Technology May Eliminate Repeat Breast Cancer Surgery

A clinical trial at the Moores University of California San Diego Cancer Center, a National Cancer Institute-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center, will evaluate a new surgical device which may spare healthy breast tissue during lumpectomies.  Besides seeking the most immediate  benefit to the patient, surgeons are hoping the device will make only one operation per patient necessary and will allow, instead, for more radiation therapy and chemotherapy.

Already approved by the FDA, the low temperature device utilizes radiofrequency energy and makes for a cleaner, more complete excision of the tumor itself. The pathologist’s sample, then, sustains less heat damage, and … read more »

Beginning with diagnostic imaging and other medical tests, physicians in Pennsylvania eventually discovered a recessive gene that caused their young Amish patient’s newly identified disease, which was only found in other Amish children.

According to an article in Medical News Today, the  boy was behind in growth rate and developmental milestones. He had recurring diarrhea and was visibly different from his peers. He had an enlarged liver and spleen but no other indicators toward a diagnosis. When  his cousin showed similar characteristics, when his brother was born with the same problems and when a fourth child surfaced, doctors got … read more »

Peace on the home front, or the reversal of trouble in paradise, may be just an fMRI scan away, as activity in the lateral prefrontal cortex can predict if couples will bounce back better from domestic squabbles.

The link between brain activity and the regulation of emotion in the laboratory is documented, and now brain activity and daily chains of events appear to have a similar relationship, in relationships.

An article from Medical News Today outlines the Harvard study. Researchers worked with couples who had been together for three months or more.  They placed each individual in … read more »

The FDA is taking a closer look at the safety of health information technology and, toward that end, put together a network of 350 US hospitals last month to report hazards, according to an article in The Huffington Post Investigative Fund by Fred Schulte and Emma Schwartz.

As well as citing several recent specific glitches in computerized hospital equipment, the agency is responding, in part, to six deaths in two years that were caused by equipment malfunctions that the FDA’s Jeffrey Shuren said, “may represent the tip of the iceberg.” In one incident, a radiology workstation … read more »

Up to half of prostate cancer patients, according to some studies, choose to take herbal or dietary supplements, with the hope of further improving their sexual potency and lessening some of their symptoms. Patients may experience even more complications, though, if they take these products while they are getting radiation therapy treatments.

At William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, MI, researchers tested three common prostate specific supplements taken in conjunction with radiation therapy. Malignant tumor cells, they found, were not affected in either growth rate or radiosensitivity. The normal prostate cell lines, however, were.

According to an article in Medical News Today,  the supplements … read more »

Utilizing an MRI scanner and software designed for the automotive and aircraft industries, researchers at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health have developed technology that captures 4-D  images of the entire chest, with blood flow velocity represented in color coded filaments.

The procedure has the added advantage of producing results in 10 minutes—or nine times faster than current methods—does not require that a patient hold his breath, is not limited by a patient’s size, is non-invasive and does not necessitate a contrast agent or general anesthesia.

Radiologist Chris Francois, and … read more »

Pneumoperitoneum must be diagnosed promptly when it occurs, which is often abruptly and without warning.

Author: Stephen R. Baker, MD. Special Presentation for Practical Reviews in Radiology

Other Signs of Free Air on Radiography

This third section of the review on diagnosing pneumoperitoneum considers supine plain film signs of abdominal free air outside the right upper quadrant.

In the anterior paramedian superior position of the abdomen, the most common manifestation is the cupola sign, which is much more frequent than the presence of air in the lesser sac.

Like a cupola, free air in this … read more »

Pneumoperitoneum must be diagnosed promptly when it occurs, which is often abruptly and without warning.

Author: Stephen R. Baker, MD. Special Presentation for Practical Reviews in Radiology

Signs of Free Air on Radiography

The best place to look on plain films for findings of pneumoperitoneum is in the right upper quadrant, because the homogeneous shadow of the liver affords an excellent background upon which even very small collections of free air can be displayed.

However, to take advantage of the hepatic background, the entirety of the peritoneal cavity from the top to bottom must … read more »

PACS systems or review stations don’t always correctly display and measure lesions on magnified images, even though they have FDA approval. That’s according to a small study published in the January issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology.

Currently the FDA has approved eight digital mammogram systems. However, none of the literature on image quality among these systems addresses measurement accuracy, the Colorado researchers say.
Using an acrylic disk. the team took measurements in various magnification views across different systems, then compared them with measurements made with electronic calipers. Here’s how the … read more »

Over the past 10 years, CT angiography (CTA) has been replacing ventilation/perfusion (VQ) imaging as “the gold standard” for imaging pulmonary embolism (PE). Some would say that’s with good reason: CT is faster, produces sharper images, and is usually readily available in most hospitals. However, using CT for diagnosing PE is a big concern for some doctors, who say the test causes excessive radiation to the chest and breasts and poses a particular danger for younger women of child-bearing age. Because of the potential increase in the risk for breast … read more »

Annual screening with both mammography and MRI seems to be a cost-effective way to help high-risk women live longer, says a new study published in the March issue of Radiology. The findings support current screening recommendations by the American Cancer Society.

“For women at the highest risk of breast cancer, using both breast MRI and mammography together for screening will likely reduce their chances of dying from breast cancer and help them live longer, healthier lives,” said lead study author Janie M. Lee, M.D. in a press release.

In the study, Dr. … read more »

University of Missouri researchers are studying how photoacoustics, or a laser-induced ultrasound, could help scientists locate the general area of the lymph node where melanoma cells could be residing. This new technology could help doctors identify the stage of melanoma more accurately.

“This method can be used to determine if the cancer has spread from stage 2, where the melanoma is still just in the skin lesion, to stage 3, where the melanoma has spread to the lymph nodes,” said John Viator, assistant professor in the Department of Biological Engineering and … read more »

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration will hold a public meeting March 30-31 to discuss what CT manufacturers and other vendors can do to reduce unnecessary radiation exposure. The day-long meetings will take place at the Holiday Inn Gaithersburg in Gaithersburg, Maryland. Registration is free and on a first-come, first-served basis.

According to the FDA’s federal notice, the goal of the meeting is “to receive public input on steps manufacturers of CT and flouroscopic devices should take to help reduce unnecessary patient exposure to ionizing radiation from these medical imaging modalities.”

Day … read more »

There’s no shortage of radiologists in the employment market today, and radiologists want more work, a new study suggests. The findings appear in the March issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology.

Using anonymous data from the American College of Radiology’s 2007 Survey of Diagnostic Radiologists, researchers from the American College of Radiology (ACR), Yale, Johns Hopkins, and the University of California at San Francisco looked at factors such as type and size of practice, radiology subspecialty, and geographic region. They also looked at probable links between desired workload change and … read more »