July 5, 2011 — Cancer patients in Sweden have gained access to fast and efficient radiotherapy treatments with the installation of Scandinavia's first TrueBeam system from Varian Medical Systems. This advanced system has commenced clinical treatments for patients at Vasteras Hospital, west of Stockholm.

July 5, 2011 –Sectra announced an agreement with its distribution partner Electromek Diagnostic Systems to expand the sales coverage area for RIS/PACS solutions into two states: Missouri and Illinois, excluding the metropolitan areas of Kansas City and Chicago, which Sectra covers with a direct sales staff.

July 5, 2011 — ECRI Institute, an independent nonprofit that researches the best approaches to improving patient care, and the Health Care Improvement Foundation, an independent nonprofit corporation with a multi-dimensional focus on healthcare safety, announced the launch of a new Partnership for Patient Care regional collaborative focused on improving computed tomography (CT) radiation safety. Jointly funded by Philadelphia-area hospitals and Independence Blue Cross, this collaborative will engage hospitals and imaging centers in Philadelphia and surrounding counties in a 12-month project aimed at strengthening patient safety specific to CT imaging.

July 5, 2011 – A new treatment option may soon be available for children with neuroblastoma according to research published in the July issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine. The study tested the principle that combined positron emission tomography and X-ray computed tomography (PET/CT) may be used to select children with primary refractory or relapsed high-risk neuroblastoma for treatment with a molecular radiotherapy known as 177Lu-DOTATATE. This therapeutic option was found to be viable option for children with neuroblastomas. Neuroblastoma is a cancerous tumor that develops from nerve tissue in infants and children. Accounting for six to 10 percent of all childhood cancers, it does not always follow the same pattern, with some patients regressing spontaneously and other progressing, despite aggressive therapy. The long-term survival rate for neuroblastoma is below 40 percent.

July 5, 2011 – A statement was issued by Peter W. Carmel, M.D., the president of the American Medical Association (AMA), regarding cuts to Medicare payments for diagnostic imaging.

July 5, 2011 – The first radiopharmaceutical imaging agent to help physicians evaluate patients with suspected Parkinsonian syndromes (PS), such as Parkinson’s disease (PD), has been cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). GE Healthcare’s DaTscan (Ioflupane I 123 Injection) gives physicians diagnostic capability that may lead to timely, appropriate treatments for suspected PS patients.

June 30, 2011 – Breast cancer screening with mammography results in a significant reduction in breast cancer mortality, according to long-term follow-up results of a large-scale Swedish trial. The results are published online in the journal Radiology.

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