Wednesday, April 23, 2014
Scottsdale Radiology Report, Winter 2014
Scottsdale Medical Imaging's Radiology Report keeps referring physicians informed of imaging techniques and benefits offered by the group. It is a printed publication available online in PDF form on the company's website.
In addition to radiologists providing 24/7 medical image reading coverage at Scottsdale Healthcare hospitals, Scottsdale Medical Imaging operates 14 state-of-the-art outpatient imaging centers including our Interventional Radiology Clinic which provides patients minimally invasive treatments for a broad range of health conditions, often on an outpatient basis.
In addition to radiologists providing 24/7 medical image reading coverage at Scottsdale Healthcare hospitals, Scottsdale Medical Imaging operates 14 state-of-the-art outpatient imaging centers including our Interventional Radiology Clinic which provides patients minimally invasive treatments for a broad range of health conditions, often on an outpatient basis.
Thursday, October 20, 2011
MRI Offers Powerful Research Tool for Assessing Lipid-Lowering Therapy
MRI scans might give researchers a powerful new tool for monitoring the effectiveness of lipid therapies for coronary or carotid artery disease, a new study shows.
Led by Dr. Xue-Qiao Zhao, of the University of Washington, Seattle, the researchers sought to determine if cholesterol-lowering drugs deplete plaque lipid content. Zhao told the Hub by e-mail that they used MRI as a tool to make direct assessment of the plaque tissue composition during treatment. The study appears in the October issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology: Cardiovascular Imaging. (Link to published site)
Thursday, October 13, 2011
MRI Mismatch May Identify Stroke Patients within Critical Treatment Window
The study, led by Dr. Götz Thomalla, of the Universitätsklinikum Hamburg-Eppendorf, Germany, adds to the growing evidence that diffusion-weighted (DWI) MRI and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) MRI may be useful for identifying patients who are within the 4.5 hour window when thrombolytic therapy is beneficial. The study is online ahead of print publication in October, The Lancet Neurology. (Link to published site) (Archive)
Friday, October 7, 2011
Breast Imaging Market Resumes Steady Growth
The market for breast imaging devices is expected to recover and continue growing at compound annual growth rate of 10 percent, reaching over $1 billion by 2017, a market analysis shows.
The report prepared by iData Research observes that a strong trend for faster, higher quality imaging has resulted in an almost entire replacement of older analog mammography with more advanced systems. In addition, emergence of breast-specific gamma imaging (BSGI) as a supplement to mammography and ultrasound is the fastest growing segment of the breast imaging market. Together they form the basis of a projected double-digit growth of the market. (Link to published site) (Archive copy)
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| Replacement of these older analog mammography machines in part has fueled growth of the breast imaging device market. (Photo courtesy of National Institutes of Health) |
The report prepared by iData Research observes that a strong trend for faster, higher quality imaging has resulted in an almost entire replacement of older analog mammography with more advanced systems. In addition, emergence of breast-specific gamma imaging (BSGI) as a supplement to mammography and ultrasound is the fastest growing segment of the breast imaging market. Together they form the basis of a projected double-digit growth of the market. (Link to published site) (Archive copy)
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Telemedicine Is Cost Effective for Rural Stroke Patients
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Dr. Jana Wold, assistant professor of Neur-
ology consults with and emergency depart-
ment doctor at a rural hospital using the
telestroke technology. (Photo courtesy
University of Utah Health Care Stroke Center.)
|
Researchers at the University of Utah Health System in Salt Lake City, Utah in collaboration with researchers at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona, used a complex statistical model to compare the cost-effectiveness of stroke treatment using telestroke in rural emergency departments with stroke treatment provided in similar emergency departments without the 2-way audiovisual system. The study appears in the Sept. 20, 2011 journal Neurology. (Link to published site)
Friday, September 16, 2011
MRI Breast Cancer Screening In High-Risk Women Boosts Detection Rates
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| MRI shows known breast cancer on the left side of the image. (Image courtesy University of Washington Breast Center) |
Using MRI to screen women with a history of lobular carcinoma in situ (LCIS) improved the rate of cancer detection, a pair of new studies show.
LCIS is a non-invasive breast cancer that requires no immediate or active treatment, according to the American Cancer Society; however having LCIS increases the risk that these women will later develop a malignant tumor. Consequently these women are closely followed with yearly mammograms and a clinical breast exams.
