Probing a Surgical Future with Less Invasive Tools

Prior to the mid-1990s, clinicians could choose from a limited number of devices to biopsy palpable and nonpalpable abnormalities in the breast. Those choices centered around the open surgical biopsy technique, which necessitated pre-operative preparation, anesthesia and post-operative recovery. Hard-to-find lesions, however, required needle localization before surgery could commence. In short, the standard breast biopsy was a time-consuming and very involved procedure.

Editor’s Note: Exploring IGRT is the result of a “virtual” roundtable discussion on image-guided radiation therapy (IGRT) with notable radiation oncology experts Drs. Rod Ellis, Dan Low, Todd McNutt, George Starkschall and Charles Smith.

The Knoxville Comprehensive Breast Center (KCBC) in Knoxville, TN, was founded in 1983 for the sole purpose of improving the delivery of breast care. The materialization of this vision involves performing all the needed diagnostic breast studies in a single visit. This dedication to improved patient care has earned KCBC a solid reputation and an impressive patient return rate.
As part of this ongoing model of patient care, in the summer of 2004 KCBC replaced its on-site analog film mammography units with two Hologic Selenia digital mammography systems.


It’s like a never-ending battle — that’s how Lena Napolitano, M.D., describes the recent and sharp rise in nosocomial methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) infections.
The professor in the department of surgery at the University of Michigan said MRSA is now the most frequent cause of hospital-acquired pneumonia and surgical wound infections, as well as the most common gram-positive bacteria in hospitals today.

Electronic medical information improves patient safety by providing immediate and complete access to complex patient information. Having access to information reduces medical errors — yet three decades have elapsed since the electronic medical record (EMR) was first conceived and 16 years have passed since the Institute of Medicine's report called for EMRs.
But time isn’t the only thing littering the long road to EMR.

An invaluable tool for radiology, cardiology and various other departments throughout the enterprise, PACS is now in hot demand in the OR as well. The speedy — and spontaneous — access to any and all patient images during a surgical procedure is a key lure for bringing PACS into the OR, one of the last destinations for PACS technology.

Where are the synergies of bringing together Elekta and IMPAC?

Digital imaging is conquering one of the last digital
frontiers in healthcare — breast screening and diagnosis. The digital platform will boost screening for breast cancer to heightened levels of accuracy and efficiency as tools such as CAD, tomosynthesis, MRI, MRS and optical imaging
facilitate and enhance early-detection, precise diagnosis and breast cancer management.
The Last Digital Frontier

Radiology is currently experiencing a very volatile state, as advancements in device technology are creating a new landscape of competition. Information technology (IT) and equipment are expanding the reach of the radiologists to new therapeutic techniques.
As technologies such as enterprise-wide connectivity and molecular medicine merge, and the role of radiology overlaps with other medical domains, the medical imaging industry follows suit, and is rapidly consolidating.

An integrated RIS/PACS, clinical applications and enterprise-wide access to the electronic health record (EHR) promise to increase a radiologist’s productivity and enhance efficiency by automating radiology workflow. Information technology (IT) is also viewed as one of several answers to the continued radiologist shortage. However, many facilities have yet to realize the full potential of IT as the result of not fully addressing workflow changes when a facility moves from a film-based to a digital environment, and consequently have not seen a positive effect on radiology workflow.
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