When planning radiotherapy the combination of positron emission tomography (PET) and Computed tomography (CT) can provide a better outcome than CT alone. Michael Krassnitzer asked Terri Bresenham MSc BSc, Vice President for Molecular Imaging at GE Healthcare, for her views on the value of PET/CT, the new EANM guidelines, novel tracers and the future of other hybrid imaging technologies.
High resolution radionuclide imaging is a technique increasingly used to detect breast cancers and has already been shown to offer improved diagnosis in many clinical situations. The technique, which will be discussed at RSNA 2010 (28 November to 3 December, Chicago) , is also allowing clinicians to detect previously unknown areas of breast cancer in women with newly-diagnosed disease.
Molecular imaging, the discipline that unites molecular biology and in vivo imaging technologies to assess biological activity in the body, promises to open up ‘…an entire new universe,’ declared Dr Ralph Weissleder, of the Centre for Molecular Imaging Research at Massachusetts General Hospital, USA, in the journal Radiology. That was just one decade ago. And he was right. It has indeed…
Siemens Healthcare was presenting its latest solutions for the early detection and treatment of breast cancer at the German Radiology Congress in Berlin. These Breast Care Solutions include a variety of imaging procedures, such as ultrasound, mammography, and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), supplemented by IT and laboratory diagnostic solutions. Siemens places special focus on the third…
In the current economic environment the introduction of novel imaging approaches and their reimbursement by payers is becoming increasingly difficult. Historically, this denotes a significant change, in that many currently accepted routine tests or interventions were accepted based on common sense, convincing experience or rapid adoption into clinical routine without much scrutiny.
Over the past decades new imaging technologies have substantially broadened the range of imaging applications in clinical medicine. For years anatomical imaging modalities, such as X-ray and CT, reveal high-resolution information of organs and tissues over extended imaging ranges. Lately, however, the idea of functional imaging e.g. the visualisation of physiology in vivo gains importance.
While biomarkers are acknowledged as useful tools in the early assessment of patient response to treatment, radiologists are less clear on how they can be applied in clinical practice. The ECR session Biomarkers: new word, new world, new work? explored a number of new applications for biomarkers with senior radiologists discussing their relevance in different areas.
Molecular imaging, the discipline that unites molecular biology and in vivo imaging technologies to assess biological activity in the body, promises to open up ‘…an entire new universe,’ declared Dr Ralph Weissleder, of the Centre for Molecular Imaging Research at Massachusetts General Hospital, USA, in the journal Radiology. That was just one decade ago. And he was right. It has indeed…
Clinicians gathering in Brussels for the first-ever conference on Molecular Imaging in Radiation Oncology (MIRO), from 18-20 March, will take the first steps toward setting practice guidelines for using PET scans to target radiotherapy, a task that will culminate with publication of these recommendations in September.
Molecular imaging, a new science that emerged from molecular biology, is unlike traditional imaging. Whilst the latter can, for example, show the differences in proton density or water content on MRI, molecular imaging uses biomarkers (probes) that interact selectively with molecules within an area and then generate the image according to fine molecular alterations occurring inside (e.g. within a…
A novel molecular imaging technology aimed at rapid diagnosis of cell death in organs such as the brain and heart has been licensed by The Medical College of Wisconsin, USA, to GE Healthcare. The method uses imaging probes with a radiopharmaceutical compound. Under the license GE will further evaluate and develop the technology and will have an option to commercialize it.
At RSNA 2009, GE Healthcare is presenting a big basket filled with trends and innovations for the radiology department:
'Personalized medicine' -- where therapy is designed for the individual patient -- is a popular concept in healthcare today, but according to a new market research report, it will be driven by the imaging industry, especially the new molecular technologies. If images can reveal not just the heightened metabolic activity characteristic of tumors but the tumors' chemical signatures, physicians can…
Chirurgen an der Charité haben in kolorektalem Tumorgewebe eine spezifische Anhäufung von Protoporphyrin-IX (PpIX), einem rot-fluoreszierenden Vorläufermolekül des Häms beobachtet. Wir konnten zeigen, dass diese Anhäufung von PpIX darauf zurückzuführen ist, dass das Enzym, das PpIX normalerweise in Häm überführt, die sogenannte…
This year's AACC, held in conjunction with the Canadian Society for Clinical Chemists, and the Annual Meeting of the American Society for Clinical Laboratory Science, featured around 200 educational sessions and drew in over 18,000 delegates and exhibitors from almost 100 countries.
Breast-specific gamma imaging (BSGI) is a promising new technology designed to supplement mammography and breast ultrasound examinations when these show suspicious findings. By helping to detect early stage breast cancer it may reduce significantly the number of negative biopsies performed. Dilon Technologies (Newport News, Virginia), pioneer of this technology, received the CE Mark to sell its…
"Radiologists often see cancer patients over a period of years and continuously deliver important information for the treatment process," says Claus D. Claussen MD, Professor of Radiology and Director of the Clinic for Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology at the University Hospital in Tübingen and President of the 90th German Radiology Congress. For the first time in the history of this…
The clear focus of the numerous lectures given at the International MRI Symposium was on cardiac imaging.
17-21 March Stockholm Sweden
Basic research and clinical patient care became separate disciplines in the 70s and 80s.
Big discussions are expected at the upcoming European Association of Urology (EAU) Congress in Stockholm* when urologist Dr Jochen Walz (right), of the Urological Department at the Institute Paoli-Calmettes, Marseilles, France, presents the forum: Imaging in Europe: Who, where, what, how many! and M F Coelho, of the European Society of Urological Imaging (ESUI) describes the Clinical utility of…
Carestream Health, Inc., and National Digital Medical Archive, Inc., (NDMA), are collaborating on product integration initiatives designed to support the expansion of NDMA's national imaging network and improve customer access to its analytics and data management services.
Alsace BioValley Competitivity Pole is partnering GE Healthcare in a feasibility study of the creation of a technology platform in various fields of molecular imaging to focus on research and translational medicine.
The American Association for Clinical Chemistry (AACC) and the Australasian Association of Clinical Biochemists (AACB) are joining together for the second time for a conference on major changes facing laboratorians in coming years, under the banner Laboratory Medicine - Into the Future.
Siemens Healthcare introduces molecular CT, a new concept in integrated imaging that provides a premium imaging platform, and is a practical solution for today's shrinking healthcare budget.