47-year-old patient offered screening ultrasound due to dense breast tissue.
53-year-old BRCA2 positive patient presented for bilateral screening breast MRI.
Given the high quality of FDG-PET imaging, the likelihood that other useful PET tracers will be approved for clinical applications, and the enthusiasm with which the larger radiology community has embraced PET/CT, the future of single-photon scintigraphy in diagnostic imaging is a relevant discussion for nuclear medicine and radiology departments. Decisions have to be made about the allocation of funds, space, and physician training.
Ovarian cancer accounts for nearly 3% of all cancers among women. It is the second most common gynecological malignancy in the U.S., following carcinoma of the uterine corpus.
Good results require thorough patient preparation, dual positioning during imaging, and experienced readers
Multislice CT has changed the initial management of trauma patients with multiple injuries and now plays a central role in their primary diagnoses. Many radiology departments have implemented whole-body CT scanning for polytrauma patients.
Hounsfield units, displayed asgray levels on standard CTimages, represent the x-rayattenuation of the materialmix in each image voxel.
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
Safety is a topic that should be at the forefront of the minds of all those who work in healthcare. Accidents can affect both healthcare workers and patients.
Plaque rupture is the main cause of acute coronary syndromes, which are associated with high mortality and morbidity. The prevalence of plaque rupture in acute coronary syndrome is more than 70%.1 Rupture-prone plaques are characterized by a large core of extracellular lipid with a thin fibrous cap (Figure 1). Inflammation, particularly in the plaque shoulder, causes the fibrous cap to thin and results in disruption of the atherosclerotic plaque.
We have conducted a large-scale 14-year study that found laser ablation with MR guidance is very effective in the treatment of primary and metastatic liver tumors. We presented data from 1394 patients with 3725 lesions at the 2007 European Congress of Radiology. We have since ablated a total of 5041 lesions in 1954 patients. The two largest patient groups suffered from colorectal liver metastases and breast cancer liver metastases.
Contrast-enhanced ultrasound for abdominal applications in radiology was first approved in Canada in 2001. Although reimbursement issues have prevented its general dissemination and adoption, ample publications describe the benefits and applications of this exciting and robust technique.
Commercial and clinical benefits face off against threat of marginalization
A truism about any rapidly adopted technology, no matter what its specifics, is that the benefits are readily apparent soon after its introduction, and the untoward effects are inevitable but delayed. The initial wave of enthusiasm about a new test or a new technique's virtues drowns out, at least for a while, any discussion about its putative ill effects. This truism is especially apparent when the innovation inspires a metamorphosis in practice and perception that alters the allocation of resources, the focus of training, and the nature of work.
MRI is the study of choice in the overall evaluation of the temporomandibular joint.1 The modality is reported to be 95% accurate in assessing the position and configuration of the TMJ disc and 93% accurate in assessing osseous changes.2 MRI provides detailed multiplanar evaluation of the soft tissues and osseous structures that form the TMJ, and assessment in various degrees of opening provides an opportunity to evaluate the joint for internal derangement, the most common abnormality that affects it.
While the radiology benefit managers model has shown some benefits in curbing overutilization, most recent research points to a more cost-effective model for imaging: the use of medical appropriateness clinical decision support.
Siemens Medical Solutions has introduced its Moblitt XP Digital, a mobile digital x-ray system with a flat-panel detector. The product offers instant image display to enhance both productivity and workflow and a fast archiving capability for speedy processing.
>Declining reimbursements in outpatient diagnostic imaging pose significant challenges for center operators across the county. What was once a fairly easy business to operate has in many ways become a challenge, especially during the past two years. Finding a good technologist was, and still is to a certain extent, a hardship for some radiology departments, but hiring a skilled manager is proving to be like finding a needle in a haystack.
Studies show current breast density education has conflicting results.
Although 3D ultrasound is now widely available, the number of nonobstetric applications for which it is used remains limited. When the modality is used for nonobstetric purposes, it is generally for gynecological applications, vascular or superficial soft-tissue imaging, or hepatobiliary imaging.
Moviegoers may relegate those red- and green-lensed cardboard glasses worn while watching 3D movies to a bygone era. But the release of a spate of animated movies in true digital 3D format over the past several years proclaims the comeback of this exciting genre. In an unlikely comparison, 3D diagnostic imaging, buoyed by recent technological advances, is also beginning to hit its stride and could herald a new imaging paradigm in multislice CT.
Radiology requires practitioners to appreciate hownormal anatomy appears on imaging and to understandthe basis of diseases that may be observed.
Case History: 45-year-old patient presented with complaints of vomiting for a few days.
A new 5D mathematical model seems to accurately predict the motion of lung tumors on CT scans obtained while patients breathe, according to a preliminary report presented at the American Society for Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology meeting in October.
Case History: 60-year-old male presents with behavioral changes for 2 months in bipolar disorder.
Case History: 62-year-old male with history of abdominal pain and weight loss for two months.
Case History: 36-year-old male presented with weak stream and pain.