Facility Management

Demand dropped for gamma cameras in 2005, while it boomed for PET/CT. Trends driving this teeter-totter market, which links these two related but very different modalities, are continuing but moderating, according to industry sources.

Congressional moves to cut Medicare payments for outpatient imaging procedures tops the list of what worries executives at Toshiba America Medical Systems. But reimbursement problems won’t stop the company from developing and promoting new imaging technologies.

Yale University researchers have introduced an endovascular technique that takes up a notch the embolization of the varicose veins that cause varicoceles and chronic pelvic pain.

A new CPT code set to take effect July 1 might serve as an added incentive for the purchase of computer-aided detection systems for breast MR. But Confirma, the leader in MR CAD, isn’t counting on it to boost sales.

Diagnostic radiologists are the most important physicians patients will never meet. They are the M.D. equivalent of pharmacists, taking orders from attending physicians and filling orders, hovering in the shadows of medical care, and observing what’s going on but not participating.

Optical imaging may soon enter the medical mainstream with a handheld device that developers say will help providers of emergency care quickly diagnose brain hematomas.

An electronic form of brachytherapy could propel radiotherapy beyond oncology clinics and into radiology departments and possibly even imaging centers.

Patients often ask sonographer Cynthia Rapp just what it takes to perform ultrasound. Her frank response about the necessary qualifications sometimes comes as a surprise.

Convincing evidence suggests that, as suspected, managed care companies lack the ability to properly adjudicate claims and pay the contracted amount for services rendered.

While clinical data supporting the effectiveness of tumor ablation is growing, educational opportunities for physicians who want to learn new techniques or get tips on developing a tumor ablation practice lag behind. Some training is available through CME courses, industry society events, vendor education, and informal arrangements with luminaries, but large-scale, organized training regimens do not yet exist.

No better way exists than functional MRI to plot the intricate neural pathways of the brain. Neurosurgeons regularly call on this technique to plan surgical routes around eloquent brain areas, yet fMRI’s potential has remained untapped, largely due to benign neglect on the part of developers and third-party payers. The recent formation of a society dedicated to fMRI might change that situation.

Any reputation for excellence that Roxborough Memorial Hospital in Philadelphia might have tends to be eclipsed by its larger academic neighbors. Dr. Robert Worthington-Kirsch, however, wouldn't trade the small-town flavor of Roxborough Memorial for the publish-or-perish world of academic centers. It helps that he doesn't need to, as he is one of a handful of successful solo interventional radiology practitioners in the nation.

Convincing evidence suggests that, as suspected, managed care companies lack the ability to properly adjudicate claims and pay the contracted amount for services rendered. As a result, every radiology practice must routinely verify managed care payment compliance by tracking and reporting third-party payment practices.

Although musculoskeletal radiologists have long debated the relative roles of MRI and ultrasound in imaging shoulder injuries, they have reached consensus on a number of diagnostic algorithms. But the proliferation of inexpensive, low-end compact ultrasound systems has introduced a new controversy.

Hot on the heels of a successful 3D workstation face-off at last year's meeting, the Society for Computed Body Tomography and Magnetic Resonance this year has invited PACS vendors to submit their systems for what will be the first ever PACS showdown.

The adoption of new imaging technologies presents multiple challenges to hospitals, radiologists, cardiologists, payers, and vendors. Sixty-four-slice CT, which has enabled the clinical evolution and market adoption of coronary CT angiography, is not a disruptive technology. But CCTA is, as evidenced by questions raised about its clinical impact and the push for new credentialing standards by organizations.

The American College of Radiology and the American College of Cardiology called a truce in their turf battle over cardiac CT to jointly write a document intended to help local Medicare insurers set the terms for the acceptance and coverage of cardiac CT procedures.

Before considering revascularization procedures, surgeons want proof of ischemia. While catheter angiography has value in assessing lesions associated with coronary artery disease, it cannot assess the associated ischemia. PET imaging is increasingly being used to provide that information. With the rise of multislice CT angiography as a first-line test for patients with suspected CAD, researchers have set their sights on integrated PET/CT for combined acquisition of coronary anatomy and perfusion.

After a year of hammering out the fine print, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and the Academy of Molecular Imaging announced this month that they have started collecting data for the National Oncologic PET Registry.

Traditional forms of radiation therapy have a formidable new competitor. A nonradioactive form of brachytherapy, cleared late last year by the FDA and being readied for preliminary roll out, dramatically reduces the length of treatment for early-stage beast cancer following lumpectomy and promises to bring radiation therapy to physician offices and imaging centers.

After twice considering and rejecting endorsement of CT colonography as a cancer screening tool, the American Cancer Society is taking another look. Prompted by advances in reporting standards, technique, and training, the ACS may include the virtual colonoscopy technique as an optional test in its colon cancer screening guidelines by year's end. Such a move, coupled by favorable results from a national clinical trial, could push CTC into the practice mainstream, bolstering adoption, furthering development of computer-aided detection, and most important, fostering reimbursement.

Acquiring information about mammography procedures is one thing. Using that information in a report and follow-up is something else. That's where programs like MagView come in. The mammography information system can be configured with integrated scheduling, billing, radiology reporting, transcription, patient tracking, management reporting, and equipment quality control.

Sweaty hands, or palmar hyperhidrosis, can hinder a person’s social or professional life. A minimally invasive procedure performed under CT fluoroscopy guidance provides a permanent solution to the embarrassing problem, according to Belgian researchers.

The U.S. House of Representatives narrowly passed a $39 billion budget-cutting bill yesterday with provisions that significantly reduce Medicare reimbursement for imaging services.

Day-to-day radiology practice has changed immeasurably over the past 20 years. Many senior radiologists will no doubt recall how, as residents, they were asked to review 50 to 100 conventional x-rays each working day. Today, a single trauma patient can generate 1500 to 2000 images. As a result, if a dozen or so emergency cases arrive during the night shift, the resident on duty could be overwhelmed by more than 25,000 images to review.