Adding magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to screen for breast cancer is controversial. A 2007 European review of MRI with mammography for high-risk women found that MRI improved sensitivity to as high as 94 percent, but specificity with MRI was less consistent with a 3-5-fold higher risk of patient recall for false positive results. (Link to published site) (Archive copy)
LCIS is a non-invasive breast cancer that requires no immediate or active treatment, according to the American Cancer Society; however having LCIS increases the risk that these women will later develop a malignant tumor. Consequently these women are closely followed with yearly mammograms and a clinical breast exams.
Adding magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to screen for breast cancer is controversial. A 2007 European review of MRI with mammography for high-risk women found that MRI improved sensitivity to as high as 94 percent, but specificity with MRI was less consistent with a 3-5-fold higher risk of patient recall for false positive results. (Link to published site) (Archive copy)
Diabetes patients treated by pro-
viders using electronic health
records received better quality
of care and achieved better
intermediate outcomes than
patients treated by providers
using paper medical charts.
(File photo)
People treated for diabetes by providers using electronic health records (EHRs) were significantly more likely to achieve outcomes in line with diabetes care standards than patients whose doctors relied on paper records.
The study published in this week’s issue of the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that the federal investment inelectronic health records will likely produce benefits in both quality of care and better outcomes.
Led by Dr. Randall Cebul, professor of medicine at Case Western Reserve University, the study involved 27,207 adults withdiabetes in the Cleveland area. (Link to published site)
 |
Diabetes patients treated by pro-
viders using electronic health records received better quality of care and achieved better intermediate outcomes than
patients treated by providers
using paper medical charts. (File photo) |
People treated for diabetes by providers using electronic health records (EHRs) were significantly more likely to achieve outcomes in line with diabetes care standards than patients whose doctors relied on paper records.
The study published in this week’s issue of the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that the federal investment inelectronic health records will likely produce benefits in both quality of care and better outcomes.
Led by Dr. Randall Cebul, professor of medicine at Case Western Reserve University, the study involved 27,207 adults withdiabetes in the Cleveland area. (Link to published site)
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2011
MRI May Predict Survival After Neoadjuvant Therapy for Rectal Cancer
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| MRI of rectal cancer may be used to predict outcomes, new research shows. (Image by permission of Learn Colorectal Surgery.) |
The researchers led by Dr. Gina Brown, honorary senior lecturer in the Department of Radiology at the Royal Marsden Hospital in Sutton, UK, analyzed the results of a subgroup of the MERCURY trial to measure tumor shrinkage in 111 patients treated with chemotherapy, radiation or both before surgery. Brown told The Hub by e-mail that the difference in this study and previous research was that the radiologists in this study paid careful attention to circumferential resection margins (CRM) and fibrosis following treatment. (Link to published site)
Natural Language Search Tools Hold Promise for EHR-based Quality Improvement
(Archive copy)
MRI Of Vessel Wall Thickness Links Pericardial Fat With CVD…
FRIDAY, 19 AUGUST 2011
Using MRI to measure plaque in coronary arteries, researchers have determined that fat around the heart is a better predictor of atherosclerosis than BMI and waist circumference in asymptomatic men but not women. When the researchers made adjustments for BMI, waist circumference, C-reactive protein level and coronary artery calcium content, the relationship between pericardial fat and coronary atherosclerosis remained significant in men but not in women. ... READ MORE
Researchers report an important advance in developing an ultra-high speed, optical coherence tomography (OCT) system that one day may allow doctors to see just below the surface of some tissues with microscopic detail. The technology is aimed at detecting microscopic pre-cancerous changes in the esophagus or colon. Led by Dr. James Fujimoto, a professor of electrical engineering and computer science at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, the researchers ... READ MORE
(Archive copy)
Real World Study Questions Effectiveness of CAD Mammography
Computer-aided detection tools add to the cost of screening mammography for breast cancer but add little in terms of finding undetected harmful tumors, while increasing the number of false positives, a new study shows. … Read more
WEDNESDAY, JULY 27, 2011
Real World Study Questions Effectiveness of CAD Mammography
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| Radiologists use computer-aided tech- nology for a "second read" of screen- ing mammograms. (Photo courtesy of Wikipedia user Zackstarr) |
