The older you get, the less you have to worry that any new exposure to radiation might eventually trigger cancer, right?

Not so fast, says a new study published online last week in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. “Overall,” the researchers write, “the weight of the epidemiological evidence suggests that for adult exposures, radiation risks do not generally decrease … read more »

Makena, an expectant mother, doesn’t mind undergoing sonograms several times a week. That’s good for the ultrasound technicians, because Makena is a cheetah. And nobody wants an unhappy patient with big, strong teeth and claws.

Makena, who is 5 years old, is part of a breeding program at San Diego Zoo Safari Park. She submits to the procedures willingly, without sedation … read more »

Diagnostic X-rays of children may increase the risk that the children will develop leukemia, according to a new study by researchers at the School of Public Health at the University of California, Berkeley.

When the researchers examined the medical histories of children with acute lymphoid leukemia (ALL), they found that there was almost twice the chance that the children had been … read more »

Want to get a general radiological checkup? Participate in medical research. A new study reports that in almost 40 percent of research subjects who undergo medical imaging, the radiologist finds something unrelated to the research that may affect the individual’s health.

Researchers from Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, checked the medical records of 1,426 participants in studies conducted in 2004. Each … read more »

By 2020, the demand for radiologists could exceed supply by as much as 16 percent, according to a report by the physician-recruitment firm LocumTenens.com. It’s even possible, the report says, though “there are a lot of x-factors,” that we’ll see a job-growth boom like the one of 10 years ago.

“Retiring radiologists will exacerbate the problem,” the report says, “with 44 … read more »

Just as medical isotopes from the finally restarted nuclear reactor at Chalk River, Ontario, have begun trickling into the supply pipeline, doctors at a national symposium warned of the possible consequences of the current isotope shortage.

Before it was unexpectedly shut down in May 2009, the Chalk River plant had produced up to a third of the world’s medical isotopes—and half … read more »

Death during a CT scan in Florida resulted last week in a $6.2 million medical malpractice verdict.

An Alachua County (Gainesville) jury found against Shands at the University of Florida hospital in Gainesville. The hospital was expected to appeal.

In December 2002, Jacksonville resident Cory Fine, PhD, a business-school professor at the University of North Florida, underwent gastric-bypass surgery for weight loss … read more »

Is it the economy? Fear of radiation? Loss of health insurance by potential patients? All of the above?

Whatever the cause or causes, this has not been a good year for the high-tech imaging business. The Diagnostic Imaging news service reports that CT and MR imaging volumes are flat or declining across the United States.

The article quotes Tom Cabot, vice president … read more »

You can understand the excitement of Jonathan Jarvik, PhD, an associate professor of biological sciences at Carnegie Mellon University, about the new fluorescent biosensor that he and his team have developed.

The biosensor can track G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). GPCRs play an important role in the chemical communication circuits of cells, including circuits responsible for heart and lung function, mood, cognition … read more »

New federal-government data on Medicare patients’ chest and abdominal CT scans, MRI scans for lower back pain, and mammograms have stirred up scrutiny of some hospitals’ practices (as intended) as well as controversy, especially about so-called “double CT scans.”

The data could have big financial implications for health-care providers.

Last week, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released information … read more »