MRI

Use of breast ultrasound and breast MRI in Medicare beneficiaries has been on the rise, but mammography utilization has not kept apace. Following a big boost in the number of mammograms in the late 1990s, growth has slowed in recent years. The reason could be waning awareness of screening programs or possibly a decline in access due to center closures.

Positional MRI, which allows patients free range of motion during imaging, has allowed researchers to determine the optimal sitting posture to reduce chronic back problems. The technique may also be of value in future seating design.

Although MR colonography (MRC) is proving to be an effective method of colorectal screening, patients are no more likely to accept it than optical colonoscopy, according to two studies presented at the RSNA meeting.

Aurora Technologies will begin routinely upgrading its installed base of about 20 dedicated breast MR scanners with an acquisition capability that boosts signal-to-noise by 300%, according to the company. The upgrade, called spiral RODEO (Rotating Delivery of Excitation Off-resonance), was commercially launched at the RSNA meeting.

MR peripherals maker Resonance Technology introduced at the RSNA meeting its new FuncLAB functional MRI system with automated image data processing. FuncLAB presents functional imaging tasks using high-quality 3D graphics and audio with an automated data processing component that eliminates complex, time-intensive manual data analysis. The server for processing fMRI data attaches to the department network. Functional and anatomic images are automatically sent in DICOM format from the scanner to the processor. Resulting brain maps of anatomy fused with functional results are available onsite and over the Web through a browser-based interface.

Continued concerns over breast MRI’s clinical cost-effectiveness can be fully addressed only if radiologists can reach a consensus on the appropriate indications and development of standard protocols, according to New York-based researchers.

Officials from the American College of Radiology and the American College of Cardiology, along with other interested stakeholders, have published a consensus report defining quality for all cardiovascular imaging modalities. They say that the focus on quality in cardiovascular imaging has been less intense than in other areas of cardiovascular medicine.

Particles one-billionth of a meter in size can be loaded with high concentrations of drugs designed to kill brain cancer. These nanoparticles can be used to image and track tumors as well as destroy them, according to researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center.

One drawback of cardiac MRI is the creation of motion artifacts from the beating heart and patient breathing. Researchers in Japan have found that these artifacts can be reduced when images are collected during systole rather than diastole.

A study at UCLA looks at milestones in the development of cardiac MR. A large-scale study finds no difference in thrombosis rates between bare metal and drug-eluting stents. A study at Massachusetts General Hospital confirms that multislice CT can eliminate unnecessary hospital admissions by ruling out myocardial infarction for patients with chest pain who have nondiagnostic ECG results and normal cardiac enzymes.

Problems with gadolinium-containing contrast agents administered to patients with renal impairment are more common than originally estimated. The lack of awareness among radiologists about the potential dangers for those at high risk is striking, according to researchers.

When a smoker takes one puff of a cigarette, about 30% of the brain's most common nicotine receptors are affected. With three puffs, the nicotine in the cigarette occupies about 70% of the receptors. The smoker becomes satisfied when nearly all of the receptors are occupied, usually after smoking about three cigarettes.

Step-by-step checklist should enable differentiation of pathology even on plain film x-ray

Elderly patients can undergo CT scanning of the pancreatobiliary region with only 90% or less of the contrast dose required in other patients without compromising the exam's quality.

Neuroimaging research has contributed enormously to our understanding of structural and functional differences between the brains of people with schizophrenia and those of healthy people. Imaging now offers insights into how drugs used to treat schizophrenia work as well as the genetic mechanisms that lie at the root of these disorders.

After 19 years in a minimally conscious state, a man recovered language and motor function. Diffusion tensor imaging showed reorganization of the patient's white matter, possibly facilitating functional recovery.

Ovarian cancer accounts for nearly 3% of all cancers among women. It is the second most common gynecological malignancy in the U.S., following carcinoma of the uterine corpus.

MRI performed at an unlimited specific absorption rate is safe in patients with some permanent pacemakers or implantable cardioverter/defibrillator systems, as long as precautions are taken, according to a study from Israel.

In rectal cancer, mortality rates are high and prognoses are generally poor, owing to the strong risk of metastases and local recurrence.

MRI is providing valuable clinical information that is enabling injured Olympic divers to get their careers back on track.

Cutting prenatal exposure wherever possible, but not at the expense of necessary treatment, requires subtlety and care

Political differences abound as radiology practitioner assistants, radiologist assistants help imaging departments save time and money

Hyperscanning allows multiple subjects in separate MR scanners to interact with one another

Quantitative analysis of myocardial defects could move into routine clinical use with advances

Developments demonstrate consolidation of field strengths at modality's high end

Practical tips from one early adopter demonstrate dos and don'ts of transitioning to 3T MR imaging

An unconscious, outwardly unresponsive patient apparently was capable of understanding and responding to certain commands as measured by functional MRI.

No fewer than eight medical specialty societies, including the American College of Radiology and a section of the American College of Cardiology, signed off on a report covering clinical appropriateness criteria for cardiac CT and MR. In other reports, a cardiologist proposes an imaging fellowship for cardiology, and a radiologist describes a strategy to win the coronary CT angiography turf war.

Cardiologists will become increasingly dependent on angiograms generated using CT and MR over the next three years, according to a report released by IMV Medical Information Division, a Des Plaines, IL, market research firm. Within that time, cardiologists predict that CT angiography will take the place of SPECT and cardiac catheterization for evaluating seven of 11 major cardiac conditions.