New Cardiac CT Technique Reduces Radiation Sevenfold in Children
THURSDAY, JULY 14, 2011
Stress Echocardiography Predictive of Heart Attack or Death in HIV PatientsFirst use of Metal Nanoparticles IDs Liver Cancer on …
Using metal nanoparticles for the first time as an imaging agent researchers have developed a new technique to detect heptocellular carcinoma at a much earlier, treatable stage than is currently available, a new study suggests. Heptocellular ... Read more 
For the first time, a screening program for lung cancer has produced a reduction in lung cancer deaths. The US National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) published data today showing that routine low-dose CT scans in heavy smokers reduced deaths by 20 ... Read moreArchive copy
CT Scanner Fears Stem from Errors not Dose Measures…
Growing scrutiny about the safety of CT scans has arisen in part out of widely publicized cases of excessive CT scanning, and of radiation over-exposure in CT scans, particularly CT perfusion scans for stroke, which have raised questions about CT ... Read more
Telemedicine Program Matches Outcomes of Specialty …
Remote patients and prison inmates treated for hepatitis C by primary care physicians with telemedicine help from a university specialty clinic achieved equal viral suppression as patients treated at the university clinic, a new study ... Read more Electrical Tomographic Imaging Produces First 3-D …
Using an entirely new tomographic imaging method called "functional electrical impedance tomography by evoked response," researchers have for the first time produced a 3-D movie of a brain as it loses consciousness. Led by Dr. Brian ... Read moreCT and MRI Utilization Varies According to Differences …
Stroke patients at a US hospital underwent more than twice as many magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies as similar patients treated in a Canadian hospital. At the same time, Canadian stroke patients underwent significantly more scans than U.S. ... Read moreU.S. Young Adults Already Benefiting from Healthcare …
Young adults between ages 19 and 29 are among the first U.S. groups to benefit from the Affordable Care Act, with more than 600,000 who were previously uninsured having obtained medical insurance coverage, a new report shows. The report entitled ... Read more PET Scans Can Speed Treatment For Multi-drug-Resistant TB…
PET scans can detect whether a standard drug regimen for a difficult-to-treat form of tuberculosis is working in HIV patients within four weeks – two to four weeks sooner than current tests. Early detection of such drug-resistant strains of TB is critical as it is fatal in most people if not treated aggressively. Researchers led by Dr. Mike Sathekge, head of the Department of Nuclear Medicine at Pretoria University, South Africa, say that the drug resistant strain ... Read more CT Angiography in Low-risk Patients Leads to More …
Undergoing a coronary CT angiography (CCTA) often leads to greater use of medications and significantly more additional testing including invasive catheterizations in low-risk patients compared to similar patients who did not undergo CT angiography, ... Read moreU.S. Health Law to Cut Costs by $120 Billion in Five …
Much of the heated debate over President Obama’s Affordable Care Act in 2009 centered on the question of how the plan would save money. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a report this past week showing how it will save ... Read more
Performing SPECT myocardial perfusion to image coronary arteries at half the usual radiation exposure yielded good or excellent images 95 percent of the time according to researchers in Israel. The study led by Dr. Nili Zafrir, of the Rabin Medical Center in Petah Tikva, Israel, used special imaging software to produce the enhanced images that were comparable to full-dose protocols. She presented her study results at the ICNC10 - Nuclear Cardiology and Cardiac CT ... Read more
Telemedicine may offer rural and remote patients access to specialists not available in their local hospital, but access to specialists in Intensive Care made little difference in mortality according to a meta-analysis of more than 40,000 critically ... Read more
Telemonitoring in ICU Reduces Mortality But Not …
Telemedicine may offer rural and remote patients access to specialists not available in their local hospital, but access to specialists in Intensive Care made little difference in mortality according to a meta-analysis of more than 40,000 critically ... Read more
MRI Shows Foot Fractures in Diabetes Patients often …
MRI studies of patients with type 2 diabetes are more likely to have a fracture of the cuboid bone than non-diabetic patients, and the fracture is often not found by conventional x-rays, a new study shows. In the study, the researchers compared MRI ... Read moreCT Imaging Boosts Diagnosis of Lung Clots without …
Multidetector CT imaging used for pulmonary angiography (CTPA) may be too much of a good thing. A new study shows that while CTPA has nearly doubled the number of people diagnosed with pulmonary embolisms, it has not resulted in a decrease in ... Read moreEarly HIE Initiatives Suggest Grants are Being Put to …
(Editorial) – It’s been a little more than a year since the U.S. Office of the National Coordinator announced the State Health Information Exchange (State HIE) Cooperative Agreement Program grants in March 2010. In total, 56 states, eligible territories, ... Read morePelvic CT Unneeded with CT Pulmonary Angiography…
