CT

The last time medicine had a new “ray” was back when radioactivity was king, spawning nuclear medicine and grade-B sci-fi flicks. Before the gamma ray was the x-ray . . . and that goes way back.

Siemens opens biomarker R&D centerStructuRad adopts ‘pay per report’ pricingCardiac CT conference opens this week

Coke Super Bowl ad winsHologic exec amends stock trading planToshiba cuts multiyear CT dealMR agent lights up mouse heart

Expanded coverage for PET drove demand for procedures in 2006, helping push unit sales, which also benefited from local pressures on providers to keep up with the competition. Demand for upgrading the installed base to PET/CT from dedicated PET could bolster sales in the near term, just as the popularity of the modality continues to rise.

Italian computer-aided detection and imaging device company iM3D is slated to begin selling its CADColon iM3D system in this country this quarter. The company, which introduced itself to the U.S. radiology community in 2005 under the moniker iMED Medical Imaging Lab, is already selling CADColon in Europe and is awaiting approval from the FDA for marketing in the U.S. It plans to sell the product directly to customers but is also exploring relationships with imaging vendors interested in building its CAD algorithm into their workstations, said Alessandro Zuccato, head of sales.

Although MR colonography is proving to be an effective method of colorectal screening, patients are no more likely to accept it than optical colonoscopy. In addition, limited bowel prep protocols for CT colonography are proving comparable to full cathartic prep.

Contrast-enhanced lymphosonography finds more sentinel lymph nodes than can established nuclear medicine techniques, according to preliminary animal studies focusing on melanoma.

Researchers at Emory University have demonstrated the uptake of a new radiotracer known as FACBC in both primary and metastatic prostate cancer on initial staging, as well as in recurrent cancer within the prostate bed, lymph nodes, and bone. They reported their findings in the January issue of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine.

Software designed by researchers at the University of Chicago helps detect interval changes in successive nuclear medicine bone scans and can reduce interpretation time by up to 32%, according to research presented in an educational exhibit at the RSNA meeting.

A small outcomes study presented at the RSNA meeting has shown that multislice cardiac CT can be applied in specific ways to eliminate unnecessary cardiac catheterizations for coronary artery disease.

Appeals court favors SonoSite in patent fightGM-I bids to acquire molecular imaging firmPhilips sends CT ‘everywhere’Toshiba unveils enhanced Aplio

CT advances have knocked the imaging community back on its heels. The simplistic question of who will control coronary CT angiography has given way to far more perplexing ones about how and when this technology should be used.

CAD improves accuracy of CT colonographyAgfa snags multisite IT/CR dealsU.K. provider taps Kodak as preferred supplier

Plaque buildup in the coronary arteries seen on 16- and 64-slice CT angiography does not always mean blood flow to the heart is restricted, according to research conducted at the Leiden University Medical Center in the Netherlands.

Toshiba spotlights CT workflowChina pays for optical mammographyKodak, NDMA ally in Europe

Medical images rock on iPod64-slice CT goes beyond stenosesZonare reaches milestoneToshiba launches e-LearningFibrin imaging agent shows promise

Milk is just as good as a contrast agent for GI tract imaging with CT as the barium agent now used, according to research presented at the 2006 RSNA meeting.

Viatronix merges CAD, virtual colonographyReview of DMIST exposes downside of digital mammographyAurora Imaging heads for China AllRad strikes deal with national PPO

Telerad firms reach outSonosite upgrades MicroMaxxCT utilization skyrockets in ER

Siemens’ dual-source CT excels at coronary disease detection Cardiac imaging presents 'defining moment'Patient mobility attests to need for data sharing

Siemens launches dual-energy CTToshiba introduces new Infinix systemSiemens unveils Web-enabled CTThales unveils two flat-panel detectors

Outgoing Society of Nuclear Medicine president Dr. Peter Conti proposed at the organization's 2006 meeting that nuclear medicine is synonymous with molecular imaging.

Every major hospital in this country has a nuclear medicine department. Last year, 19.7 million nuclear medicine procedures were performed on 17.2 million women, men, and children in more than 7200 medical sites in the U.S.-a 15% increase from four years ago.

This fall brought good news for advocates of CT colonography. A study in the November issue of Radiology presented the latest results from the University of Wisconsin, and they were very good: in a population of 1110 patients, CT colonography demonstrated a positive predictive value of 93.8% for polyps 6 mm and larger, up from 58.5% in an earlier trial conducted at the same institution (Radiology 2006;241:417-425).

Nuclear medicine specialist Numa showed at the 2006 RSNA meeting enhancements for NumaLink, a cross-vendor data translation product, and NumaStore, a gamma camera and PET/CT image management system. The products promise greater connectivity within the nuclear medicine department and between nuclear medicine and radiology. Among NumaLink’s enhancements are DICOM translation capabilities for proprietary PET data sets, including those generated using Siemens and GE PET systems. The NumaStore upgrade supports Siemens’ preclinical microPET and the Inveon Dedicated PET small-animal imaging systems.

Software upgrades introduced by GE Healthcare this week for the company's LightSpeed VCT scanner promise to cut patient x-ray dose for coronary CT angiography by 70% or more and double the area covered during dynamic angiography and perfusion.

Amicas unveils software for referring docsBarco expands visualization offeringSiemens showcases MR advances

Software designed by researchers at the University of Chicago helps detect interval changes in successive nuclear medicine bone scans, and can reduce interpretation time by up to 32%, according to research presented in an educational exhibit at the RSNA meeting.

Toshiba readies 256-slice CT for Johns HopkinsSiemens unveils X series ultrasoundNaviscan launches PEM Flex Solo II