Nuclear Medicine: Low-Dose Molecular Breast Imaging Evaluated in the Detection of Breast Cancer

Breast-specific gamma imaging (BSGI), also known as molecular breast imaging (MBI), is a modality that identifies breast tumors overlooked by ultrasound and mammography, especially in women with dense breasts.

Ultrasound: Treatment Planning System Updated for Real-Time Ultrasound-Guided Prostate Cancer Brachytherapy

A new partnership agreement between Siemens Healthcare (Erlangen, Germany) and Varian Medical Systems (Palo Alto, CA, USA) has been established to advance radiation treatment planning and delivery technology.

General Imaging: Prospective Drawbacks Seen in Cost-Cuts for Medical Imaging Scans

A new report revealed that the timespan of the average hospital stay in the United States has risen at the same time as medical imaging use has dropped. It is not yet known if the trends are linked, but these new findings may be significant, because hospital admissions are among the fastest growing and largest healthcare costs.

Nuclear Medicine: Improved possibilities of proton therapy to patient

A new patient-centric proton therapy room has been designed to stimulate patient comfort during proton treatments by allowing patients to selectively add relaxing sound, light, and images to the treatment room environment before they initiate therapy.

General Imaging: New diagnostic displays developed for radiologists

New diagnostic displays developed for radiologists offer three times the resolution of monochrome liquid crystal displays (LCDs), improving visualization for help in critical diagnoses. Sony Electronics’ medical systems division

MRI: MR-Conditional Pacemaker System Approved in Japan

With the use of new magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-conditional pacing technology, pacemaker patients will have access to full body scanners, without positioning restriction in the MRI scanner.

Radiography: A new agent has been developed to treat radiation exposure.

A new agent that is similar to a naturally occurring molecule found in blueberries and coffee has been developed to treat radiation exposure.

Nuclear Medicine: PET Radiopharmaceutical Receives European Endorsement for Imaging of β-Amyloid Density

A European health agency has recommended marketing authorization for Amyvid (florbetapir 18F) as a diagnostic imaging agent in patients who are being evaluated for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other causes of cognitive decline.

Radiography: 3D CT Breast Cancer Scanning Technology

Newly developed technology provides three-dimensional (3D) X-ray imaging of the breast with a radiation dose that is lower than the current 2D X-ray imaging used in clinics.

MRI: MRI Proves Effective Guiding Heart Catheter Procedures

Heart catheter procedures guided by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are as safe as X-ray-guided procedures and do not take any longer, according to a pilot study.

Men's Health: Task Force Recommends Against Hormone Replacement Therapy for Postmenopausal Women

The United States Preventive Services Task Force recommends against the use of estrogen and progestin for the prevention of chronic medical conditions in postmenopausal women

Imaging IT: New DICOM Guard Technology for high patient Data safety

A new Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine (DICOM) application features proprietary data tagging technology, which allows healthcare enterprises to have complete control over security of their patient data.

Ultrasound: Collaborative Efforts to Develop Medical Ultrasound Practice Guidelines

American medical societies have collaborated on a guideline that comprises indications for an ultrasound examination for a focused reproductive endocrinology and infertility scan.

Nuclear Medicine: The specificity and overall accuracy of F-18-FLT were considerably higher than F-18-FDG PET both during and after radiation therapy.

Determining the optimal treatment course and predicting outcomes may soon become simpler for head and neck sqaumous cell carcinomas (HNSCCs) patients with the use of a new investigational imaging agent.

Psoriasis: Investigation found a clear association between psoriasis and diabetes

An analysis of 27 studies linking psoriasis in 314,000 individuals with diabetes has found strong correlation between the scaly skin rash and the blood sugar disorder that predisposes patients to heart disease, say UC Davis researchers who led the review.

Nuclear Medicine: New Radiation Treatment Significantly Increases Survival Rate

A novel drug that mimics a naturally occurring molecule found in coffee and blueberries has been developed to treat radiation exposure. Charles R. Yates, Pharm.D., Ph.D., and colleagues Duane Miller, Ph.D., and Waleed Gaber, Ph.D.,

Cosmetic Medicine: Sea cucumbers and sea urchins are able to change the elasticity of collagen within their bodies

Sea cucumbers and sea urchins are able to change the elasticity of collagen within their bodies, and could hold the key to maintaining a youthful appearance, according to scientists at Queen Mary, University of London.

Drinking alcohol and smoking have to throw together

New research verifies previous studies by Dr. Timothy Durazzo and his colleagues, showing that smoking, while trying to quit drinking alcohol, impairs learning, memory, and other cognitive skills, hindering successful sobriety.

Value-based pricing is one potential solution to reduce the cost of drugs

A virtual monopoly held by some drug manufacturers in part because of the way treatment protocols work is among the reasons cancer drugs cost so much in the United States, according to a commentary by two Mayo Clinic physicians in the October issue of the journal Mayo Clinic Proceedings. Value-based pricing is one potential solution, they write.

