C. P. Kaiser

Cancer of the lung is overwhelmingly the most common cause of U.S. lawsuits involving thoracic disease, outdistancing by far any other condition within the confines of the thoracic cavity. Conversely, failure to diagnose gastrointestinal conditions is an uncommon cause of suits against radiologists, but perforated viscus awards are much higher than those for other gastrointestinal conditions.

Researchers aligned with the Nevada State Athletic Commission have found that use of a portable CT scanner can effectively screen professional boxers for intracranial hemorrhage following matches.

Some chocoholics who couldn't give up their favorite treat to comply with a study to test blood stickiness have inadvertently done science a big favor.

Experts say fine art collections in hospitals can go beyond their decorative role and stimulate healing of body, mind, and spirit. The proper selection and placement of art can reduce patient stress, create a sense of security for patients, promote a bond between patient and care giver, and perpetuate an image of excellence for the facility, according to Kathy Hathorn, president of American Art Resources in Houston.

Radiologists must embrace cardiac imaging, especially coronary CT angiography, but many are hesitant to do so, according to Dr. Kerry M. Link, a professor of radiology, cardiology, regenerative medicine, and biomedical engineering at Wake Forest University Health Science Center in Winston-Salem, NC.

PET imaging to diagnose brain tumor and monitor recurrence after treatment is an evolving field of research. Investigators at the RSNA meeting presented studies revolving around five tracers, as well as various permutations of imaging combinations such as FDG-PET with MR spectroscopy.

A voice recognition system didn't fare well in a study by researchers from Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia that reviewed the number of errors on signed reports from attending radiologists.

Breast ultrasound elastography allows radiologists to accurately distinguish benign from malignant breast lesions. The technique correctly identified both cancerous and benign lesions in nearly 125 cases studied.

MRI is underutilized in pelvic imaging, and it's only a matter of time before radiologists and referring physicians are educated about its utility, according to Dr. Elizabeth Sadowski, an assistant professor of radiology at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

The 23-year-old patient, who suffered from injuries arising from a traffic accident, was asked to imagine playing tennis and walking around her house. The tennis request elicited activity in the supplementary motor area, while the house tour activated the parahippocampal gyrus, the posterior parietal cortex, and the lateral premotor cortex.

Body CT imagers are increasingly turning away from axial images and toward coronal reformations. The move helps radiologists in three ways.

The Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 has created quite a stir in medical imaging. If the current provisions remain intact, outpatient imaging providers could see a 45% reduction in Medicare reimbursement next year.

Complications in children's interventions cost hundreds of millions of dollars each year

Duke researchers hammer away on CAD system to help sift large tomo data sets

Pending changes to Medicare in the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 call for nonhospital outpatient technical fee reimbursement to be the lesser amount of either the Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (HOPPS) or the physician fee schedule.

A few radiologists angrily denounced the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography as favoring cardiologists over radiologists because it endorsed an accreditation document from the American College of Cardiology over one from the American College of Radiology.

Radiologists are increasingly turning to personal digital assistants, but mostly for data handling. That may change as research confirms the possibility of interpreting scans from the wireless devices.

Precise evaluation of cardiac and thoracic anatomy is mandatory for planning safe minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass. Three-D images obtained with CT angiography can help avoid surgical complications, minimize the need to switch to the standard surgical approach, and help determine the best surgical access.

Cardiac CT is moving closer to competing with MR in imaging damage to the myocardium caused by infarction.

For the third year running, editors from Diagnostic Imaging have landed in Vienna to provide Webcast coverage of the European Congress of Radiology. Although the RSNA is becoming more international every year, it can’t capture the unique European perspective presented at this annual event. Our daily news stories will highlight research from the studies presented at the ECR, but much more is available at the Webcast.

PET/CT is significantly more accurate than CT alone, PET alone, and side-by-side CT and PET for evaluating the TNM stage of various malignant diseases. This diagnostic advantage translates into treatment plan changes in a substantial number of patients, according to Dr. Gerald Antoch and colleagues at University Hospital Essen in Germany.

Plans to set national quality standards for performing and interpreting outpatient diagnostic imaging covered by Medicare are among recommendations approved in January by the influential Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) to curb fast-rising federal costs associated with high-tech medical imaging.

Many elderly patients scheduled for contrast-enhanced CT scans who have no reported risk factors may still be at risk of contrast-induced nephropathy (CIN). While measuring the creatinine levels is standard, it may be better to assess creatinine clearance as well, according to researchers at the VA North Texas Health Care System.

Recognizing that PET/CT is quickly becoming standard in oncological imaging and that quality teaching materials are needed, Dr. Todd Blodgett has taken matters into his own hands.

The disruption of dopamine transportation in brain white matter may be the underlying reason that children suffer from attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD. In addition, MR diffusion tensor imaging suggests that drug therapy repairs the damaged fiber bundles indicated in ADHD pathology.

The American College of Radiology has handed down an 80-day membership suspension to Dr. Harwood B. Hance, an ACR fellow, for giving expert testimony deemed to be clinically inaccurate. The action comes less than two months after the college expelled a member for similar circumstances.

Medicare reimbursement for an FDG-PET scan could be reduced by nearly $500 if proposed changes to the hospital outpatient prospective payment system are enacted in 2005.

The government today announced its participation in one of the largest initiatives to date to determine effective neuroimaging techniques that will help chart brain changes associated with mild cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s disease. The announcement comes barely two weeks after Medicare agreed to reimburse for PET studies of suspected Alzheimer’s patients.