MRI is a Non-Invasive Way to Detect Hypoxia in Breast Cancer Patients
Hypoxia and neovascularization in breast cancer can now be identified using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques, according to a studyrecently published inMolecular Imaging and Biology.Researchers from the Medical University of Vienna were intrigued by a couple of recently developed imaging methods that successfully analyzed hypoxia in patients with brain cancer and wanted to see if the same technology could be used to detect the condition in breast cancer patients. Advanced quantitative blood oxygenation level dependent (qBOLD) imaging can evaluate tissue oxygen and measure tumor hypoxia. Vascular architectural m...
Source: radRounds - February 1, 2019 Category: Radiology Authors: Julie Morse Source Type: blogs
Radiology Services Lawsuit Settled for $10 million
Bozeman Health Deaconess Hospital has been ordered to pay $10 million in a settlementinvolving two of the facility ’s former radiologists. Bozeman continues to deny the allegations.The 2015 lawsuitclaiming that the hospital participated in an illegal kickback scheme and raked in millions of dollars in fake claims was settled on October 31. The United States government received $7.5 million and $238,820 is set aside for the state of Montana. Twenty-eight percent is reserved for the filers of the lawsuit, radiologists Frank Rembert and Michael Paradise, and the hospital is also ordered to pay Dr. Rembert and Dr. Paradi...
Source: radRounds - January 25, 2019 Category: Radiology Authors: Julie Morse Source Type: blogs
Unsettling Statistics About Radiologist Burnout and Depression
Burnout and depression have become dire epidemics in the medical community, and it ’s unclear if there’s a way to improve physician mental health. Among the specialists grappling with immense stress are radiologists, with 45 percent reporting feelings of burnout, according to a new report from Medscape.The 2019 National Physician Burnout, Depression& Suicide Reportsurveyed over 15,000 physicians across more than 29 specialties. The researchers found that the vast majority of depressed physicians, or over 66 percent, feel that their mental health impacts their workplace behavior. Fourteen percent of those physicia...
Source: radRounds - January 25, 2019 Category: Radiology Authors: Julie Morse Source Type: blogs
Could Gas-Based Contrast Agents Replace GBCAs?
Researchers from the Leibniz Institute for Molecular Pharmacology (FMP) in Berlin and the California Institute of Technology are creatinghyperpolarized xenon gas-based contrast agents that will improve the sensitivity of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), according to a studypublished inACS Nano.The gas-based contrast agents, or “gas vesicles”, aim to solve the problems presented by traditional gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs). GBCAs lack sensitivity and often demand high quantities, which can pose health risks. They ’re generated by specific bacteria, and behave similarly to a fish’s swim bladder, which ...
Source: radRounds - January 25, 2019 Category: Radiology Authors: Julie Morse Source Type: blogs
Reading Room Coordinator Programs Makes Life Way Easier for Radiologists
Radiologists at the University of Iowa Hospitals& Clinics are saving around two and a half hours of their work day with their new reading room coordinator program, a position that eliminates rudimentary administrational tasks for radiologists.The reading room coordinator isn ’t a new concept, and other institutions have found that they’re useful in managingthe vast majority of radiology requests. The coordinator handles a variety of critical tasks including triaging calls from physicians, nurses, staff, and technologists and communicating exam results and other patient issues. They also lessen some of the time res...
Source: radRounds - January 18, 2019 Category: Radiology Authors: Julie Morse Source Type: blogs
What Could Happen When You Don ’t Carefully Read a Radiology Report
A lawsuitinvolving a 49-year-old male with colon cancer has demonstrated the need for physicians to thoroughly read radiology reports and for radiologists to effectively relay image interpretations.The patient had undergone a CT scan for pre-procedure workup for his extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy to remove kidney stones. The scan showed a possible indication of colon cancer, and the radiologist had made note of those findings on the second page of the report that was sent to the urologist that same day. However, the urologist neglected to read the second page, and 19 months later, the patient was diagnosed with la...
Source: radRounds - January 18, 2019 Category: Radiology Authors: Julie Morse Source Type: blogs
Why You Might Need a Dose of Sugar in Your MRI
Sugar could become an effective replacement for metal in contrast agents in magnetic resonance tomography analyses, according to researchers from John Hopkins University and Lund University in Sweden.There has been heated debate over the safety of certain contrast agents, and the Food and Drug Administration has warnedthat gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs) can linger in the brain for months or years after the patient ’s procedure. Using alternatives like sugar could potentially diminish the risk of adverse side effects associated with GBCAs. Studies using animals demonstrated that D-glucose could be a possible b...
Source: radRounds - January 18, 2019 Category: Radiology Authors: Julie Morse Source Type: blogs
Radiology Partners Enters Nevada
Radiology Partners continues toexpandtheir brand across the country with their latest acquisition of Las Vegas-based, Desert Radiology, their first purchase in the state; marking the 18thstate for the country ’s largest physician-owned radiology practice.“Desert Radiology is an outstanding practice with a strong local market position, exceptional leadership, and a national reputation,” saidRich Whitney, chairman and CEO of Radiology Partners. “We are excited that they are joining our team.” Desert Radiology has been called the “premier radiology practice of Nevada,” and they were named 24thtop practice in...
