Authors
Latest:
Carotid stenting offers new interventional practice optionAs carotid artery stenting becomes an accepted tool for stroke prevention in appropriate patients, interventional radiologists and neuroradiologists are determining where this procedure fits into their practice. Some have already developed an active carotid artery stenting practice, but others are looking for resources to help them begin to offer this service. Consideration of many elements is required to offer a high-quality service.
Latest:
Cardiology PACS must produce moving imagesTensions between radiology and cardiology in the field of cardiac imaging have persisted for decades. The 1970s and 1980s were rife with turf battles over interventional angiography, echocardiography, and cardiac SPECT. More recently, cardiac MRI and CT have been the focus of intense debate about who is best qualified to perform and interpret these scans.
Latest:
Due Diligence for Practice-Hospital Clinical IntegrationThe overall political and social pressure to contain healthcare spending will heighten the value and requirement for clinical integration between physicians and hospitals. At a high level there are essentially two considerations for hospitals and radiology groups.
Latest:
A Radiologist’s New Year’s Resolutions, RevisitedLet’s review my 2012 goals to image gently, learn more, be heard, and get involved in the health care community. There were some improvements, some shortfalls.
Latest:
Ultrasound: Liver tumors yield to ablation techniquesHepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is a multicentric malignant tumor. The underlying liver disease of HCC is most often chronic hepatitis or cirrhosis of viral, or less commonly alcoholic, origin. The only method of detecting the tumor before it becomes advanced is screening the patient with ultrasound every six months. Even if the detected tumor is single, other tumors will appear eventually, the time delay depending on various factors.
Latest:
Remote image archiving relieves hospital of storage and obsolescence challengesThe adoption of digital technologies and IT in healthcare, and the consequent growth in the volume of patient data, presents hospitals with significant challenges in terms of data storage and obsolescence management.
Latest:
PET/CT finds footing in breast, cervical, and ovarian carcinomaPET/CT continues to find new applications in detection and monitoring of breast, cervical, and ovarian carcinoma. An estimated 211,000 new cases of invasive breast carcinoma, with almost 41,000 deaths, are expected to occur in the U.S. during 2007. Breast carcinoma is the most frequently diagnosed malignancy in women and ranks second in terms of cancer deaths after lung cancer.
Latest:
Nonradiologists Have Binged on Musculoskeletal UltrasoundStudy seems to support concern about increased MSK ultrasound use, possibly facilitated by the low cost and ready availability of the technology.
Latest:
Looking to RSNA 2015: Radiology’s Journey to ValueAt RSNA 2015 and beyond, radiology is looking at how to transition to value-based care.
Latest:
Calcium scoring, coronary CTA display strengthsThe number of coronary CTangiographies performedin Europe has alreadyovertaken the practice ofcalcium scoring, accordingto a 2007 European Society ofRadiology survey on cardiac radiology.
Latest:
Male PseudohermaphroditismA 15-year-old female patient with primary amenorrhea and absent secondary sexual characters.
Latest:
Coronary CT angiography saves lives and money: 20,000-plus cases prove itQuestions remain from practitioners, payers, and administrators regarding the economic impact of coronary CT angiography on established diagnostic modalities and the effects on reimbursement within imaging. To address these concerns, we have developed the CCTA Data Registry, which now consists of more than 20,000 cases. Preliminary results indicate that coronary CTA is being utilized appropriately and affects savings for the healthcare system.
Latest:
Beta blockers prove optional with dual-source scannersDuring my first eight years of performing and interpreting cardiac multislice CT, up to 2006, our mantra was always that slower heart rates improve diagnostic image quality. Aside from image quality, slow heart rates also traditionally translated into lower patient radiation exposure. Our most elegant tool for radiation protection at cardiac CT was ECG-dependent tube current modulation, which applies the full nominal tube output only during diastole. This tool, unfortunately, has been limited for the longest time to patients with slow and steady heart rates.
Latest:
MSCT assists in renal cell cancer workupRenal cell cancer is the most frequently encountered malignant tumor in the kidney. Over 30,000 new cases are diagnosed annually in the U.S. Many cases are now detected incidentally, as a result of the widespread use of multislice CT. MSCT usage is also redefining diagnostic workup of renal lesions and facilitating renal cell cancer staging.
Latest:
Trainees Help Reduce Addendum Rates in Radiology ReportsRadiology reports may have fewer addenda when residents or fellows are involved in the process.
Latest:
Diagnostic imaging makes huge technological progressThe history of radiology is over 100 years old, having begun with Wilhelm Conrad Rontgen's discovery of x-rays in 1895. The last two decades, however, have seen the practice of diagnostic radiology change almost beyond recognition. This transformation is largely due to technical advances in equipment that resulted from fruitful interactions among the basic sciences, clinical medicine, and manufacturers.
Latest:
Metastatic Eccrine SpiradenomaCase History: 51-year-old male, Blaschkoid eccrine spiradenoma originally manifested by cutaneous nodules, lesions experienced rapid growth two years ago.
Latest:
Epiploic AppendagitisClinical History: A 42-year-old woman with no significant past medical history presented with three days of sharp left sided abdominal pain with associated nausea and anorexia.
Latest:
Meaningful Use Outcomes will Change ReportingThe usual EHR approach won’t suffice in the future. You need to be able to get orders electronically and be more responsible to patients with your reporting.
Latest:
Carney’s TriadA 77-year-old woman presented to the emergency department complaining of diarrhea for five days and abdominal pain.
Latest:
Imaging keeps major role in uterine cavityHysterosalpingography is the radiographic evaluation of the uterine cavity and fallopian tubes after injection of radiopaque contrast through the cervical canal. The first hysterosalpingography, performed in 1910, was considered to be the first interventional radiological procedure.
Latest:
Multiplanar reformats raise overall clinical value of CTCross-sectional image display was first introduced with CT in the 1970s. It had such an impact that the modality was originally called computed axial tomography. Although CT data can be acquired only in the axial plane, it is possible to reformat images in any other plane. The quality of these images depends on the geometry of the voxel.
Latest:
Gorlin-Goltz SyndromeCase History: A 32-year-old patient presented for CT scan of the face with history of a painless swelling over the left cheek for four months.
Latest:
Partnership Track Is Becoming Scarce in RadiologyEmployers are no longer offering partnership to radiologists.
Latest:
High-intensity focused ultrasound use widens in research, practiceThe use of high-intensity focused ultrasound for various therapeutic applications has continued to grow since Lynn et al first proposed it in 1942.1 Advances in medical imaging technology in the last two decades have led to its widespread use in both research and clinical practice for the treatment of benign and malignant tumors, hemostasis, uterine fibroids, and other conditions.
Latest:
Diffusion-weighted MRI moves beyond brain to other body partsMR imaging can be used for many applications in oncology. Its main roles in cancer imaging are determining locoregional tumor extent, characterizing tumors, and monitoring treatment. MRI, like CT, relies on morphological criteria for lesion differentiation. This reliance, however, can make it difficult to detect small cancerous deposits and to differentiate tumor recurrence from treatment-induced tissue changes.
Latest:
Bedridden Woman With SMA SyndromeA 34-yr-old bed-bound woman with mental delay, cerebral palsy, and lower extremity paraplegia presented to the emergency department after 10 to 15 episodes of greenish-tinged vomit. Her caregivers reported that the she had been vomiting for the entire day. On physical exam, the patient’s abdomen was non-tender, non-distended, and had normal bowel sounds.
Latest:
Progressive Lower Limb WeaknessCase History: 56-year-old man presents with progressive weakness in lower limbs for four to five years
