A few years back I made a bet that molecular imaging would become nothing more than a synonym for nuclear medicine. At the time it made sense, what with companies parking their gamma cameras and PET/CTs under this title. But since then, you might say I’ve seen the light.

Merry X-Ray acquired SourceOne Healthcare Technology, increasing U.S. distribution of medical imaging equipment, supplies, and services.

After years of backbiting, practitioners of kyphoplasty and vertebroplasty have finally found an issue upon which they can agree. They need a randomized controlled clinical trial.

For radiology to move into the digital arena in underserved areas around the world, financial, cultural, and technological stumbling blocks have to be removed, according to a recent case study.

The Hong Kong Hospital Authority, which manages all 43 public hospitals in the region, has enabled widespread image distribution through the integration of PACS into its electronic medical record.

Early diagnosis of femoro-acetabular impingement syndrome could prevent degenerative arthritis of the hip. It may keep young patients from potentially expensive, and possibly disastrous, invasive treatment interventions, according to research presented at the RSNA meeting.

Philips Medical Solutions wants operators of its MR scanners to work smarter, not harder. To help, the company developed SmartExam.

The radiology department at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center in New Orleans passed along valuable lessons learned about PACS disaster recovery from Hurricane Katrina during a Hot Topic presentation at the 2005 RSNA meeting.

At many facilities, children with suspected appendicitis head straight to the CT scanner for evaluation. Ultrasound provides an alternative, accurate means of making an initial diagnosis, sparing many children from potentially harmful radiation exposure, according to a study presented Dec. 1 at the Radiological Society of North America meeting in Chicago.

Radiofrequency ablation is as effective as resection for treatment of both hepatocellular carcinoma and metastatic colorectal tumors in the liver, according to two studies presented Monday at the joint RSNA/SIR Foundation Interventional Oncology Symposium. The key factor in both cases was RFA’s ability to easily repeat treatment on recurring tumors in a much less destructive fashion than surgery.

Early diagnosis of femoro-acetabular impingement syndrome could prevent degenerative arthritis of the hip. In addition, it may keep young patients from potentially expensive, and possibly disastrous, invasive treatment interventions, according to research presented at the RSNA meeting.

In many institutions, children with suspected appendicitis head straight to the CT scanner for evaluation. Ultrasound provides an alternative, accurate means of making an initial diagnosis, sparing many children from potentially harmful radiation exposure, according to a study presented at the RSNA meeting on Friday.

New data from a multicenter lung cancer trial reveals two-year, cancer-specific survival rates of 92% for a subset of patients treated with radiofrequency ablation. In addition, RFA provides effective local control for both nonresectable non-small cell lung cancers and lung metastases, according to findings from the Radiofrequency Ablation of Pulmonary Tumors Response Evaluation (RAPTURE) trial presented at the RSNA meeting.

Intraprocedural contrast-enhanced CT reduces the rate of incompletely treated renal cell carcinoma by nearly 64%, according to a study presented at the jointly-sponsored RSNA/SIR Foundation Interventional Oncology Symposium.

The fact that metal and MRI do not mix has, until recently, thwarted attempts to develop hybrid PET/MR scanners. Now engineers are maneuvering around the problem by eliminating the metal from PET scanners.

A specific low-dose multislice CT protocol can provide clinically useful images of the wrists, taking the trade-off between image quality and low radiation exposure up a notch.

CT perfusion techniques, useful in assessing stroke patients, may also demonstrate value elsewhere in the body. Perfusion 3 software from GE Healthcare and syngo Body Perfusion-CT from Siemens Medical Solutions can characterize malignant tumors and track patient response to therapy. Both can be used to assess tumors and other disease processes in areas outside the brain, including the liver, bladder, kidney, and breast.

Digital imaging continues to extend its reach throughout the medical enterprise and has entered the chiropractic arena. Life Chiropractic College West in Hayward, CA, made the transition from film-based radiography to computed radiography approximately two years ago. The college also has a PACS.

A substantial amount of clinical data shows that radiofrequency ablation of small kidney tumors is a safe and effective alternative to open or laparoscopic resection. Distinct intervention protocols and complementary techniques could further boost RFA's efficacy and expand its application to areas where it was previously deemed unsafe.

Diffusion tensor imaging, an MR technique that produces images based on the orientation of water molecules, has mainly been used to evaluate brain white matter diseases. Now, Stanford University researchers have combined DTI with computer-generated musculoskeletal models to plan gait-correcting surgeries in children with cerebral palsy.