September 7, 2012 — The American Medical Association (AMA) recently sent letters to Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland and Rep. Pete Olson of Texas supporting passage of the Diagnostic Imaging Services Access Protection Act (H.R. 3269/S. 2347).

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There has been much debate whether computer-aided detection software for computed tomography (CT) scanners to detect coronary blockages is really a worthwhile expense. There has long been apprehension by experienced cardiologists and radiologists who can easily read coronary CT angiography (CCTA) scans for plaque burden. However, the technology may have a niche application for immediate STAT reads of chest pain patients during off-hours, especially at rural medical centers.

 

September 6, 2012 — The American Society of Radiologic Technologists (ASRT) launched its new online breast imaging educational series, Breast Imaging Basics: The Series. The 10-module interactive series provides medical imaging professionals and students with a comprehensive overview of the fundamentals of breast imaging.

As radiation treatments have advanced in complexity, cancer treatment facilities have faced greater demands for accuracy and precision in treatment. Northwestern Lake Forest Hospital recently installed CIVCO Medical Solutions’ Protura Robotic Patient Positioning System at its Center for Advanced Radiation Medicine in Lake Forest, Ill.

Twenty-seven radiologists at Washington Radiology Associates (WRA), a large private imaging practice in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, perform 85,000 mammograms annually at six clinical offices. In 2011, WRA replaced all of its 2D mammography systems with 15 Hologic Selenia Dimensions systems.

Located in north central West Virginia – an area hit particularly hard by the economic recession – Davis Health System is comprised of a 90-bed community hospital, critical access hospital, community outreach clinics and related facilities. This forward-thinking organization has made big strides in putting its patients first by investing in medical imaging information technology from McKesson.

Soroka University Medical Center in Beer-Sheva, Israel, has successful experience using the Philips Myocardial Defect Assessment solution.


Positron emission mammography (PEM) is an imaging technique designed to provide metabolic visualization of lesions in the breast tissue. The Naviscan high-resolution PEM system is a dual-detector system consisting of two flat, high-resolution detector heads using lutetium yttrium oxyorthosilicate in a 2 x 2 x 13 mm size. The detectors are mounted inside mammogram compression paddles with a 17 x 24 cm field of view.  The paddles can be rotated to optimize imaging to match images acquired in standard mammograms.  This allows for direct comparison with mammogram images.

By focusing on the effective use of electronic health records (EHRs) with certain capabilities, the legislation regarding meaningful use (MU) makes it clear that the adoption of EHRs is not a goal in itself: It is the use of this technology to achieve health and efficiency goals that matters most. While many radiologists have opposed the one-size-fits-all approach to this incentive program, MU clearly impacts the radiology community and is here to stay.
Appendix 2: Network engineers helped develop a working prototype for a Wi-Fi access point as a step to implementing wireless connectivity for modalities such as the C-arm shown in this sample diagram.
Appendices 3 a & b: These charts show the re-engineered process implemented in the emergency department, where studies are delivered to the radiologist and the ED physician simultaneously, without any artificial delay.
Appendices 3 a & b: These charts show the re-engineered process implemented in the emergency department, where studies are delivered to the radiologist and the ED physician simultaneously, without any artificial delay.
These charts show the re-engineered process implemented in the emergency department, where studies are delivered to the radiologist and the ED physician simultaneously, without any artificial delay.

To achieve sustainable excellence in the quality and safety of healthcare, the radiology department at Broward Health Medical Center (BHMC) took a proactive approach to identify bottlenecks in study flows and streamline processes at every stage of imaging studies, from order entry to report posting. Its ultimate goal was to provide ordering physicians with radiologists’ reports in time to support a clinical diagnosis in an acute setting.
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