Medicare’s outpatient imaging program has issued a New Year’s greeting in the form of rules in the 2009 Physician Fee Schedule that raise professional reimbursement rates, expand the discount for contiguous body part imaging to more applications, and introduce anti-markup rules that are far less harsh than those originally proposed.
Recommendations from an Oregon Health and Science Center study have clashed with the findings from a University of Wisconsin trial on the value of polypectomy for small polyps identified during CT colonography. The Oregon study calls for immediate resection while the Wisconsin trial concludes that removal would be costly, risky, and, by definition, unnecessary.
Educational efforts to raise awareness about the associated risks of CT-based radiation exposure and the need to keep children from receiving unnecessary scans seem to be achieving traction among healthcare providers, according to a study by Ohio researchers. Their findings suggest that such increased awareness may make referring physicians less likely to order imaging that involves ionizing radiation for young patients.
Educational efforts to raise awareness about the associated risks of CT-based radiation exposure and the need to keep children from receiving unnecessary scans seem to be achieving traction among healthcare providers, according to a study by Ohio researchers. Their findings suggest that such increased awareness may make referring physicians less likely to order imaging that involves ionizing radiation for young patients.
Discovery PET/CT 600 debuted at the RSNA meeting, taking a midtier position in GE Healthcare’s family of hybrid devices.
A lesion’s type and location, and the number of muscles that a needle has to pierce to reach it, rather than the number of procedures, determine the level and duration of pain after radiofrequency ablation of osteoid osteomas, according to Mayo researchers.
A low-cost 16-slice scanner designed for cost-constrained customers debuted at the Philips booth during the RSNA meeting.
In the aftermath of Medicare’s less than encouraging evaluation of virtual CT colonography for colorectal cancer screening, Dr. Elizabeth McFarland used the RSNA’s Annual Oration in Diagnostic Radiology to identify past achievements and ongoing initiatives she believes will lead to the modality’s acceptance.
Low-dose PET/CT demonstrates the best sensitivity and specificity for initial staging of lymphoma, according to a study presented on Thursday at the RSNA meeting.
Increased use of CT for pneumonia is unlikely to be the sole cause of increased hospital costs at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, according to a study presented Dec. 5 at RSNA
In the aftermath of Medicare’s less than encouraging evaluation of virtual CT colonography for colorectal cancer screening, Dr. Elizabeth McFarland used the RSNA’s Annual Oration in Diagnostic Radiology to identify past achievements and ongoing initiatives she believes will lead to the modality’s acceptance.
In response to demands for evidence that cardiac CT will positively affect patient outcomes, researchers presented results at the RSNA conference Wednesday attesting to its value for identifying which intermediate risk patients are most likely to suffer future catastrophic coronary events.
In response to demands for evidence that cardiac CT will positively affect patient outcomes, researchers presented results at the RSNA conference Wednesday attesting to its value for identifying which intermediate risk patients are most likely to suffer future catastrophic coronary events.
Philips Healthcare showcased at RSNA 2008 a hybrid SPECT/CT that incorporates a flat-panel x-ray system in place of a standard multislice CT. The FDA-cleared scanner, BrightView XCT, which debuted at the Society of Nuclear Medicine meeting in New Orleans, is built around the BrightView SPECT that Philips released commercially last year.
CT colonography can screen for both colorectal cancer and osteoporosis reliably at minimal additional cost and time, according to a study presented Tuesday at the RSNA meeting.
The availability of a portable CT scanner in an emergency room significantly increases the number of patients who are eligible for life-saving treatment.
Stroke victims get faster “door-to-CT” time when departments communicate effectively, especially when emergency medical staff is called while the patient is en route to the hospital.
Siemens Healthcare showcased at RSNA 2008 a PET/CT designed with radiologists in mind. It emphasizes CT performance and casts PET as the “smart contrast” that enhances the dynamic information delivered by CT. Siemens is pitching the CT component of its new Biograph mCT (molecular CT) as the most important part of the scanner and the PET component as delivering complementary information.
GE launches new digital XR systemsPhilips unveils new 16-slice CTDigital stereotaxy adds to GE digital mammoTouchscreen enhances GE compact ultrasound
The news was mixed for CT in the emergency department in research presented Wednesday at the RSNA meeting. CT was found to be better than ultrasound for diagnosing ER patients with abdominal pain, but radiation dose can be drastically reduced for patients suspected of appendicitis, according to authors of several studies.
Radiologists should aggressively contest otherwise scientifically sound information on cardiac CT radiation risks that is taken out of context or blown out of proportion, fomenting unreasonable fears of medical imaging among patients.
More stringent criteria to evaluate emergency room patients under 40 years of age with suspected pulmonary embolism could decrease radiation exposure while also saving time and money, according to research presented at the RSNA meeting.
The Brilliance iCT SP (scalable platform) scanner officially joined the Philips CT portfolio at RSNA 2008.
The 2008 RSNA meeting serves as a reference point of sorts for two important trials testing the clinical efficacy of multislice cardiac CT. Results from the Core64 trials of 64-slice coronary CTA were published Nov. 28 while plans for a Core320 trial were announced in Chicago at the RSNA show.
FiatLux Imaging leveraged advances in the video gaming industry to develop software for processing 3D medical images, a product made to order for tight budgets.
A new configuration of GE Healthcare’s LightSpeed VCT cuts dose by up to 40% during routine imaging, according to the company.
