angiography. A quality CTA with good contrast timing, minimal visual noise, and proper 3D postprocessing techniques provides excellent detail of arterial anatomy. CTAs are particularly important for patients with unresectable liver metastases, in whom regional chemotherapy is an alternative treatment option.
Recent advances in fast imaging have provided radiologists with tools for simplified scanning and improved diagnosis. Real-time diagnostic capability gives radiologists unprecedented freedom to uncover pathology and measure its extent and severity. Multislice CT captures hundreds of slices per second, freezing motion and creating mammoth files of data for reconstruction into diagnostically relevant renderings of organs, bone, vessels, and disease.
Cardiologists impressed by the diagnostic power of PET/CT are beginning to recognize its clinical importance. In sites where the transition from PET to PET/CT has been made, rising cardiac PET imaging volumes have followed.
Parenteral drug abuse is relatively uncommon in Singapore compared with other forms of substance abuse.1 The recent trend, however, of addicts injecting self-dissolve tablets with other drugs, bringing risk of serious limb morbidity, is causing concern.
Even if you outsource your billing, you need to keep up with regulations and changes. Here are five tips for radiologists to keep billing and coding on track.
The proposed pilot of the Chicago Mammography Image Exchange (CMIX), starting in May, will connect nine sites to improve care for uninsured or lower-income patients.
Computer-aided detection (CAD) tools use software to analyze digital or digitized images to find features associated with the target disease.
A 55-year-old female presented with a one-month history of excessive thirst and polyuria. She had an operation for adenocarcinoma of the lung about 21 months ago.
Pulmonary embolism is a common, potentially life-threatening condition.1 Diagnosing PE remains a major challenge because typical symptoms such as dyspnea, tachycardia, acute chest pain, and syncope are unspecific and may not be present in all patients. Imaging therefore plays a pivotal role in establishing a diagnosis.2
Non-small cell lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer-related deaths in women and men in the Western Hemisphere. Surgical resection remains the mainstay of therapy in disease at stages I and II, and this treatment has an acceptable morbidity and mortality rate. Imaging is needed for effective treatment planning and accurate diagnosis, including preoperative assessment of resectability.
Adolescent gymnasts are developing a wider variety of arm, wrist, and hand injuries than previously described in gymnast-related medical literature.
Strong evidence suggests that MR imaging is the most sensitive of all breast imaging techniques, including state-of-the-art mammography and high-frequency breast ultrasound. In contrast to mammography, the sensitivity and specificity of MR are not impaired by dense breast tissue, fibrocystic disease, or therapeutic interventions such as postsurgical scars or radiotherapy-induced fibrosis.
GRAPEVINE, TX - No one's plates are getting any less full these days. So when thrown a new work project, it's best to breathe and strategize, management consultants told attendees of the annual AHRA conference this week.
Dual-source or 64-slice CT examination proves quick, noninvasive, and effective in triaging patients with low to moderate risk of heart disease
Accuracy of the modality relies on high-quality imaging protocols, a grasp of imaging processing and display, and interpreter experience
Quantitative analysis of myocardial defects could move into routine clinical use with advances
MR imaging is helping radiologists and surgeons plan and monitor a novel surgical procedure developed to treat stress urinary incontinence.
CT perfusion for stroke leaped from clinical discussion forums to the front pages in the last 13 months.
Case History: 60-year-old female with complaint of breathlessness during rest, unrelated to smoke/dust; non-purulent non-blood stained whitish expectorant in cough; fever.
Case History: 15-month-old with focal seizure, developmental delay, disproportionate increase in size of head.
Case History: A 65-year-old patient presented with complaint of sudden onset of left sided hemiparesis.