Subcutaneous Formulation Of ORENCIA® (Abatacept) Approved By European Commission

Bristol-Myers Squibb have announced that the European Commission has granted marketing authorisation for the subcutaneous formulation of ORENCIA® (abatacept), in combination with methotrexate (MTX), for the treatment of adults with moderate to severe active rheumatoid arthritis (RA).

Cardiology: Heart Attack Mortality Risk Greater For People With Schizophrenia

The risk of death resulting from heart attack is higher in people with schizophrenia than in the general public, according to scientists at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) and the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES).

MRI: Supposed Benign Condition Shown to Alter Brain Function in the Elderly

Researchers are reporting that a common condition called leukoaraiosis, comprised of tiny areas in the brain that have been deprived of oxygen and appear as bright white dots on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans, is not a harmless part of the aging process, but instead a disease that changes brain function in the elderly.

New Maryland Law Enables Consumers To Select Qualified Physicians

A new Maryland law effective today requires physicians who publicize board certification to announce their certifying board as well as their speciality.

Imaging IT: Healthcare Organizations Utilize Enterprise Services to Fast-Track Health IT Purchases

New enterprise services help healthcare providers predict operational and information technology (IT) costs and control ongoing costs while deploying enterprise-wide health IT systems.

Ultrasound: Partnership to Offer Advanced Needle Guidance technology

New needle guidance solution helps make central venous catheter procedures “point-and-shoot” simple to improve care quality and reduce healthcare costs.

Nuclear Medicine: The preoperative visualization of SLN with SPECT/CT is technically feasible and facilitates the detection of additional positive SLNs.

Preoperative three-dimensional (3D) visualization of sentinel lymph nodes (SLNs) used with single-photon emission computed tomography/computed tomography (SPECT/CT) imaging was associated with a higher rate of identification of positive SLNs and a higher rate of disease-free survival among patients with melanoma, according to new findings.

New opportunities radiology information system

A radiology information system (RIS) enables a web-based solution that streamlines workflow and enables providers to meet meaningful use (MU) criteria.

Siemens will offer new and improved diagnostic Ultrasound Equipment

Siemens Healthcare (Erlangen, Germany) announced that the company has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire substantially all of the assets of Penrith Corporation of Plymouth Meeting (PA, USA), a manufacturer of integrated ultrasound imaging systems. Through this acquisition, Siemens will offer new and improved diagnostic capabilities and expand its ultrasound portfolio. The transaction is expected to close in September 2012.

Radiography: New Data Provide Clues into Why Some Lung Tumors Are Undetected by X-Ray

New research has revealed why some lung tumors are undetected by X-ray and helped to identify the type of individuals who may be at risk of this sort of lung cancer.

Dentistry: In the treatment of dental caries helping coconut oil

Digested coconut oil is able to attack the bacteria that cause tooth decay. It is a natural antibiotic that could be incorporated into commercial dental care products, say scientists presenting their work at the Society for General Microbiology's Autumn Conference at the University of Warwick.

Radiography: Coronary computed tomographic angiography is a noninvasive anatomic test for diagnosis of coronary stenosis

Among patients with suspected or known coronary artery disease, use of a screening test that utilizes computational fluid dynamics to draw on specific data from computed tomographic (CT) angiography imaging demonstrated improved diagnostic accuracy vs. CT angiography alone for the diagnosis of ischemia.

Nuclear Medicine: Various methods of diagnosis of ovarian cancer

Because of the lack of relevant research, there is currently no substantial evidence that patients with ovarian cancer can benefit from positron emission tomography (PET) imaging alone or in combination with computed tomography (CT) imaging. As regards diagnostic accuracy, in certain cases, recurrences can be detected earlier and more accurately with PET or PET/CT than with conventional imaging techniques.

Drug treatment centers: Grant to target youth alcohol, drug abuse

A local group has been awarded a $625,000 grant to aid its efforts in fighting underage drinking and drug abuse in Evansville.

The money, which comes from the federal Drug Free Communities Support Program, will be awarded across five years to BASE, also known as Building A Safer Evansville. According to its website, the coalition's mission is "to raise awareness about the impact that high risk behaviors have on our community, provide education and engage all stakeholders to reduce youth substance abuse."

Ultrasound: The SonoSite S-ICU uses simultaneous deployment of three advanced proprietary algorithms

An innovative point-of-care (POC) ultrasound system is being used to improve the placement of chest drains, enhancing the safety of treatment for pleural effusion patients.

Cardiology: Using Mobile phone in improving the quality of ECG

Each year, the NIH-sponsored PhysioNet Resource runs an open competition designed to encourage the development of solutions to an unsolved or poorly solved biomedicine problem.

