Diagnostic Imaging Staff

Toshiba American Systems Inc. today announced FDA clearance of their M-Power interface aimed at increasing MR exam efficiency. The customizable user interface enables technologists to streamline and accelerate the imaging process and enhance diagnosis, according to the company.

In the first of a four-part series, Medical Management Professionals Inc.'s Jana Landreth discusses effective metrics for measuring practice revenue and the single biggest cause for lost revenue.

The ACR called on CMS to scrap proposed payment cuts in the Medicare Fee Schedule Rule for 2012, saying the reduction is “scientifically unfounded, based on flawed assumptions and may limit patients’ ability to receive efficient care.”

The radiology field will soon have a professional development and leadership academy. Next year, the American College of Radiology will open the Radiology Leadership Institute, a multi-level academy that will offer leadership courses and activities.

For the first stage of cuts, which calls for an immediate $1 trillion over a decade in exchange for raising the debt ceiling by an additional $900 billion, imaging reimbursement was spared. But that might not be the case for the second stage, according to ACR.

The global diagnostic imaging market is expected to swell to $26.6 billion by 2016, driven by an aging population and advancements in the field.

Siemens Healthcare has received FDA 501(k) marketing clearance for a software package that helps in the assessment of cerebral blood flow during interventional procedures.

Radiologists can now charge Medicare for MRIs when the patient has a pacemarker approved for MRI exams.

GE Healthcare has received FDA clearance of its Optima XR220amx, Optima XR200amx and Brivo XR285amx, a new platform of mobile x-ray systems.

According to new survey results, physician alignment is the main problem when building accountable care organizations (ACOs).

Today, the Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) recommended that Congress require pre-authorizations for some imaging services, consistent with its proposed recommendations from last month.

New product uses parametric imaging to give more infomation than DSA alone

The median starting salary for diagnostic radiologists in 2010 was $350,000, according to the just-released Placement Starting Salary Survey: 2011 Report Based on 2010 Data from the Medical Group Management Association.

Medicsight now has FDA 510(k) clearance to market ColonCAD, a computer-aided detection system to aid in CT colonography.

Some obstetricians are turning away obese patient, wary of the higher risk of complications and about the safety of patients on their exam tables. Radiology struggles with similar issues. Is it time to set limits?

Although 40 percent of surveyed mammographers anticipate a suit in the next five years, in reality 10 percent will face a legal challenge.

Though access to capital remains tight and Medicare dollars are hard to come by, managers of hospital radiology departments remain confident in their ability to turn a profit.

The use of breast shields is the technique of choice to protect the breasts of women from radiation exposure while undergoing chest CT examinations, according to a new study.

MRI could help detect Alzheimer’s disease at an early stage - before irreversible damage has been done, according to the second recent study to examine MRI use for Alzheimer’s.

Using MRI may help researchers predict which adults are likely to develop Alzheimer’s disease, according to a new study published online and in the June issue of Radiology.

The mammography screening guidelines released in 2009 were more confusing than they were helpful, and women aged 40 to 49 were the most confused. That’s according to a study published in the May 2011 issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, in which researchers examined news reports and social media posts about the new recommendations, as well as surveyed women after the announcement.

NeuroLogica Corp. has received FDA approval for their portable, full-body, multi-slice CT scanner known as the BodyTom, the company announced this week.

Are airport scanners safe? In another recent analysis on the topic, researchers at the University of California have estimated the cancer risk from one kind of scanners is extremely low.

Interventional radiologists have confirmed the effectiveness of a liver cancer treatment that has shown results were chemotherapy has failed. Treating liver tumors with higher doses of intra-arterial yttrium-90 radioembolization, which can be done on an outpatient basis, was shown to be effective and help preserve the patient’s quality of life, according to a study presented this week at the Society of Interventional Radiology’s 36th annual scientific meeting in Chicago.

The Global Harmonization Task Force, which was created in 1992 to “achieve greater uniformity between national medical device regulatory systems,” decided recently to disband and reform without industry representatives. The group is comprised of the U.S. FDA and the regulatory bodies of the European Union, Japan, Canada, and Australia.

X-ray equipment has become far more sophisticated in the last 115 years - and uses far lower radiation doses and exposure times, researchers found recently after testing a first-generation system from 1896.

Stephen Herman, MD, an associate professor of radiology at University Health Network in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and CEO of MedCurrent, discusses how radiology decision support systems can help reduce radiation exposure, and what it will take for the tools to catch on.

The U.S. breast imaging and mammography markets are expected to not only recover from the recession, but nearly double in the next several years.

Yes, reimbursements are down and costs are up - but for academic faculty specialist physicians, there is some good news: Your income has increased slightly, according to new data from the Medical Group Management Association.

Lantheus Medical Imaging Inc. has received a Special Protocol Assessment (SPA) approval for a Phase 3 clinical trial for the assessment of myocardial perfusion using PET imaging of an injection agent in patients with suspected coronary artery disease.