CT imaging of the pelvis is unnecessary in patients undergoing CT imaging for a suspected pulmonary embolism and concomitant evaluation for venous thromboembolism a new study shows. The result could cut radiation exposure in people undergoing CT ... Read moreProtocol for MRIs with Contrast Dye Eliminates Serious …
A rare and serious condition that causes fibrosis of the skin, joints, eyes and internal organs, can be prevented by carefully restricting the use of a contrast dye commonly used in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a new study shows. Researchers ... Read moreU.S. Takes a ‘Whack-a-mole’ Approach to Healthcare …
(Editorial) – A bill re-introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives this past week seeks to limit so-called self-referrals by doctors who own or have financial interests in imaging services such as MRI, CT and PET. Introduced by Rep. Jackie Speier ... Read moreWomen Have Greater Risk Of Kidney Injury Resulting …
Women are 60 percent more likely than men to experience kidney damage from the dye used in x-ray angiograms to diagnose coronary artery disease a new study shows. The study, presented this week by Dr. Javier Neyra at the National Kidney ... Read more Telemedicine Can Deliver Cardiac Rehabilitation…
Conducting cardiac rehabilitation via telemedicine may be an effective alternative to conventional onsite programs in terms of risk reduction a small pilot study shows. The results for both the onsite and remote group of patients mirrored results ... Read moreEHR Incentive Program Off to a Muddy Start…
(Editorial) – April 18 marked the beginning of registration for the Medicare and Medicaid Electronic Health Record (EHR) Incentive Program. It effectively launches a monumental effort to transform the U.S. healthcare system from a disjointed, ... Read moreFirst Study to Show Research Meaningful Use from EMRs…
Data captured in electronic medical records (EMR) for routine clinical care as currently implemented is sufficient to conduct genome-wide association studies, according to the first study to look at EMR-based research. The study published today in ... Read moreSuccessful Uploads of DICOM Images Into PACS Cuts …
Patients transferred from emergency departments to a central medical center in Boston had a significant 17 percent decrease in subsequent imaging exams when their images on CD were successfully uploaded to the medical center’s PACS, or picture ... Read more U.S. Sticks to Complicated Road to Better Healthcare…
The proposed regulation governing the creation of Accountable Care Organizations (ACOs) was officially published in the US Federal Register on April 7. The Department of Health and Human Services released the 429-page proposed regulation for public ... Read moreFirst Use of Synchrotron Mammography Effective for …
In the first clinical trial using synchrotron radiation mammography researchers were nearly as accurate as needle biopsy in identifying breast cancer or ruling it out in cases where digital mammography was inconclusive, researchers in Italy ... Read more Improved MRI System May Make Therapy Available to More …
Using a new MRI device, surgeons are able to perform deep brain stimulation therapy for Parkinson’s patients in half the time needed for conventional surgery. The device may make the procedure more widely available for patients with severe ... Read moreCould Proposed Medicare Plan Price Seniors Out of …
How healthcare is paid for in the U.S. affects all health providers, and in some ways has a greater impact on radiology and imaging specialists, as the issue of unnecessary and high-cost tests has drawn a great deal of attention to these specialties ... Read moreOptimal Placement of Pacemaker Leads Using Speckle …
Placing pacemaker leads in the optimal area of the left ventricle using computer-enhanced echocardiography imaging produced a 50 percent lower combined rate of all-cause death and hospitalizations compared to patients with conventional lead ... Read moreImaging-Guided Catheter Valve Replacement Similar to …
An echocardiographic and fluoroscopic-guided catheter-based procedure is equal to conventional open-heart surgery, a new study shows, at least in terms of survival for replacement of aortic heart valves in elderly high-risk patients. This is the ... Read moreMeaningful Use Criteria Shouldn’t Lose Sight of …
While I haven’t been covering health IT issues for very long, it doesn’t take long to find out that one of the hottest topics in health IT today is Meaningful Use. Right near the top of the list of issues in any discussion of meaningful use is ... Read moreInterventional Radiology Treatment for Enlarged …
A minimally invasive interventional radiology treatment showed equal effectiveness as the current gold standard surgery for benign prostatic hyperplasia, or BPH, without the associated risks of sexual dysfunction, or incontinence, researchers ... Read moreNew Drug and Ultrasound-guided Injection Shrinks …
Combining a new drug target with an interventional radiology technique using ultrasound-guided injection of the drug directly into the tumor, reduced breast tumors in mice by as much as 90 percent and delayed metastasis, say researchers. Study ... Read moreInterventional Radiologists Ready for Launch into …
