Sony Electronics’ Medical Systems Division announced new support offerings for radiology monitors to be highlighted at the Society of Imaging Informatics in Medicine (SIIM) annual meeting, June 6-9, 2013, in Dallas.

Intelerad Medical Systems announced three new offerings as part of their Nuage suite of cloud-based solutions. Amongst the new solutions is CloudComplete — a fully-featured, cloud-based version of their award-winning IntelePACS solution. Other solutions added to the suite include CloudStore, which enables imaging departments to move all long-term storage to the cloud; and CloudMirror, which offers the flexibility of an off-site hosted data replication service.

The Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI) says it applauds the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on the ruling issued on coverage for positron emission tomography (PET) procedures. Focusing on the National Oncologic PET Registry (NOPR), scan limitations and coverage for prostate cancer, the ruling will have a significant impact on patient care, according to the society.

colon cancer

Radiation oncology research received 197 grants, totaling only 1.6 percent ($85.5 million) of the $5.4 billion in cancer research funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in Fiscal Year (FY) 2013, according to a study available online and in the June 1, 2013, print issue of the International Journal of Radiation Oncology • Biology • Physics (Red Journal), the official scientific journal of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO).
pediatric imaging

A study examining trends in X-ray computed tomography (CT) use in children in the United States has found that reducing unnecessary scans and lowering the doses for the highest-dose scans could lower the overall lifetime risk of future imaging-related cancers by 62 percent. The research by a UC Davis Health System scientist was published in JAMA Pediatrics. It is accompanied by a journal editorial.

Siemens Healthcare has introduced Biograph mCT Flow, a positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) system that, for the first time ever, overcomes the limitations of conventional bed-based PET/CT with FlowMotion, a revolutionary new technology that moves the patient smoothly through the system’s gantry, while continuously acquiring PET data. Biograph mCT Flow with FlowMotion takes routine image quality to a new level by enabling imaging protocols based on the organ’s need.

Personalized Medicine Gets Up to Bat

In an increasingly impersonal world, where Facebook counts the number of friends we have and texting takes the place of conversation, who would not want personalized medicine? 
CT films

The National Lung Screening Trial (NLST) was a National Cancer Institute sponsored trial that began in 2002. This randomized controlled trial examined more than 50,000 patients who were classified as being at high risk for the development of lung cancer — they had smoked at least 30 pack years (one pack per day for 30 years or two packs per day for 15 years); they were between 55 and 74; and they were either current smokers or former smokers who had quit within the past 15 years. The trial aimed to see whether screening with low-dose computed tomography (CT) improved outcomes over screening with chest radiography. It was halted early in October 2010 when a 20 percent mortality benefit was observed in the low-dose CT arm. 

For radiology practices and imaging centers still debating the pros and cons of Stage 2 meaningful use (MU), the calendar looms larger with each passing day. Stage 2 MU now begins in less than a year, and while eligible providers have until 2016 to attest to Stage 2, everyone must go through two years of Stage 1 attestation before progressing to the next stage. Arcadia Radiology Medical Group (ARMG) and California Medical Business Services went through the Stage 1 MU process early, in order to prepare for Stage 2. 

Advanced visualization software continues to make surgical planning more efficient and accurate as technology advances. Surgeons can map out procedures based on images from computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) exams, among other types of digital imaging and communications in medicine (DICOM) modalities. The images allow physicians to see areas of interest from multiple angles, and isolate various structures, organs and vessels that are of interest in a matter of minutes. This advancement in technology has increased physician interaction and provided an opportunity for enhanced patient education that was not previously available. 
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