Source: radRounds - January 12, 2019 Category: Radiology Authors: Julie Morse Source Type: blogs
15-Minute MRI Coming Out of the University of Arizona
Researchers at the University of Arizona ’s College of Engineering are reducing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan time to 15 minutes by using multiplexed sensitivity-encoding (MUSE), a technology that eliminates many of the time-consuming elements of MRI.The group of researchers led by Nan-kaei Chen, PhD, associate professor of biomedical engineering, were awarded a $2.1 million grant from theNational Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke to create faster MRI scans that will be beneficial to patients who struggle to lay still in the machine for 40 minutes to an hour. The five- year project specifically targe...
Source: radRounds - January 12, 2019 Category: Radiology Authors: Julie Morse Source Type: blogs
Are We Ready for MRI That Can Detect the Human Soul?
What initially reeked of fake news has now been proven real: theShenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology has invested $126 million to build a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner to identify the human soul.According to news sources, the scanner will produce a resolution that ’s 1,000 times more powerful than conventional MRI and will be able to image objects that are 1 millimeter wide. The researchers’ ambitions know no limits, and as one unnamed scientist said,“We may for the first time capture a full picture of human consciousness or even the essence of life itself. Then we can define them and explain how th...
Source: radRounds - January 12, 2019 Category: Radiology Authors: Julie Morse Source Type: blogs
Siemens Releases New MAGNETOM Altea Scanner
Siemenshas added the MAGNETOM Altea, a versatile and automated magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner to its line of sophisticated imaging machines.Recently introduced at the latest Radiological Society of North America annual conference in Chicago, the 1.5 Tesla scanner features a wide 70-cm bore that can support larger patients. It includes Siemen ’s artificial intelligence-powered BioMatrix technology and Select&Go Interface, which can streamline and improve workflow activity. The Select&Go eliminates the need to initiate anatomical landmarking, making it easier and quicker to position the patient.To generat...
Source: radRounds - January 5, 2019 Category: Radiology Authors: Julie Morse Source Type: blogs
Are 3D Imaging Systems Taking Over Radiology?
Three-dimensional imaging systems are increasingly becoming the standard in radiology departments, according to a recent surveyfrom HIMSS Analytics, an international health information technology advisor.According to the report, more than 40 percent of hospitals in the United States — or approximately half of the country’s hospitals — have implemented 3D imaging display solution. Hospitals with 3D systems tend to be at least medium-sized, as HIMSS found that 60 percent of hospitals with 3D technology have more than 100 staffed beds. They also mentioned that hospitals who haven’t installed 3D systems are most like...
Source: radRounds - January 5, 2019 Category: Radiology Authors: Julie Morse Source Type: blogs
New Study Underlines the Importance of Annual Mammography
Women who undergo annual breast cancer screenings have a decreased risk of mortality and a better treatment experience upon diagnosis, according to a group of researchers lead by L ászló Tabár, MD.In their study recently published in Cancer,Dr. Tab ár and his investigators looked at data collected by the Swedish Cancer Registry of 52,000 women who had either received mammography or had never been screened for breast cancer between 1977 and 2015, and contrasted that information with studies between 1958 and 1976, which is considered the pre-sc reening era.They evaluated breast cancer diagnosis rates and breast cancer ...
Source: radRounds - January 5, 2019 Category: Radiology Authors: Julie Morse Source Type: blogs
Using fMRI to Understand the Link Between Risk and Criminal Activity
A study published in theJournal of Experimental Psychologyis using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to draw the correlation between the attraction toward risk and criminal activity.Valerie Reyna, PhD, director of both the Human Neuroscience Institute and the Magnetic Resonance Imaging Facility at Cornell University, and her colleagues relied on the theory that non-criminals tend to avoid risk when they ’re likely going to win or achieve something, and they pursue risky options when they’re probably going to lose. Yet, based on their findings, criminals demonstrate opposite behavior, and tend to take riskier chances whe...
Source: radRounds - December 28, 2018 Category: Radiology Authors: Julie Morse Source Type: blogs
How to Use MRI for Measuring Liver Fat Levels in Patients Who Have Undergone Bariatric Surgery
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is an effective method for measuring liver fat levels in obese patients who undergone weight loss surgery, according to researchers from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health.In their studyrecently published inRadiology, the researchers set to out to determine how bariatric surgery influences changes in liver fat. Gastric bypass and sleeve gastrectomy have successfully helped obese patients lose weight. However, physicians are mostly in the dark about how these surgeries lower liver fat, since it ’s challenging to quantify liver fat non-invasively, and biopsie...
Source: radRounds - December 28, 2018 Category: Radiology Authors: Julie Morse Source Type: blogs
