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.
IMRT Use Grows, But Cost Challenges Loom

The external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) market has been active in recent months, with advances in techniques, devices and treatment planning software that help radiation oncology clinicians provide patients with the most targeted radiation delivery possible. With an estimated 1.1 million patients in the United States treated with radiation in 2009 (including both external beam and brachytherapy delivery), up 15 percent from 2007,[1] and worldwide growth in the radiation therapy market expected to grow at a compound annual rate of 9.1 percent by 2018,[2] activity in this sector can be expected to continue.

The preferred treatment for patients with operable lung cancer is surgical resection. However, many lung cancer patients whose tumors are technically resectable have other medical problems, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, which make it difficult to endure lung cancer surgery. Until the last decade these patients were treated with conventional radiotherapy, but more recently stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT), or the accurate delivery of high doses of radiation over a short period of time, has emerged as an alternative treatment.

When it comes to modalities, why select digital radiography (DR)? There are several reasons. First, DR is fast. The speed inherent in the technology improves overall workflow for the entire radiology department. Also, image quality is superb and the required X-ray doses can be significantly lower than with traditional modalities.

September 5, 2012 — According to a study in the Sept. issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology, overall noninvasive diagnostic imaging (NDI) costs to Medicare Part B dropped 21 percent from 2006 to 2010. The study reveals that medical imaging is not a driver of escalating Medicare costs.

September 5, 2012 — A criminal complaint was unsealed this morning in Brooklyn federal court charging Ting Huan Tai, also known as “Warren Tai,” the operator of United Medical Diagnosis, P.C. (“UMD”), based in Flushing, New York, with healthcare fraud in connection with his submission of more than $30 million in false Medicare and Medicaid billings. A seizure warrant seeking the defendant’s alleged ill-gotten gains, including a Lamborghini automobile, was also unsealed.

Like an eyewitness to a freight train bearing down on a rocket fuel truck at a railroad crossing, I couldn’t avoid watching the ensuing carnage after two individuals who underwent positron emission tomography (PET) myocardial perfusion imaging (MPI) with CardioGen-82 (Rubidium Rb 82 Generator) triggered airport radiation sensors in May 2011. Hung up on the tracks… Bracco Diagnostics, healthcare providers and their patients. Inbound at 60 miles-per-hour and weighing in at 15,000 tons… the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).  

Subscribe to
© Copyright Wainscot Media. All Rights Reserved.
Subscribe Now