According to new research, Medicare imaging utilization varies reasonably consistently on a quarterly basis and is highest in the first half of the year. The study, supported by research grants from the Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute, is published online in the Journal of the American College of Radiology (JACR).

There was a time when cardiac cath was the only way to see what was happening in the heart. Today that can be done with mainstream computed tomography (CT) — not one souped up for cardiology, ones intended for radiological applications, ones that can freeze the motion of the human heart noninvasively. Wow.  

medical devices

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced it is building the foundations of a national evaluation system to generate better evidence more efficiently for medical device evaluation and regulatory decision-making. The agency said a national evaluation system would generate evidence across the total product lifecycle of medical devices by strategically and systematically leveraging real-world evidence, and applying advanced analytics to data tailored to the unique data needs and innovation cycles of medical devices.
informatics

Advances in healthcare practice and technology are largely driven by research, and in recent years perhaps no discipline has been more influential than informatics — the study and practice of creating, storing, finding, sharing and manipulating information. More efficient storage and sharing of medical data are crucial in the transition to value-based healthcare, and radiology plays a central role in these efforts. Several major studies published in 2016 examined the role of informatics technology in medical imaging, and many of those studies were highlighted in a session at the 102nd annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA), Nov. 27-Dec. 2, 2016, in Chicago.
oncology analytics
MRI-guided radiation treatment delivery
High Definition Radiotherapy (HDRT)
radiation oncology, analytics

In 2016, the America Cancer Society expected 1,685,210 new cancer diagnoses in the United States alone. And according to the National Cancer Institute, approximately half of all patients diagnosed with cancer will undergo radiation therapy as part of their treatment plan. Given the large number of patients turning to radiation oncology, it is no wonder there is an immense focus on continually advancing this treatment technique. Millions of lives depend upon it.
RSNA, radiology
SomatomGo, RSNA, radiology
dashboard
adaptive intelligence
iterative reconstruction

There are plenty of uncertainties surrounding medical practice in this country. But, if the Radiological Society of North America’s (RSNA) 2016 annual meeting is an indication, value-based imaging will soon be here and it will not soon be leaving.
digital radiography, DR

The world of X-ray takes a big step into the future this year with scheduled Medicare reimbursement cuts under the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) of 2016. Hospitals and clinics still using analog (film) X-ray machines now face a 20 percent reduction for exams conducted on these systems.

Many new milestones were achieved in 2016, probably the biggest being Imaging Technology News’ (ITN) website had a record year with more than 1 million page views. What an accomplishment! We want to thank you for making ITNonline.com your trusted, go-to resource for comparing, evaluating and purchasing technology.

vendor neutral archives, VNA

Organizations across the country — even globally — are taking a hard look at their imaging ecosystems and determining it is time for change. Most technology and clinical leaders have read, listened to and observed the imaging vendor narrative over the past few years while they focused primarily on deploying the electronic health records (HER). Now most feel comfortable enough — either internally or with the help of consultants — to tackle this next huge patient record initiative. Vendor neutral archives (VNA), viewers, workflow, analytics, integration and exchange are all under review as components of the enterprise imaging effort. The good news for those in this phase of discovery and analysis is that the pioneers are far enough down the path to prove that an enterprise approach can be incredibly successful and that there are organizational, clinical, technical and even financial benefits to adopting this model.  
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