The MR and CT industries may be only months away from achieving record sales performances in the U.S. Second-quarter revenue and third-quarter trend analyses indicate that the sales of high-performance equipment, buoyed by rising open sales, may have
The development of new crystal technology is crucial to the advancement of PET imaging. Executives at ADAC Laboratories are betting on GSO (gadolinium oxyorthosilicate) for their flagship PET system, Allegro.Crystals convert high-energy photons into
For years, proponents of digital mammography have focused on the inherent cost-effectiveness of digital mammography. But that may not be its best selling point. Increased efficiency and its effect on patient throughput could be the keys that open the
GE’s Signa Ovation MR scanner is up and running at the Grossman Imaging Center in Oxnard, CA. The 0.35-tesla system was unveiled at the 2000 annual meeting of the RSNA. Ovation is designed to accommodate claustrophobic or larger patients. It
The worst fears of owners and vendors of coincidence cameras were confirmed on June 29, when the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) formally restricted reimbursement to selected types of nuclear medicine devices.Expanded PET applications
Interactive computer-based teaching programs can provide an effective way of training radiologists at their desks, according to experts in medical informatics. While medical education is often characterized by hours spent in lecture halls and costly
Propelled by a favorable reimbursement climate, the telemedicine market is on the move, attracting new vendors and users. Many newcomers represent teleradiology and PACS companies with Web-based products for image transmission and archiving.“The
US Oncology has boosted its number of PET facilities to seven with the opening of two new centers in Indianapolis and Austin. The Indianapolis facility will be US Oncology’s first mobile unit. The PET Imaging Center of Central Texas has opened at
In the most visible sign that big government is seeking a simpler (if not kinder) approach to reimbursement, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson has come up with a new name for the Health Care Financing Administration. Out with the HCFA
Altaire has found a home. Hitachi Medical Systems has installed the first of its higher-field open Altaire scanners at Mission Regional Imaging Center in Mission Viejo, CA. Altaire, which delivers 22mT/m gradient amplitude and 55T/m/s slew rate, can
Specificity has long been the weak spot of computer-aided detection. Pattern-matching algorithms have traditionally marked everything suspicious, leading radiologists to complain that CAD systems did little more than redirect them to do a second read.CAD
Two House bills that call for an increase in screening mammography payments have picked up support on both sides of the aisle. The two measures, which propose raising the reimbursement rate from the current $69 to $90, are based on Senate bill 548,
The glamour technologies of imaging, MRI and CT, turned in stellar performances in 2000, pushing revenues in each market close to or beyond record levels. MRI sales in the U.S. topped more than a billion dollars for the second year in a row. Driving the
SonoSite unveiled SonoSite Plus and SonoHeart Plus on April 19, amid sobering news of the company’s financial state.The new versions of handheld ultrasound scanner SonoSite 180 and SonoHeart received FDA clearance in February and are expected to
The paths to Medicare reimbursement for dedicated PET and coincidence cameras have diverged and there appears to be no hope of reuniting them.As of July 1, Medicare will reimburse users of dedicated PET scanners for the diagnosis, staging, and restaging
Surgical biopsy rather than needle biopsy is performed more often than it should be. About this I have no doubt. Anecdotal evidence of professional and financial bias in favor of surgery has been supported by surveys demonstrating that up to 80% of women
Job Code: 736Department: RadiologyGrade: 130Title: PACS AdministratorDate: 2001 Scope of Position* Reporting in a line capacity to the senior manager, radiology computing and information sciences, the incumbent is responsible for leading the
Following the commercial release of OptiGo, Agilent is hoping cardiologists can be convinced to use its handheld ultrasound system in place of a stethoscope. Introduced March 19 at the annual American College of Cardiology meeting in Orlando, FL, the
Handheld ultrasound requires a leap of faith as much as it does technology. Intuitively, the idea seems brilliant: Shrink an ultrasound scanner so it can be worn on your belt, strapped to your shoulder, or carried by hand into places where ultrasound
Despite advances in radiology, the ultimate product -- the radiology report -- remains largely unchanged. Radiologists typically issue narrative descriptions of findings after image analysis, a labor-intensive and sometimes error-prone process.
Virtual fly-throughs have long been radiological vignettes—decorative designs skirting the border of clinical relevance. The movies, run back and forth, have entertained exhibit visitors for years. But Viatronix, a start-up workstation manufacturer
The gulf between payments for mammography and for MRI is narrowing. As reimbursement for these two converges and the technology advances, MRI may begin to challenge x-ray-based imaging as a primary breast screening modality.“Small MRI devices using
Vendors are increasingly emphasizing the development of devices that have proven clinical value. The reason is simple. These are the products that sell the best in a tight economic environment.The upside about developing such practical technology is that
It was billed as America's premier radiology network, offering the services of 300 radiologists from some of the most respected medical centers in the world: Bowman Gray, Emory, Brigham and Women's, Wake Forest, and UCSF. In the end, the big names could
TeleQuest, a teleradiology company that contracted with some of the nation’s most prestigious medical schools, has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection. TeleQuest was formed in 1994 to establish a nationwide network of luminary sites that would
