Ultrasound

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Using intravascular ultrasound, researchers have found that intensive cholesterol lowering with a statin drug can regress the buildup of plaque in the coronary arteries, according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American College of Cardiology in Atlanta.

An unusual eulogy by a urologist sparked peals of laughter from radiologists during a prostate cancer imaging session at the European Congress of Radiology. The topic focused on a physical test that men have come to know, if not exactly love.

Modern imaging has a ways to go before it can replace breast biopsy. A study conducted by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality indicates that currently available noninvasive imaging methods fall short of the accuracy needed to determine conclusively whether a lesion is cancerous.

Optical coherence tomography, a light-based imaging strategy, was found to compare favorably with intravascular ultrasound and to nearly match histopathology in determining the structure of atherosclerotic plaques in a study presented Saturday.

CT and MR angiography both provided more clinically useful information than duplex ultrasound in screening peripheral vascular disease. But when costs are factored in, CT emerged as the clear leader, according to a four-hospital study conducted in the Netherlands and described Saturday.

MR offers decided advantages as a tool for image guidance in radiofrequency ablation of liver tumors, but it also presents significant problems that must be overcome before its use becomes widespread, according to a pair of presentations March 5 at the European Congress of Radiology.

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.

After reviewing the clinical literature on ultrasound imaging of the shoulder, Dr. David Stoller, director of musculoskeletal MRI at the California Pacific Medical Center in San Francisco, concluded that a significant amount of data was either flawed or inaccurate.

Manufacturers continue to close the performance gap between handheld ultrasound systems and their more expensive cart-based competitors. Underlying this development are transducer improvements and unique imaging enhancements, even as the engineers of these units advance their strong suit -- portability. Zonare Medical Systems and SonoSite exemplify this progress.

Options for image-guided procedures in the breast have expanded considerably over the past 20 years. A variety of modalities are now being used to perform diagnostic, localization, and therapeutic interventional procedures for breast disease.

Cognitively healthy elderly people who experience atrophy in the amygdala and hippocampus are more likely to develop dementia, according to a study in the January Archives of General Psychiatry.

In the wake of the U.S. holiday of Thanksgiving every year, a city rises within the confines of Chicago's McCormick Place. It is a kind of radiological Epcot Center, a futuristic vision designed to dazzle; constructed of software, heavy iron, and handhelds; and swathed in platitudes.

Last year, an obese women in New York City claimed that her doctor suggested she go to the Bronx Zoo for an MRI because of her girth. Zoo officials, according to the New York Post, later said they had no elephant-sized MR machines onsite.

Business briefs

Released in late January, Fusion Matrix PACS version 2.1 introduces reading enhancements, including the ability to query and retrieve studies from third-party DICOM sources, reserve studies, and mark studies as preliminary. Other new tools include triangulation, which lets the user define a target point on an image to view the corresponding anatomic position in other series.

World leader in extremity MR Esaote is on its own. The Italian company, which has been a wholly owned member of the Bracco group since the turn of the decade, has been purchased by a private investment group. But Esaote is not headed into uncharted territory. The divestiture, which took effect Jan. 20 for an undisclosed sum, passes ownership of the maker of MR, ultrasound, and electrocardiography equipment to a group of investors that includes senior Esaote executives.

It has been ages since ultrasound was the darling of medical imaging, when Acuson handed out light sticks to celebrate its introduction of color flow, ATL christened computed sonography, and Diasonics raised the curtain on “Angio” imaging. Those were the Wild West days of ultrasound, when one company’s success was soon topped by another’s. Things have changed. The ultrasound industry today is far more civilized.

A new ultrasound-based device can effectively treat peripheral arterial occlusion and deep vein thrombosis in record time, according to a multicenter study presented at the 2006 International Symposium on Endovascular Therapy in Miami Beach.

Business Briefs

Advanced Magnetics’ struggles continue Revenues generated by MR contrast developer Advanced Magnetics fell in the first fiscal quarter 2006, as the company recorded $664,355, compared with $1,022,264 for the same period in fiscal 2005. The company reported a net loss of $4.2 million in the quarter just ended compared with a net loss of $2.5 million for the same period in fiscal 2005. The drop was attributed to the recognition of deferred license fee revenue from a license and marketing agreement covering Combidex and a decrease in product sales of Feridex I.V. by the company’s marketing partners. Advance Magnetics is developing a nondiagnostic agent dubbed Ferumoxytol. The drug is in phase III multicenter clinical trials for use as an iron replacement therapeutic in chronic kidney disease patients.