Researchers Decipher Manic Gene

Flying high, or down in the dumps -- individuals suffering from bipolar dis­order alternate between depressive and manic episodes. Re­searchers from the University of Bonn and the Central Institute of Mental Health in Mannheim have now discovered, based on patient data and animal models, how the NCAN gene results in the manic symptoms of bipolar disorder.

MRI: Toshiba Medical Systems has received clearance for 16-Element MR Flexible Coil System

A new magnetic resonance (MR) coil system makes it easier for clinicians to complete high-quality exams and improve diagnostic effectiveness.

Nuclear Medicine: New Imaging Technology includes combining the PET and MRI

Particle physicists have created a novel imaging technology that includes combining the PET and MRI technologies in a way that involves much less radiation than current technology.

MRI: A New Model May Allow Recover After Spinal Cord Injury

For people suffering with spinal cord injuries (SCIs), the time following the injury are filled with uncertainty about their potential for recovery and future independence. A new model based on motor scores at admission and early imaging studies may allow clinicians to predict functional outcomes and guide decision-making for therapy and care-giving needs.

Neurology: In Spinal Muscular Atrophy, Low Oxygen Levels May Decrease Life-Saving Protein

Investigators at Nationwide Children's Hospital may have discovered a biological explanation for why low levels of oxygen advance spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) symptoms and why breathing treatments help SMA patients live longer. The findings appear in Human Molecular Genetics.

Radiography: Early detection of lung cancer

A pioneering, comprehensive lung cancer screening center offers more effective early detection services by reliance on computed tomography (CT) scan over chest X-rays for screening and by drawing on the world-class expertise of its multidisciplinary team.

Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids and Rheumatoid Arthritis

A recent study conducted at the University College of Medicine in Seoul, Korea, published online in the journal Archives of Medical Research,showed that rheumatoid arthritis patients taking omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAS), such as found in Omega XL, for a minimum of three months reduced non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) consumption by 48 percent.

Radiography: New Opportunities Radiotherapy Real-time Imaging

Real-time imaging during radiation therapy is predominantly achieved using kilovoltage and megavoltage cone-beam CT, with systems based on ultrasound or MRI now also under development. But there are other imaging modalities that could be employed, including those that offer functional and molecular information regarding the tumour being treated.

Nuclear Medicine: New features Diagnostic Difficult Cases of Infectious Endocarditis

When combined with conventional diagnostic tests, functional imaging procedures have been shown to reduce the rate of misdiagnosed instances of infectious endocarditis. According to new research, single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)/computed tomography (CT) with 99mTc-hexamethylpropleneamine oxime-labeled white blood cells (99mTc-HMPAO-WBC) imaging can improve the diagnosis of infectious endocarditis in hard-to-diagnose instances.

Ultrasound: Ultrasound System new opportunities for handling large data

New ultrasound systems are being used in a UK hospital for all obstetric examinations, including first, second, and third trimester scans.

 Croydon University Hospital (UK), part of the Croydon Health Services NHS [National Health Service] Trust, has installed two Acuson S2000 ultrasound systems from Siemens Healthcare (Erlangen, Germany). The systems, which replace an older unit, also include the syngo Auto OB application to automeasure the six major fetal structures required for biometric measurements.

Radiography: CCTA combines sophisticated CT scanning to generate detailed images of blood vessels

Integrating coronary computed tomography angiography (CCTA) into the initial evaluation of low-risk patients arriving at hospital emergency departments (EDs) with chest pain reduces the time patients spend in the hospital without incurring additional costs or exposing patients to substantial risks.

Cardiology: Athletes must undergo medical examination gender-specific test for coronary disease.

The standard of care for examining student athletes for risk of sudden death continues to evolve. Also this week, a visual grading system for defective defibrillator leads and a gender-specific test for coronary disease.

"Mother's Curse" can speed up male ageing

Women outlive men by about five to six years but why? By age 85 there are roughly six women to every four men and by age 100 the ratio is more than two to one.

Eye Health: New Device that enables the eyes to follow smooth and clear trajectories

A CNRS researcher at the Centre de Recherche de l'Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle Epinière (CNRS/UPMC/Inserm) has developed a novel device, which enables people to draw and write by using just their eye movements.

Cardiology: Orion Health Limited, a provide a clinical portal-based Electronic Care Record

Orion Health to build shared web-based clinical portal to improve the safety, quality, efficiency and integration of care

Health and Social Care Northern Ireland (HSCNI) has announced its selection of Orion Health Limited, a leading global supplier of e-Health software, to provide a clinical portal-based Electronic Care Record (ECR) for Northern Ireland. Covering a population of more than 1.8 million people, the ECR will enable the communication and sharing of patient data taken from multiple, existing information systems across acute, community, primary health and social care.