A strong sense of purpose and high level of confidence encompasses the mindset of the American Society of Radiologic Technologists’ (ASRT) government relations department. This attitude has been especially important this year as the department has been extremely busy providing legislative counsel to states pursuing radiologic technology licensure and working the halls of Congress to push for reimbursement for radiologist assistant (RA) services. It also continues to seek basic minimum education standards for radiologic technologists who perform services for patients within the Medicare framework.
Akron General Health System, found within the heart of Ohio, has implemented the RayStation treatment planning system from RaySearch Laboratories, AB. This case study describes how they are using Python scripting to streamline their workflow while providing continuity during the planning process. The treatment planning system supports the integration of automated scripts that allows users to interact with objects in the patient database and present them or analyze them to develop custom output and reports. Jeremy Donaghue, chief physicist, shares three scripts that have been clinically implemented, having a positive impact on their facility.
Arc-based radiation therapy continues to gain ground as physicians opt for treatment options that not only are more precisely tailored to each tumor site, but also delivered in fewer visits, which is significantly more convenient for both patients and cancer centers. With a variety of radiation therapy techniques available, from intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) and whole-body irradiation (WBI) to proton therapy and stereotactic body radiation therapy (SBRT), cancer centers around the country are now, more than ever, able to offer patients a more effective solution for targeting and treating their diseases.
eHealth Saskatchewan plays a vital role in providing IT services to patients, health care providers, and partners such ...
September 3, 2014 — IBA (Ion Beam Applications SA) announced that Willis-Knighton Cancer Center in Shreveport, La., and IBA have completed acceptance testing of the first ProteusONE system ahead of schedule, opening the way to final commissioning and patient treatment with the most advanced compact image-guided IMPT (intensity-modulated proton therapy) solution.
A growing volume and variety of patient information created a big challenge for leaders at CHRISTUS Health. “We needed to make patient information readily available to clinicians while also managing it within a long-term storage solution outside the departmental picture archiving and communication system (PACS),” said Lynn Gibson, vice president and CTO at CHRISTUS.
New research published in the June issue of Global Heart, the journal of the World Heart Federation, shows that there are no significant differences in the incidence or severity of atherosclerotic disease (narrowing of the arteries with fatty deposits) between ancient and modern people, proving that atherosclerosis is not just a disease of modern times. The journal included three articles [1,2,3] on the finding of the Horus study, which used computed tomography (CT) scans from ancient mummies to compare arterial calcification caused by Horus atherosclerosis.
While most women understand the importance of health screenings, an estimated 72 million have missed or postponed a ...
Innovation was the theme at the recent 2014 annual meeting of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) in Austin. Its education and professional programs offered attendees the opportunity to gain practical knowledge on emerging technical and professional issues, and the scientific program featured the latest research on the physics of medical imaging and radiation therapy.
September 3, 2014 — Teleflex announced a newly published clinical study demonstrating the accuracy of the Arrow VPS G4 vascular positioning system, with placements of peripherally inserted central catheters (PICCs), can eliminate the use of confirmatory chest X-rays.
September 3, 2014 — GE Healthcare announced commercial availability in the United States for its new Logiq e ultrasound system. The new system features a programmable probe with buttons on it that allow for simple, fast and precise use of portable ultrasound at the point of care.
Fujifilm’s APERTO Lucent is a 0.4T mid-field, open MRI system addressing today’s capability and image quality needs ...
As the radiology industry continues its conversion towards a value-based model, imaging enterprises are under increasing pressure to simultaneously raise their levels of quality and efficiency in order to remain competitive. In fact, regardless of how well they may be performing today, they must continually refine and improve so they can retain customers and attract new business in the future.
