Todd Neff

Study seems to support concern about increased MSK ultrasound use, possibly facilitated by the low cost and ready availability of the technology.

A new magnetic resonance spectroscopy technique provides a definitive diagnosis of brain cancer based on imaging of a protein associated with a mutated gene.

A follow-on CT scan can help lower risks of brain hemorrhage for patients with minor head injuries who are taking the anticoagulant warfarin, according to a study published online this week in the Annals of Emergency Medicine.

The problems lead to unexpectedly high patient radiation exposure and voluntary recall of the PET imaging agent.

A CNN investigation, “Prescription for Cheating,” has targeted the practice of sharing recall exams – questions and answers to old tests – in preparation for American Board of Radiology exams.

In the emergency department, those lacking health insurance receive less imaging than those covered. But once admitted as inpatients, they’re treated equally from the diagnostic imaging perspective, according to two studies published in the January 2012 edition of the Journal of the American College of Radiology.

Cardiovascular MRI beats SPECT in diagnosing heart disease, according to the authors of a major British study published online on Dec. 23 in The Lancet.

Had the 1986 Forrest Report – which led to widespread mammography screening in Great Britain – included the harms of screening for breast cancer, it might never have become standard practice, according to a new British Medical Journal report.

Magnetic resonance imaging’s accuracy in detecting cancer in the lymph nodes of newly diagnosed breast cancer patients is nothing to sniff at – 80 percent with diffusion-weighted MRI and 85 percent with axial T1-weighted MRI, Canadian researchers have reported. But it’s not quite high enough to skip a lymph node dissection, according to a study published online Dec. 5 in the journal Radiology.

CHICAGO - If you make a mistake, should you tell the patient or does that open you up to a malpractice suit? The rules seem to be changing – a little – according to a malpractice and medical error panel discussion at RSNA 2011.

CHICAGO - Traditionally, many radiologists have worked behind the scenes, not directly with patients. But the field can’t stay hidden if it wants to survive in its current form, she and others are convinced. Radiology can either become more personal or become a commodity.

CHICAGO - Correct that. Tips. A few simple tricks can make one’s time with computer-based speech-to-text engines much more pleasant - and productive, said David Weiss, MD, speaking during an RSNA 2011 session on practical informatics for radiologists.

Nearly one in six hospitals and health systems over 1,000 beds reported that they have plans to replace their picture archiving and communication system (PACS), according to a new KLAS report that indicates that a new wave of replacements is ahead.

CHICAGO - Statements by the American Medical Association, the American College of Radiology and, probably, Hippocrates himself notwithstanding, radiologists should think twice about admitting mistakes.

CHICAGO - Say your radiology practice wants to boost positron emission tomography referrals. Your marketing consultant comes up with an idea: for the first 50 referrals each month, referring physicians’ offices get a Beanie Baby and educational materials, delivered in a plastic baggie emblazoned with your logo. “The P.E.T. of the Month Club,” it’ll be called.

CHICAGO-First the good news: 90 percent of radiology practices indeed can qualify for some of the $20 billion in federal stimulus funding set aside to stoke the “meaningful use” of health information technology. What’s more, meaningful use seems to change little the day-to-day work of radiologists, according to those whose practices have been through the meaningful-use wringer.The bad news: getting to “meaningful” takes a whole lot of hard thinking, investment, and work, according to those with experience in the process speaking at RSNA 2011 on Tuesday.

CHICAGO - Carol Lee, MD, a Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center radiologist, presented a balanced menu of evidence on breast-cancer screening at RSNA 2011 on Monday. She offered up a slew of studies that, collectively, have found mammography to cut breast cancer mortality around 25 percent. She highlighted other studies, one dating back to 1976, that questioned whether mammography made any difference at all for women.

CHICAGO -First, answer the question. Talk to us. Less is more. Unbidden, be wary of recommending treatments. Just a few nuggets of advice from referring physicians at an RSNA 2011 session to help radiologists understand what their colleagues in other departments want – and don’t necessarily want.

CHICAGO - The field of radiology has come a long way since the days of paper and film, says one of the profession’s leading thinkers on the evolving relationship between diagnostic imaging and information technology. And it’s only getting started.

CHICAGO - Fusion may be a good thing for restaurants and the Ford Motor Company, but it’s among the factors making life harder for radiologic technicians and nuclear-medicine experts.

The Canadian Task Force on Preventive Health has recommended that women start screening for breast-cancer at age 50 rather than 40. In 2009, the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force (USPSTF) said much the same thing. Organizations such as the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists came out against the 2009 guidelines; the American College of Radiology is among those vocally opposed to the Canadian follow-up.

MRI shows little evidence of benefiting breast-cancer treatment, according to the first paper in The Lancet’s new series on breast cancer.

Patients voting with their feet strongly preferred noninvasive CT colonography over traditional colonoscopies, Dutch researchers have found.

Physicians who billed for nuclear and echocardiographic stress imaging tests were more likely to prescribe such tests after coronary revascularization than those who did not bill for these services, according to a study in the November 9 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association.

OK, so saving the planet’s not quite as simple as turning off your computer. But radiologists can cut electricity use and save their practices money with judicious use of a workstation’s and monitor’s “off” switch when wrapping up for the day. That’s according to common sense - as well as a study in the November issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology.

While the “ultrasound stethoscope” may indeed be moving from science fiction to reality, radiologists remain at the helm for the majority of ultrasound procedures. That’s despite the growth of bedside point-of-care ultrasound, according to a new study published the November issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology.

Past mammograms are a valuable tool for benchmarking for change, but radiologists should keep in mind the diagnostic risks with respect to screenings where change is and isn’t observed.

MRI measurements of inflammatory precursors to rheumatoid arthritis are central to the early application of a promising anti-arthritis therapy, according to a study published in the British Medical Journal.

Bracco Diagnostics expects a “limited and progressive reintroduction” of its CardioGen-82 PET tracer in the first or second quarter of 2012, the company said in an Oct. 17 letter to customers.

Better image post-processing enables simplified bowel preparation with no effect on virtual colonoscopy image quality, an Italian team of radiologists found in a preliminary study published in La Radiologia Medica.