The Society of Interventional Radiology kicked off its weeklong 36th Annual Scientific meeting today, at McCormack Place, in Chicago. The meeting runs to March 31, 2011, and ... Read moreNanoparticles Make First Successful MRI-guided Drug …
Researchers in Montreal say they have accomplished the first delivery of a therapeutic agent to a specified location in a liver using nanoparticles and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) technology. In a proof-of-concept study, Pierre Pouponneau, a ... Read moreLow-Dose CT Angiography is as Safe and Accurate as …
Low-dose coronary angiography matched the sensitivity of catheter-based angiography, and is a potentially valid alternative to the gold-standard for triaging symptomatic patients suspeed of coronary artery disease (CAD), researchers say. Led by ... Read morePACS Replacement Study Shows Significant Market Up Tick…
A new industry study shows that 52 percent of the radiology picture archiving and communications systems (PACS) in use within hospitals today are more than five years old and 21 percent of U.S. Hospitals plan to replace their radiology PACS. The ... Read moreNew MRI Technique Produces Better Artery Assessment…
Non-radioaive elastin-specific MRI dye offers advantages over x-ray and angiography as well as intravascular ultrasound. A new, non-invasive magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) technique can quantify coronary artery disease in patients before they ... Read more
Wednesday, 02 March 2011
Higher Volume Alone Doesn’t Mean Better Mammography…
Performance more strongly linked to mix of screening and diagnostic radiology The old adage that practice makes perfect doesn’t quite tell the whole story, at least not in case of radiologists interpreting breast cancer mammograms say ... Read moreSebelius Hails Extraordinary Progress In EHR …
Calls on Health IT Professionals to advocate for continued progress Feb. 23, 2011 – The one area of U.S. healthcare reform that Democrats and Republicans agree on is that healthcare IT is critical to improving care, cutting paperwork, lowering ... Read more2011 Survey Shows Big Gains for Informatics Nurses…
Results announced at HIMSS 2011 conference When it comes to improving quality of care and process efficiency, it has long been recognized that nurse informaticists are key players in healthcare IT implementation. With the growing ... Read moreHealthcare IT Professionals Kick Off Their Biggest …
More than 30,000 IT professionals to gather in Orlando for HIMSS11 The Healthcare Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS) 2011 Conference kicks off on Feb. 20th at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL. and promises to be the ... Read moreCalcium Scoring Adds Little Prognostic Value To Ct Angiography…
Coronary artery calcium (CAC) scoring may no longer be needed for predicting major adverse cardiac events (MACEs) when a 64-section CT angiography is performed, researchers say. Led by Dr. Hyuk-Jae Chang, of the Division of Cardiology Yonsei University College of Medicine in Seoul, the researchers evaluated the prognostic value of CT angiography alone and with coronary artery calcium scoring for predicting major adverse cardiac events (MACEs) including cardiac death or ... Read moreRoutine Preoperative MRI Boosts Tumor Detection…
Routine MRI before surgery in women newly diagnosed with breast cancer turned up a significant number of undetected tumors, researchers say. Led by Dr. Robert Gutierrez, assistant professor in the Department of Radiology at the University of ... Read moreUltrasound Elastography Should Be Included In Biopsy …
Elastography imaging performed during breast ultrasound of suspicious breast lesions ought to be used to help determine which lumps need biopsy, Japanese researchers say. The researchers, led by Dr. Hiroko Satake, of Nagoya University School of ... Read moreCDS success may lie in implementation…
Scope and method of implementation plays a critical role in successful implementation of a CDS systems. If you look at three studies published last week regarding the effectiveness of Clinical Decision Support you might question the wisdom of the ... Read moreCTA and MRA equally accurate for coronary imaging…
First dire comparison of newer imaging modalities shows equal accuracy in diagnosing coronary artery stenosis. Newer MRI and -angiography proved nearly equal in identifying significant stenosis, and were equally accurate in predicting the need for ... Read moreCDS effective for reducing costs when targeted at …
Using clinical decision support for ordering specific kinds of imaging studies results in substantial reductions in inappropriate use of advanced imaging tests a new study shows. Led by Dr. C. Craig Blackmore, a radiologist at Seattle’s Virginia ... Read moreNew Mexico Software Launches Full-Function iPad App …
It is not often a company executive has the chance to conduct a real-life test of his company’s products, but New Mexico Software CEO Richard Govatski did just that over this past holiday season. Having slipped getting into his hot tub he twisted ... Read moreDensity of Mammographic Masses are a Significant …
High-density masses shown on mammograms were more than three times as likely to be malignant as low-density masses, say researchers. Led by Dr. Ryan Woods, now a radiology resident at Johns Hopkins, researchers at the University of Wisconsin ... Read more