Based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Associated Radiologists LLP is the city’s largest provider of medical imaging services. Formed in 1946, the organization is made up of three clinics around Saskatoon, with a fourth clinic located about 100 miles north of the city in Prince Albert.With 24 radiologists and nuclear medicine physicians on staff, Associated Radiologists reads over 350,000 studies per year and counts a number of hospitals as clients, including St. Paul’s and City Hospital in Saskatoon, and Victoria Hospital in Prince Albert. Additionally, the organization reads for 30 rural hospitals.Until 2009, all of the reads conducted at Associated Radiologists’ private clinics were done using film. As keeping up with the daily flow of studies became a daunting task, the decision was made to transition towards a digital environment.From the start, Associated Radiologists benefitted tremendously from IntelePACS’ reliability and ease of use. Its Web-based architecture provides rapid access to current and prior exams and reports, but also increases the speed at which results are transferred to referring physicians, particularly those located in remote areas.“We have cases where a patient has had an ultrasound done in a hospital 170 miles away and the report is in the referring physician’s office before the patient has left the hospital,” said Kelly Prodanuk, business manager. “The physicians frequently say, ‘How can they do that?’. It makes us look very good, that we can provide a high level of service in rural communities, which have struggled to get that kind of patient care.”Read More
The easy-to-use online resource mHealth Roadmap includes information on implementation guidelines for mobile and mHealth strategies and applications. Topics covered in the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) mHealth Roadmap include:
SPONSORED CONTENT — Fujifilm’s latest CT technology brings exceptional image quality to a compact and user- and patient ...
GE Healthcare has announced U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval of SenoClaire, GE’s new breast tomosynthesis solution designed with three-dimensional imaging technology. In collaboration with Massachusetts General Hospital, GE developed SenoClaire technology that uses a low-dose short X-ray sweep around the positioned breast with nine exposures acquired with a “step-and-shoot” method, removing the potential motion from the tube, helping to reduce blur and increase image sharpness.
September 2, 2014 — GE Healthcare announced that the Vizamyl flutemetamol (18F) solution for injection has received marketing authorization from the European Commission as a radiopharmaceutical medicinal product indicated for positron emission tomography (PET) imaging of beta amyloid neuritic plaque density in the brains of adult patients with cognitive impairment who are being evaluated for Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and other causes of cognitive impairment.
September 2, 2014 — In an agreement signed in Tokyo, Elekta Japan will grant Toshiba Medical Systems Corp. (TMSC) wider distribution rights regarding linear accelerator (linac) sales. The agreement builds on a sales and marketing agreement from 2010.
Philips has launched Affiniti. The new ultrasound system made its debut at the European Society of Cardiology (ESC) Congress 2014 in Barcelona.
September 2, 2014 — An actuarial cost-benefit analysis published in the August issue of American Health and Drug Benefits shows that use of U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) lung cancer screening recommendations in high-risk Medicare beneficiaries is cost-effective, potentially answering any questions regarding the effectiveness, infrastructure and cost effectiveness of low-dose computed tomography (CT) screening.
The evidence standard the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) used to approve Medicare coverage of a stool DNA colorectal cancer (CRC) screening test — under a new joint approval process with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) — should be applied to CT colonography (virtual colonoscopy) and other CRC screening exams according to the American College of Radiology (ACR). In a new letter to CMS, ACR urged coverage criteria be transparent and consistently applied.
The high demand for qualified health IT professionals continues, as revealed in the 2014 HIMSS Workplace Study, conducted by HIMSS Analytics. The study shows more than 84 percent of survey respondents reported their organization hired at least one staff member in the past year, a finding consistent with the 2013 survey (86 percent). With hiring in 2014 expected to continue at the 2013 pace, 82 percent of survey respondents planned to hire at least one full-time employee (FTE) in the next 12 months, a slight increase from the 79 percent of respondents planning the same in 2013.
Kit Lam and colleagues from UC Davis and other institutions have created dynamic nanoparticles (NPs) that could provide an arsenal of applications to diagnose and treat cancer. Built on an easy-to-make polymer, these particles can be used as contrast agents to light up tumors for magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) scans or deliver chemo and other therapies to destroy tumors. In addition, the particles are biocompatible and have shown no toxicity. The study was published online in Nature Communications.