For decades, non-invasive cardiac assessment has been at the center of interest. Non-invasive imaging modalities, such as MSCT, MRI, SPECT, PET, and echocardiography, provide valuable cardiac information, and all have been used to measure cardiac morphology, function, perfusion, viability of myocardium, and coronary anatomy for clinical management and research. The last decade brought major…
Among invasive cardiac catheterization diagnostic methods selective coronary angiography is the gold standard for directly visualizing the coronary system. It allows a definitive and precise diagnosis of coronary heart disease and thus serves as the rational basis for further revascularization procedures.
In the last 25 years, fetal echocardiography has become established as an integral component of prenatal medicine. Structural heart defects are found in approx. 0.8% of all foetuses. They are consequently comparatively frequent and head the list of isolated fetal organ malformations. Routine screening of the four-chamber view and the outflow tract allows the experienced investigator to detect…
Ultrasound examination of the renal tract is one of the primary imaging methods to verify the presence of urinary obstruction, calculi, neoplasms, and other focal findings. This short article summarises important aspects of sonography for some typical renal abnormalities without claiming to be a comprehensive treatment. Since sonography is frequently nonspecific, clinical laboratory findings are…
In 1981 the company embarked on a path of very rapid growth. Already in the first year of operation 30 million euro were realized mainly with ultrasound equipment. At that time, 150 people were working for the company which was active in several European countries.
The Aquilion LB (Large Bore) sets yet another milestone in the success story of computed tomography, providing a new dimension in diagnostics and treatment.
In Germany, a comprehensive reimbursement system designed around Diagnosis Related Groups (DRGs) was introduced following the Health Reform Act of 2000. The previous method of payment, wherein the number of treatment days was multiplied by the amount allowed per treatment day, was discarded. The new DRG-based payment system requires the optimization of patient treatment, from admission to…
Excluding pulmonary coin lesions potentially caused by metastasis of extrathoracic malignant tumours or as the principal indication of early lung carcinomas is one of the most frequent tasks in plain film imaging and computed tomography examination of the thorax.
In the past, native computed tomography of the neurocranium (CCT) was often the only procedure to diagnose a stroke. Technical limitations of previous generations of scanners made their use impractical for complementary methods of visualising blood vessels or for perfusion imaging. With the introduction of multi-slice spiral CT these technical limitations disappeared and both perfusion CT (PCT)…
Diagnostic imaging is of particular value in investigating ischaemic cerebrovascular accidents since, due to the rapid progression of cell destruction in the region of the cerebral infarction, the radiologist is faced with urgent questions regarding a possible procedure. These questions may be answered particularly well using computed tomography (CT). The following article provides an overview…
CT assisted dynamic perfusion imaging (perfusion CT, PCT) has evolved in recent years with the introduction of the multi-slice spiral technique, the use of study protocols with lower injection rates and improved evaluation programmes.
Dyssynchrony Imaging (DI), Toshiba's novel Doppler technology, is used as a quantitative clinical tool for rapid assessment of dyssynchrony in patients with suspected myomechanical dysfunction. From the parasternal short axis view, DI is applied by Toshiba's exclusive “angle-correction” technology and in apical views by standard Doppler imaging. Thus, DI permits evaluation of virtually all…
The goal in cardiac computed tomography is to obtain motion-free images of the beating heart. A newly launched software from Toshiba called PhaseXact introduces advanced features to reach this goal fully automatically.
The University Medical Center Hamburg Eppendorf (UKE) is currently undergoing a clinical evaluation with the first MRI/PET image software tool for the diagnosis of neurodegenerative diseases that should support clinicians in diagnosing the onset and type of diseases as early as possible.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) as a non-invasive diagnostic method has been evolving into an attractive alternative to methods associated with radiation exposure.
The department of Radiology at the LMU Munich optimizes the care of patients with LightSpeed VCT, a 64-multislice CT from GE Healthcare. The high-tech CT is perfectly suited for patients suffering from multiple trauma, who highly benefit from fast and significant CT-diagnostic.
The eleganza XC, launched at MEDICA 2006, is the most recent addition to the `eleganza´ range produced by Wissner-Bosserhoff.
Emphasis on advances in the use of computer assisted radiology and surgery (CARS) technologies in clinical diagnoses and therapies, will herald the opening of CARS this year.
Natural orifice transluminal endoscopic surgery (NOTES - a technique that could revolutionize minimally invasive surgery (MIS) by eliminating abdominal incisions - is slowly shifting from research on animal models to human patients.
In molecular medicine - and particularly in oncology - Siemens Medical Solutions is concentrating on further development of the FDG (fluorodeoxyglucose) biomarker to improve identification of certain tumours.
Since April, there's been a new man at GE Healthcare´s global MRI division; its new Vice President and General Manager is James E Davis. Meike Lerner caught up with him during the International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine Congress, held recently in Berlin
Whilst Siemens AG in Germany is going through turbulent times, the medical branch of the business remains on steady ground.
Rapid diagnosis and treatment are the keys to breast cancer survival - and an elastogram mammography continues to play a central role in breast cancer detection according to research presented recently in Chicago, at the 43rd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO), writes Ian Mason.
When equally compressed, the tissue and structure of tumours and inflammations are harder than normal tissue. Hitachi explains that, taking advantage of these alterations, the sono-elastography technique conducts real-time measurements of elasticity ratios during minor pressure to the breast, using conventional ultrasound transducers.