Mammography

A 10-year study of imaging volume demands on a PACS at the Medical University of South Carolina shows how significant a factor multislice CT has become in image data storage.

Naviscan PET Systems hopes to ride a building wave of interest in new breast imaging technologies with its high-resolution, small field-of-view positron system. The FDA-cleared device has obvious application as an adjunct in the diagnosis of breast cancer. But it may be able to do much more.

Selenia trumps film mammographyVarian wins multiunit Danish orderNeurodiagnostics upgrades fMRI unit

FDA nod sends GE Senographe to the streetIBA settles patent battleDel Global expands exec’s dutiesPACS service model attracts new provider

Competitors to x-ray mammography may be mounting a serious challenge to the long-standing technology. Research has determined that MR and nuclear medicine can detect ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), which can develop into an invasive form of breast cancer, much earlier than mammography can.

Demand for digital computer-aided detection drove a 58% increase in revenue at iCAD in the second quarter to $6.1 million and caused net loss to decrease by two-thirds to $866,000.

Radiologists may be adept at rejecting hundreds of false positives flagged by computer-aided detection software, but they also have a strong tendency to dismiss correctly identified cancers, mistakenly believing the findings are benign, according to new research.

Big-ticket items are suffering this year as reimbursement cuts resulting from the Deficit Reduction Act have had a wider and longer lasting effect than initially expected. Particularly hard hit has been PET/CT. The hybrid juggernaut had defied the odds for several years, marching forward with ever higher sales despite utilization rates at individual sites that allowed plenty of unused capacity.

The latest lung CAD software offers high sensitivity and minimizes false positives greatly. But the lack of full integration with PACS continues to stall routine clinical use in some centers.

Pending tomosynthesis platform may stem price erosion seen with Selenia

For nearly a decade, radiologists have used breast ultrasound as an adjunct to x-ray mammography to avoid unnecessary biopsies in equivocal cancer cases. Now ultrasound innovations that increase image resolution while decreasing operator dependence are reflected in a study published in the July issue of Radiology.

Hologic unveils biopsy markersCAD boosts virtual colonographyEDAP appoints medical director

Myriad Genetics is the only place to go for BRCA1/BRCA2 mutation testing. The Salt Lake City biopharmaceutical company has a monopoly on the test. Its scientists discovered the BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes in 1996 and patented their use for assessing the risk of genetically related cancer.

Back pain and weakness of both legs had bothered this 60-year-old woman for one week. Left breast cancer, stage 2, had been diagnosed two years before, and she subsequently underwent a lumpectomy followed by chemotherapy and radiation therapy.

An iCAD computer-aided detection software package achieves high sensitivity with both computed radiography and full-field digital mammography, according to two new studies presented at the 2007 American Roentgen Ray Society meeting. In the same session, however, Dr. Edward Sickles warned that such positive studies may reflect optimal use and that radiologists should ensure they apply CAD software properly.

With a $6 billion dollar deal to merge with Cytyc in the wings, Hologic has struck yet another one that will cost much less. But like the Cytyc deal, it will complement Hologic’s existing portfolio of women’s healthcare products.

Hologic will soon add to the digital fever sweeping the mammography community with a new product that creates volumetric reconstructions of the breast. The company’s version of tomosynthesis technology is currently under FDA review. Chairman and CEO Jack Cumming said he expects U.S. sales of the product to begin by March 2008.

The substantial tumor contrast witnessed in 3D optical images of human breast cancer owes its visibility to the use of novel fluorescent probes. One day these probes might serve as diagnostic aids on par with those used in PET and MRI, according to researchers at the University of Pennsylvania who produced the 3D images using a technique called fluorescence diffuse optical tomography (FDOT).

iCAD pairs with Agfa for mammography systemSonoSite extends availability of algorithmAurora offers breast MR insurance supportContextVision lands OEM contractsAmicas picks up major IT contract

If ever a generation has been obsessed with aging, it's the baby-boom generation. Thirty years' worth of fads in exercise, diets, fashion, and personal grooming have all been directed at slowing the aging process or hiding its effects. Well, boomers can run (or jog, or bike, or yoga), but they won't be able to hide from what radiologists may soon be able to tell about the age of their insides.

New guidance from the American College of Physicians questioning the value of screening mammography of women in their forties has baffled and angered many leading mammographers.

Wavelet compression can shrink large, unwieldy digital mammography images by a factor of 100 without any loss in image quality, according to a German study presented at the European Congress of Radiology in March. This finding has tremendous potential benefits for productivity, teleradiology transmission speed, and PACS storage costs.

The radiology community has for the most part dissented from the findings of a study reported in April showing that computer-aided detection may actually do more harm than good in screening mammography. While critical of the study's design and conclusions, however, prominent radiologists agree that problems with misuse of the technology are worrisome.

Cedara allies with Canadian hospitalNightHawk picks TeraRecon 3D product Varian completes NDT acquisitionPilot boosts hopes for imaging of advanced breast cancer

Breast cancer screening declinesMindray quarterly results rocketNeuroLogica CT spots brain hemorrhage in boxerSourceMedical lands RIS/PACS contracts