I have watched a trend in medical technology grow from a small ripple a couple years ago into what I expect will be a tidal wave in 2014 due to growing concern over patient radiation dose levels from medical imaging. Use of radiation dose monitoring software came to the forefront when California, followed by Texas, created laws requiring medical facilities to record the amount of exposure patients receive from things like computed tomography (of which cardiac exams are among the highest dose levels used) and angiography. Adoption of this software will be further accelerated by new Joint Commission standards released in December 2013, which starting in mid-2014 requires the use of radiation dose monitoring software as part of its accreditation.

 

By Dave Fornell, editor

Proton Therapy Radiation Therapy Mevion S250

Mevion Medical Systems delivered its Mevion S250 proton therapy superconducting synchrocyclotron accelerator to the physician-owned proton therapy center at First Coast Oncology in Jacksonville, Fla.
ct systems mri clinical trial study

One in eight visits to a doctor for a headache or migraine end up with the patient going for a brain scan, at a total cost of about $1 billion a year, a University of Michigan Medical School study finds.

In a joint response to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) National Coverage and Analysis Group, the Lung Cancer Alliance, The Society of Thoracic Surgeons, American College of Radiology (ACR) and 38 other medical organizations called on CMS to quickly provide national Medicare coverage of low-dose computed tomography (LDCT) screening for patients at high risk for lung cancer.

Brain imaging using nuclear imaging radiotracers can detect early evidence of Alzheimer's disease that may predict future cognitive decline among adults with mild or no cognitive impairment. This is according to a 36-month follow-up study led by Duke Medicine.

proton therapy radiation therapy

Research and Markets have announced the addition of the "US Proton Therapy Outlook 2017." ?Physicians, in the face of an alarmingly rising incidences of cancer and limited treatment options are being forced to look for treatments beyond the conventional ones. In such a scenario, proton therapy is being projected as the Rolls Royce of radiation oncology. Unfortunately, access to proton therapy is limited for many patients due to the low number of proton therapy centers. Hence, many research institutes and hospitals are now investing in proton therapy to make it more accessible to patients.

Vienna is to the European Congress of Radiology what Chicago is to RSNA. This year the ECR celebrated the 20th year the Congress has been held in the capital of Austria. As exciting and delicious as this city may be, the familiar for an American is not too far away.

As Greenville’s only 24-hour Level 1 Trauma Center, Greenville Health System, based in Greenville, S.C., has recently upgraded its offering into “a highly integrated delivery system committed to transforming the delivery of health care and improving the health of its community.” A key part of that commitment is, wherever possible, to harness the power of new technologies and solutions that will help deliver on that promise. Agfa HealthCare's DX-D Retrofit’s non-invasive, connection-only solution is part of that drive; delivering time savings and a high level of image quality and speed that makes it popular with users.  

Spellman High Voltage Electronics Corp. exhibited at the European Congress of Radiology (ECR), March 6-10 at the Austria Center, Vienna.  

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