State of the RT profession more palpable than ever
As the American Society of Radiologic Technologists (ASRT) prepares to announce changes to its professional pathways and practice standards at its June meeting in Orlando, FL, ASRT Board President Brandon Smith said the state of the field is "more palpable than ever." An ASRT video published in March began setting the stage for what is to come from the collective professional trust of 18 radiologic science organizations. Together, they form the Consensus Committee on the Future of Medical Imaging and Radiation Therapy. With industry guidance on professional-entry pathways coming soon, the Consensus Committee's findings...
Source: AuntMinnie.com Headlines - April 24, 2024 Category: Radiology Authors: Liz Carey Tags: Jobs Market Analysis Associations Careers Radiologic Technologist Source Type: news
PET/CT superior to MRI for detecting spinal bone metastases
Gallium-68 (Ga-68) DOTATATE PET/CT appears to be the best approach for detecting spinal bone metastases in patients with certain neuroendocrine tumors, according to researchers at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Bethesda, MD.
In a study of patients with pheochromocytomas and paragangliomas (PPGLs), the group found the approach was superior to F-18 FDG-PET/CT, MRI of the spine, whole-body CT, and whole-body MRI. The finding is significant regarding efforts to prevent serious complications in these patients, noted lead author Abhishek Jha, MD, and colleagues.
“Bone metastases weaken and destroy skeletal tissue...
Source: AuntMinnie.com Headlines - April 23, 2024 Category: Radiology Authors: Will Morton Tags: Molecular Imaging Radiation Oncology Source Type: news
SNMMI declares win in Washington, DC
The Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) has declared an advocacy win, with language it crafted to promote nuclear medicine research included in the recently approved 2024 Defense Appropriations Act.
“In 2023, SNMMI worked closely with Congress for legislative language that increases recognition for the value of diagnostic and therapeutic nuclear medicine research in federal agencies,” the SNMMI said, in a news release.
The legislative language encourages the director of the Department of Defense’s Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs (CDMRP) to emphasize nuclear medicine to furth...
Source: AuntMinnie.com Headlines - April 16, 2024 Category: Radiology Authors: AuntMinnie.com staff writers Tags: Industry News Source Type: news
IMV: Nuclear medicine procedure volumes decrease
Davin Korstjens of IMV Medical Information Division.Total nuclear medicine patient study volumes decreased by 5.7% between 2021 and 2023, with a 10.7% decrease in hospital-based studies and a 2.5% increase in nonhospital-based studies, according to the newly published IMV 2024 NM Market Outlook Report.
Two-year compound annual growth rates (CAGR) between 2021 and 2023 show an overall average 2.9% decrease in total procedures each year, with hospital-based procedures declining by 5.5% and non-hospital procedures increasing by 1.2%. Specifically considering cardiovascular nuclear medicine procedures, total procedures have d...
Source: AuntMinnie.com Headlines - April 15, 2024 Category: Radiology Authors: Davin Korstjens Tags: Nuclear Radiology Source Type: news
FAPI-PET shows promise in patients with lung cancer
FAPI-PET imaging could emerge as a new tool for assessing patients with single pulmonary tumors, especially in those with negative results on other scans, according to a study published April 11 in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine.
A group at University Hospital Heidelberg in Germany assessed the approach in 19 patients referred by their treating physicians because of inconclusive lung cancer findings on CT and F-18 FDG-PET. FAPI-PET either confirmed or ruled out the disease in all cases, the group found.
“Our results suggest that supplemental Ga-68 FAPI-46 PET may improve the noninvasive assessment of primary pulmonary...
Source: AuntMinnie.com Headlines - April 15, 2024 Category: Radiology Authors: Will Morton Tags: Molecular Imaging Source Type: news
Can AI improve sustainability in nuclear medicine?
Nuclear medicine experts support the use of AI to improve sustainability of practices in the field, yet said implementation will require careful consideration of the technology’s benefits and detriments, according to an article published April 6 in Radiography.
Lead author Geoff Currie, PhD, of Charles Sturt University in New South Wales, Australia, and U.S. colleagues, discussed the potential for AI across what they describe as the “five pillars” of sustainability in nuclear medicine (social, human, economic, ecological, and environmental) and noted its benefits and threats in each pillar.
“AI, digital twins, an...
Source: AuntMinnie.com Headlines - April 9, 2024 Category: Radiology Tags: Nuclear Medicine Artificial Intelligence Source Type: news
PET/MRI detects brain injury in pediatric cancer survivors
PET/MRI could be a tool for diagnosing brain injury in young cancer survivors due to high-dose methotrexate treatment, according to pediatric radiologists at Stanford University in Stanford, CA.
In a pilot study in 10 children and young adults, F-18 FDG-PET/MRI detected brain injury based on reductions in glucose metabolism and blood flow in specific brain areas. The imaging findings could facilitate earlier treatments in these patients, noted lead author Lucia Baratto, MD, and colleagues.
“Using F-18 FDG-PET/MRI for assessing the cerebral impact of methotrexate therapy in pediatric cancer survivors holds the potential...
Source: AuntMinnie.com Headlines - April 8, 2024 Category: Radiology Authors: Will Morton Tags: Molecular Imaging Source Type: news
The rise of theranostics: Part 2 -- Moving into communities
A decade ago, only a few radiopharmaceutical agents were used to help treat cancer patients. That has changed and the field of theranostics is expanding rapidly in various ways, as described in part 1 of AuntMinnie.com's series on the rise of theranostics.
