Ultrasound

Manufacturers continue to close the performance gap between handheld ultrasound systems and their more expensive cart-based competitors. Underlying this development are transducer improvements and unique imaging enhancements, even as the engineers of these units advance their strong suit -- portability. Zonare Medical Systems and SonoSite exemplify this progress.

Options for image-guided procedures in the breast have expanded considerably over the past 20 years. A variety of modalities are now being used to perform diagnostic, localization, and therapeutic interventional procedures for breast disease.

Cognitively healthy elderly people who experience atrophy in the amygdala and hippocampus are more likely to develop dementia, according to a study in the January Archives of General Psychiatry.

In the wake of the U.S. holiday of Thanksgiving every year, a city rises within the confines of Chicago's McCormick Place. It is a kind of radiological Epcot Center, a futuristic vision designed to dazzle; constructed of software, heavy iron, and handhelds; and swathed in platitudes.

Last year, an obese women in New York City claimed that her doctor suggested she go to the Bronx Zoo for an MRI because of her girth. Zoo officials, according to the New York Post, later said they had no elephant-sized MR machines onsite.

Released in late January, Fusion Matrix PACS version 2.1 introduces reading enhancements, including the ability to query and retrieve studies from third-party DICOM sources, reserve studies, and mark studies as preliminary. Other new tools include triangulation, which lets the user define a target point on an image to view the corresponding anatomic position in other series.

World leader in extremity MR Esaote is on its own. The Italian company, which has been a wholly owned member of the Bracco group since the turn of the decade, has been purchased by a private investment group. But Esaote is not headed into uncharted territory. The divestiture, which took effect Jan. 20 for an undisclosed sum, passes ownership of the maker of MR, ultrasound, and electrocardiography equipment to a group of investors that includes senior Esaote executives.

It has been ages since ultrasound was the darling of medical imaging, when Acuson handed out light sticks to celebrate its introduction of color flow, ATL christened computed sonography, and Diasonics raised the curtain on “Angio” imaging. Those were the Wild West days of ultrasound, when one company’s success was soon topped by another’s. Things have changed. The ultrasound industry today is far more civilized.

A new ultrasound-based device can effectively treat peripheral arterial occlusion and deep vein thrombosis in record time, according to a multicenter study presented at the 2006 International Symposium on Endovascular Therapy in Miami Beach.

Advanced Magnetics’ struggles continue Revenues generated by MR contrast developer Advanced Magnetics fell in the first fiscal quarter 2006, as the company recorded $664,355, compared with $1,022,264 for the same period in fiscal 2005. The company reported a net loss of $4.2 million in the quarter just ended compared with a net loss of $2.5 million for the same period in fiscal 2005. The drop was attributed to the recognition of deferred license fee revenue from a license and marketing agreement covering Combidex and a decrease in product sales of Feridex I.V. by the company’s marketing partners. Advance Magnetics is developing a nondiagnostic agent dubbed Ferumoxytol. The drug is in phase III multicenter clinical trials for use as an iron replacement therapeutic in chronic kidney disease patients.

Radiofrequency ablation is as effective as resection for treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma, according to a study presented at the joint RSNA/SIR Foundation Interventional Oncology Symposium. The key factor is RFA's ability to easily repeat treatment on recurring tumors in a less destructive fashion than surgery.

Newly developed ultrasound probe technology that acquires data in one sweeping stroke is propelling 3D ultrasound into new realms. Aided by software that reconstructs volumetric information, radiologists can review ultrasound data on workstations the same way they do CT and MR.

In the wake of Thanksgiving every year, a city rises within the confines of McCormick Place. It is a kind of radiological Epcot Center, a futuristic vision designed to dazzle; constructed of software, heavy iron, and handhelds; and swathed in platitudes.

Transvaginal ultrasound and serum CA 125 blood tests, used individually or in combination, can detect cancer early, according to preliminary results from a National Cancer Institute study. Both tests, however, produce too many false positives, prompting needless surgeries.

IT developer IDX is now part of GE Healthcare. In making the announcement Jan. 4, GE described the acquisition as helping create a comprehensive suite of clinical, imaging, and business information systems.

The U.K.’s national screening committee has recommended routine abdominal aortic aneurysm screening for men over the age of 65. Doctors have welcomed the move but questioned the committee’s decision not to include women, according to an article in Pulse, a newspaper for general practitioners.

Philips makes MR smarter, fasterSmartExam helps operators of Philips MR scanners work smarter, not harder. The technology, developed by Philips Medical Solutions and shown at the RSNA meeting, automates the planning, scanning, and processing of MR images. This promises to decrease overall exam time while increasing consistency and reliability, according to the company. The algorithm runs on all Philips MR systems.

Ultrasound reliably predicts success and failure of single-dose methotrexate treatment of ectopic pregnancy, according to research conducted at Boston Medical Center and presented at the RSNA meeting in December.

At many facilities, children with suspected appendicitis head straight to the CT scanner for evaluation. Ultrasound provides an alternative, accurate means of making an initial diagnosis, sparing many children from potentially harmful radiation exposure, according to a study presented Dec. 1 at the Radiological Society of North America meeting in Chicago.

In many institutions, children with suspected appendicitis head straight to the CT scanner for evaluation. Ultrasound provides an alternative, accurate means of making an initial diagnosis, sparing many children from potentially harmful radiation exposure, according to a study presented at the RSNA meeting on Friday.

Ultrasound reliably predicts success and failure of single-dose methotrexate treatment of ectopic pregnancy, according to research conducted at Boston Medical Center and presented Wednesday at the RSNA meeting.

MR-guided focused ultrasound surgery is a safe, effective treatment for uterine fibroids, according to the results of a new multicenter trial presented at the RSNA meeting.

Contrast-enhanced ultrasound has an integral role to play in molecular imaging, according to studies presented Tuesday. Data from worldwide researchers suggest that applications for the evaluation of angiogenesis as well as for guidance, delivery, and assessment of gene therapy may signal new opportunities for ultrasound contrast agents.

Zonare Medical Systems upgraded its z.one ultrasound system with the introduction of two new transducers, calculation packages, and a program that automatically recognizes and adjusts for differences in body sound propagation.

For years, the focused abdominal sonography for trauma (FAST) protocol enjoyed a pre-eminent role in blunt abdominal trauma imaging, but it is losing favor as CT becomes more common in emergency rooms. Research presented Monday suggested the days may be numbered for FAST.

At least one patch of radiology turf seems to be well under control. Radiologists perform the biggest share of vascular ultrasound studies by far, according to a new study of Medicare data.

Medison’s 3D Extended Imaging (3D XI) ultrasound image processing technology is now available on the SonoAce 8000 Live, its 3D ultrasound system specialized for ob/gyn, the company announced at the RSNA meeting.

Toshiba is introducing the latest improvements to its Aplio and Xario ultrasound systems at the 2005 RSNA meeting. The Aplio system has been enhanced with the company’s exclusive expanded Differential Tissue Harmonic Imaging (DTHI), while the Xario features 4D imaging.

TeraRecon unveiled two digital, multi-functional, color Doppler systems targeted for the portable ultrasound market on Sunday at the RSNA meeting. With the UF-785XTD and the UF-780XTD, the company is attempting to bring the functionality of portable ultrasound systems a step closer to cart-based machines.