Ultrasound

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Contrast-enhanced ultrasound may offer more sensitive and more detailed detection of endoleaks for aortic stent-grafts than CT angiography, according to research presented at the 2006 RSNA meeting. The two techniques might best be used in combination, said researchers from the University of Insubria in Varese, Italy.

Use of breast ultrasound and MRI in Medicare beneficiaries has been on the rise in a big way, but the picture of mammography utilization in this patient population is less rosy.

The thrust for Richland, WA-based Advanced Imaging Technologies over the last four years has been to transform the acoustical holography system developed by its predecessor firm, Advanced Diagnostics, into a commercial product. The fruit of those labors is the company’s first product, its Aria Breast Imaging System.

Canadian and U.S. radiologists face different regulatory restrictions for the use of ultrasound contrast agents. However, both sides are coming up with similar evidence about their positive effect on clinical practice.

As a practicing radiologist for 28 years, I was happy to see the Point/Counterpoint repartee between Dr. Carter Newton and Dr. David Dowe in Diagnostic Imaging (September 2006, pages 24 and 25) regarding cardiac CT angiography. It's time the radiology community and the medical community at large understand the difference between real imaging professionals and doctors who believe that cardiac imaging is some type of divine entitlement.

Half of the people in the U.S. older than 50 could suffer fractures caused by osteoporosis over the next 13 years, according to a 2005 Surgeon General's report. Such ominous predictions move musculoskeletal conditions to the top of a long list of chronic diseases confronting baby boomers.

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In 2007, Siemens Medical Solutions plans to introduce what could be the market's smallest handheld ultrasound system. The company selectively demonstrated the palm-sized, Blackberry-like device at the 2006 RSNA meeting, typical treatment for a new product or a work-in-progress.

A British research team is applying a new twist to an old technique for treating ankle injuries in high-performance athletes. The procedure involves use of ultrasound to guide steroid and anesthetic injections and was originally described in the literature a decade ago for treating ankle impingement in ballet dancers.

Radiologists face a choice between relinquishing control of ultrasound for good or reclaiming a modality that could thrive in their hands through the next decade. An indication of which way the specialty is leaning can be gleaned from an October seminar in which luminaries dissected practice trends and applications in use of ultrasound.

Ultrasound could one day play a key role in drug delivery, if researchers can harness the ultrasound beam's cavitation effect, which allows drugs to pass through the protective membranes of cells.

The timing and place were perfect to let a larger audience hear what ultrasound insiders knew all along: Contrast-enhanced sonography could boost targeted biopsy’s power to detect prostate cancer and do away with the need for sextant or saturation-type biopsies, according to a study presented Tuesday at the RSNA meeting.

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Siemens upgrades digital fluoro, radiographyFujiFilm allies with convertible ultrasound firmSchering cuts R&D deal with Stanford

Radiologists perform most diagnostic and minimally invasive interventional musculoskeletal studies in the U.S., with some areas experiencing continuous growth. Data released Wednesday at the RSNA meeting, however, suggest future turf battles between radiologists and surgeons are lurking on the horizon.

Canadian and U.S. radiologists may face different regulatory restrictions when it comes to use of ultrasound contrast, but both agree on one thing: the agents have a positive effect on clinical practice, according to studies presented at the RSNA meeting on Monday.