However, few freestanding theranostics centers exist today. Even if some private urology, radiation oncology practices, or radiologist groups are building the ability to perform theranostics, experts are cautious about patient management, radiation safety, and the risk of unnecessary imaging. They're also mindful of the multiple dedicated teams required to build a thera...
Source: AuntMinnie.com Headlines - April 4, 2024 Category: Radiology Authors: Liz Carey Tags: Practice Management Radiation Oncology/Therapy Nuclear Medicine Medicolegal Genitourinary Radiology Source Type: news
SNMMI to tackle Capitol Hill
The Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) will host its annual Hill Day on 5 in Washington, DC, with 65 members, patients, and industry colleagues set to lobby on key issues in the field.
On the agenda are discussions concerning the Nuclear Medicine Clarification Act of 2023 (H.R. 6815), which was introduced in the House on January 5. The legislation would direct the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to revise its regulations on event reporting “to protect patients from unintended exposure to radiation during nuclear medicine procedures,” the SNMMI said in a recent announcement.
“The SNMMI i...
Source: AuntMinnie.com Headlines - April 3, 2024 Category: Radiology Authors: AuntMinnie.com staff writers Tags: Industry News Nuclear Medicine Source Type: news
SPECT/CT algorithm predicts heart failure hospitalizations
This study represents the first evidence, to our knowledge, demonstrating that integrating SPECT MPI into an AI-based risk assessment algorithm significantly improves the prediction of hospitalizations due to [heart failure],” the group wrote. The research was published March 28 in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine.Heart failure is a major cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States and worldwide, with prevalence projected to increase by almost 50% from 2012 to 2030, the authors wrote. They noted that identifying patients who are at risk for heart failure exacerbation can open opportunities for prevention strateg...
Source: AuntMinnie.com Headlines - April 3, 2024 Category: Radiology Authors: Will Morton Tags: Molecular Imaging Artificial Intelligence Source Type: news
Study finds decreases in imaging's share of all healthcare spending
Although medical imaging has frequently been considered a major culprit behind the growth of healthcare spending in the U.S., its share among employer-insured individuals actually decreased between 2010 and 2021, researchers have reported.
In fact, imaging's part fell from 10.5% to 8.9% during the decade, according to a team led by first author Michal Horný of Emory University School of Medicine and senior author Richard Duszak, MD, of the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson. What's more, "nominal spending" (i.e., the sum of payments from health plans and patients to health care providers for imaging and ...
Source: AuntMinnie.com Headlines - March 29, 2024 Category: Radiology Authors: Kate Madden Yee Tags: Economics Source Type: news
How are radiology practices impacted by annual changes to the MPFS?
Conclusion
Understanding the annual changes in Medicare’s fee schedules is useful when analyzing areas where the practice’s revenue might be increasing or decreasing. Many commercial payers base their fees on the Medicare table, although not all of them make the same changes, or at the same time, as Medicare does. The same volume-weighted analysis technique can be applied to commercial fee schedules, as well.
Healthcare Administrative Partners will continue to keep you abreast of the Medicare payment system.
Sandy Coffta is vice president of client services at Healthcare Administrative Partners.
The comments and...
Source: AuntMinnie.com Headlines - March 29, 2024 Category: Radiology Authors: Sandy Coffta Tags: Economics Source Type: news
PET/MRI may improve diagnosis of Cushing disease
PET/MRI could become the diagnostic method of choice over MRI alone for identifying small pituitary tumors associated with Cushing disease, according to a study published March 21 in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine.
In patients diagnosed with the disease yet who had inconclusive MRI results, PET/MRI was positive in 100% of cases, noted lead author Ilanah Pruis, a doctoral student at Erasmus University Medical Center in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
“This multimodal imaging technique provides a welcome improvement for diagnosis, planning of surgery, and clinical outcome in patients with Cushing disease,” the authors wrote.
...
Source: AuntMinnie.com Headlines - March 29, 2024 Category: Radiology Authors: Will Morton Tags: Molecular Imaging Source Type: news
The rise of theranostics: Part 1 -- Gaining momentum
Since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) approvals of radiopharmaceuticals for neuroendocrine tumors and then for prostate cancer, theranostics has picked up momentum in clinical practice, propelled by encouraging research.Theranostics pairs diagnostic biomarkers that can be visualized on nuclear medicine imaging with therapeutic agents that share a specific target in diseased cells or tissues. After the therapeutic agent binds to the cancer cells, the tumors are treated in such a way that aims to prevent collateral damage to healthy cells and improve overall outcomes.Theranostics isn’t new; nuclear medicine d...
Source: AuntMinnie.com Headlines - March 26, 2024 Category: Radiology Authors: Liz Carey Tags: Practice Management Molecular Imaging Radiation Oncology/Therapy Nuclear Medicine Source Type: news
Can cardiac PET/CT ‘revolutionize’ heart care?
PET/CT is poised to become a key tool for imaging the coronary arteries – a clinical imaging exam that can reveal early warning signs of fatal conditions when patients present with symptoms of chest pain, experts say.
The “hybrid” scan – which combines molecular PET and anatomical CT images – may have its highest potential in visualizing early signs of so-called “perfusion deficits” (regions of obstructed blood flow), said Marcelo Di Carli, MD, a professor of radiology and medicine at Harvard Medical School, in a recent interview with AuntMinnie.com.
“[PET/CT] helps us differentiate a patient who has ches...
Source: AuntMinnie.com Headlines - March 25, 2024 Category: Radiology Authors: Will Morton Tags: Clinical News Subspecialties Molecular Imaging Cardiovascular Radiology Source Type: news
