The Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University is one of 41 National Cancer Institute (NCI)-designated “comprehensive” cancer centers in the country — the highest ranking given by the NCI. The Lurie Cancer Center was first established at Northwestern University in 1974, and is dedicated to scientific discovery, providing state-of-the-art care, and training clinicians and scientists.

Radiation therapy has played an important role in the treatment of cancer for more than a century. Used typically as a curative treatment either alone or in conjunction with surgery and/or chemotherapy, the aim of radiation therapy has always been to eradicate a patient’s cancer. 
A sonographer performs an abdominal ultrasound exam with GE's Vivid E95 system

Physicians have been utilizing conventional ultrasound, also known as b-mode ultrasound, for diagnostic imaging since the 1970s. However, over the past 10 years there have been significant technological improvements within the equipment, as well as development of new technologies that allowed ultrasound to become more widely adopted. Ultrasound equipment has gotten physically smaller, generates less heat and has become more power efficient. These upgrades, along with vast enhancements in image quality, have pushed ultrasound into the point-of-care setting. Point-of-care ultrasound has become widely performed in emergency rooms, PCP offices and obstetric practices. As healthcare reform continues to favor the use of more cost-effective solutions, this trend is expected to persist until ultrasound is used in every doctor’s office. 

Whether it is a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT) or another type of imaging system, reliable power protection is critical for the proper operation and uptime of imaging applications. But what happens if a healthcare facility suffers a power brownout, surge or outage? How do these events affect imaging equipment?

Elizabeth Wende Breast Care in Rochester, N.Y., is internationally recognized as a leader in the field of breast imaging and breast cancer diagnosis. It is one of the largest freestanding breast imaging centers in the United States with American College of Radiology (ACR) accreditation and U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) certification. 

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With concerns about radiation dose and reducing unnecessary imaging scans, advances in computed tomography (CT) systems have brought about technologies such as iterative reconstruction software, intraoperative capabilities and dose-tracking software. In addition, recent studies on the use of CT on select patient populations and the modality’s benefits in detecting certain cancers are showing that the risks of CT imaging can go both ways. While CT exams can add to a patient’s lifetime exposure to ionizing radiation, they can also be more beneficial in cases where magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or ultrasound might not be able to detect early-stage cancers. Some of these trends in utilization indicate that appropriate low-dose CT imaging will be key across patient populations.

Voice recognition and template-driven radiologist reporting have dramatically streamlined delivery of the clinical report. However, including measurement data in a report still requires radiologist dictation of numbers manually captured by a technologist. Since quantitative measurements are an important and common aspect of the radiologist report, further increases in productivity and clinical quality can be realized by automating this process.  

Wide bore magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems have allowed radiologists to offer patients the optimized comfort of conventional open bore systems, as well as the high-quality imaging of conventional closed bore systems

Wide bore magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) systems have allowed radiologists to offer patients the optimized comfort of conventional open bore systems, as well as the high-quality imaging of conventional closed bore systems. Because wide bore MRIs have broadened the demographic of patients who can be tested, the systems have gained widespread adoption in use, with many practices opting to equip their offices solely with wide bore systems.

By all measures the Northwest Indiana Breast Care Center at Methodist Hospitals is a success. Opened in 2012, the Breast Care Center embodies Methodist Hospitals’ commitment to provide the most advanced technologies available for the early detection and treatment of breast cancer. Methodist Hospitals is a not-for-profit, community-based healthcare system with two full-service campuses located 14 miles apart in Gary and Merrillville, Ind. 

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