Doctors may be fined for over-doing scans
Doctors who frequently recommend inappropriate medical imaging may be financially penalised.
PET/CT
Radiation dose-reduction strategies
Depending on the institution, CT examination doses can vary dramatically by a factor of ten, said Professor John Damilakis, PhD, associate professor at the University of Crete, Iraklion, ahead of the session. The difference is related principally to variations in the examination technique, as the protocol or the imaging system itself determines the level of radiation.
EAU hot topic: Imaging in urological oncology today
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…
GE's new Discovery PET/CT 600 scanners go global
GE Healthcare's first Discovery PET/CT 600-series scanners are being installed in a number of leading clinics around the world. "This first set of installations is a big step forward in the diagnosis and monitoring of disease", said Terri Bresenham, newly appointed vice- president and general manager of GE Healthcare's global Molecular Imaging business.
Biograph mCT
At Medica 2008, Siemens introduced its latest generation PET-CT, the Biograph mCT. During a European Hospital interview, Markus Lusser (ML), worldwide Head of Distribution and Marketing for Molecular Imaging at Siemens, outlined the advantages of the new hybrid system, which aims to extend the spectrum of medical imaging to 'molecular computed tomography'
GE Healthcare Launches Discovery PET/CT 600
GE Healthcare showcases its intelligence in PET/CT technology by introducing the latest addition to its PET/CT family, the Discovery PET/CT 600 at the 94th annual Radiological Society of North America annual in Chicago.
New concepts for dose reduction in the diagnosis of coronary heart disease with CT
Professor Stefan Schönberg of the Institute of Clinical Radiology and Nuclear Medicine (IKRN), University Hospital Mannheim, Medical Faculty of Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, invited colleagues from Mannheim and the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BFS) in Neuherberg for a round-table discussion on: Non-invasive multidetector coronary CT angiography (CTA) has become an established…
CALDose_X: Software to support patient-specific dosimetry
A team of researchers from Brazil recently published details of a free-to-air software called CALDose_X which is being billed as a milestone towards the goal of patient-specific dosimetry in X-ray diagnosis.
Will there be a lack of radiopharmaceuticals?
The shortage of radiopharmaceuticals due to the planned shutdown of some nuclear reactors will now be discussed by the European Medicines Agency (EMEA). The European Commission (DG Enterprise and Industry) asked EMEA to analyse the extend and to develop potential approaches to address any problems.
Research to prolong the retention time in the blood
The University of Urbino and Philips Research will jointly research the encapsulation of magnetic nanoparticle contrast agents inside living blood cells to prolong the retention time of these agents in the blood. Injected as free particles, magnetic nanoparticle contrast agents are quickly excreted from the blood via the patient's liver, which limits their application.
PET scans save colorectal cancer patients' lives
Colorectal cancer is one of the most common cancers to cause death. A PET scan improves prognosis and changes management of recurrent colorectal cancer in more than half of patients according to a latest study from Australia. Therefore, the data suggest to conduct nuclear imaging in cancer treatment more often.
Seasonal mood changes visualised by PET
Seasons change - and so does our mood. When days become shorter and hours of sunlight become fewer some of us suffer from seasonal depression. Brain scans taken at different times of the year brings it to light: sun makes happy.…
New Molecular Imaging Techniques Aim at Detection of Earliest Steps of Disease Development
An emerging discipline of noninvasive cardiac imaging, molecular imaging, has evolved constantly in the last few years and is increasingly being translated from the preclinical to the clinical level. Molecular imaging allows for unique insights into specific disease mechanisms and holds great promise to change the practice of cardiovascular medicine by facilitating early disease detection,…
Molecular imaging software tailors therapy planning and response monitoring
Atlanta-based Velocity Medical Solutions launched VelocityAI, its new molecular imaging software, at the 2008 American Association of Physicists Medicine (AAPM) in July.
Finding prostate cancer metastates in lymph nodes early
With the help of an engineered common cold virus spreadings of prostate cancer in the pelvic lymph nodes can be visualised with a PET scanner. It is now possible to treat the cancer in an early stage. But the developers of the virus from UCLA's Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center see a chance to even use it as a treatment option.
OSIRIX
Designed by a team of radiologists, the latest release of OsiriX 3.0.1 on the Mac Pro 8-core was demonstrated for the first time at the recent European Congress of Radiology (ECR). OsiriX - a powerful image processing software dedicated to DICOM images (.dcm / DCM extension) produced by imaging equipment (MRI, CT, PET, PET-CT etc.) and confocal microscopy (LSM and BioRAD-PIC format) - a…
1st class though 2nd hand
The purchasing and distribution of refurbished equipment was left to specialist retailers for years, until leading manufacturers - for reasons of quality as well as image - established themselves in this business sector. The difference is that these manufacturers not only sell used equipment but also extensively refurbished systems.
MR diffusion and perfusion
Can they replace PET? By Marco Essig MD, Professor of Radiology at the German Cancer Research Centre, outlines relevant presentations at the ECR.
MR contrast agents: A step up from compartmental to targeted imaging
Andrea Martini and Joerg Larsen, of the Institute for Roentgendiagnostics, Braunschweig Teaching Hospitals, Germany, discuss nanotechnology, hybrid imaging and the quest for a personalised medicine.
A novel PET tracer for early detection of Alzheimers
Amyloidb (Ab) plaque formation is a hallmark of Alzheimers disease (AD) and precedes the onset of dementia. Australian researchers reported the first data on the validity in humans of a new PET tracer binding to Ab. Their data suggest that 18F-BAY94-9172 of Bayer Schering Pharma AG can reliably detect Ab deposition and thereby aid early diagnosis, differential diagnosis, and therapeutic…
PET-CT for radiation therapy planning:
For individualised radiotherapy, high-precision delineation and characterisation of the tumour is critical. If highest radiation doses are delivered in a targeted fashion, the chance of tumour cell kill increases and tumour control probability is enhanced.
Diagnostic accuracy of PET and CT in early stage lung cancer
A multi-institutional study recently compared whether positron emission tomography (PET) or computed tomography (CT) performs more efficient in the characterization of solitary lung nodules (SPNs). Previously performed studies were either limited by small sample sizes or carried out more than a decade ago with outdated technology and methods.
The new IMPAX Solution Suite
Agfa Healthcare's new IMPAX solution suites offer PACS and RIS to cover hospital data handling and cardiovascular, cardiology, orthopaedics, mammography and radiology data.
PET/CT and children
PET/CT imaging exhibits significantly higher sensitivity, specificity and accuracy than conventional imaging when it comes to detecting malignant tumours in children, according to research published in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine (12/07).
4-D imaging and Bio-System-Radiology
The Virtual Physiological Human By Hans-Ulrich Kauczor MD PhD, Director and Chairman of Radiology at Heidleburg University Clinic, and radiologists Frederik Giesel MD MBA and Hendrik von Tengg-Kobligk MD of the German Cancer Research Centre in Heidleburg, Germany.
