Nearly 1 in 10 American adults younger than 65 underwent heart imaging that exposed them to radiation from 2005 through 2007, according to a new study involving more than 950,000 adults in five U.S. health-care markets.

Is this a problem? Frustratingly enough, we don’t know. As the study says, “The public health and clinical implications of radiation exposure from cardiac imaging … read more »

Microwave tomography can provide a cheaper and safer method of screening for breast cancer than X-ray mammography. Theoretically.

That’s the conclusion of a paper published this week in the SIAM Journal on Applied Mathematics. (SIAM is the Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics.) In the paper, the authors describe a mathematical model for imaging breast tumors using microwave tomography (MT).

MT bombards … read more »

Distinguishing between bipolar disorder (BPD) and unipolar (normal) depression can sometimes take years, but is crucial because  treatment for the two conditions differs. Now, a leading researcher reports that even a single MRI brain scan may offer a fast, accurate diagnosis.

Mary L. Phillips, MD, presented her findings at the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ International Congress in Edinburgh, Scotland, last month. … read more »

A Baltimore couple has filed a wrongful-birth lawsuit against a radiology practice after a sonogram result showing fetal abnormalities was, according to the suit, sent to the wrong doctor.

The Daily Record, a business and legal newspaper in Baltimore, reports that the lawsuit names American Radiology Services of Pikesville, Maryland, as well as The Johns Hopkins Health System Corp., which is … read more »

A combination of a PET brain scan and a memory test does the best job of predicting which patients with mild cognitive problems will develop Alzheimer’s disease, according to a newly published study. However, the expense of PET may mean that the finding is most useful in selecting patients for clinical trials of potential Alzheimer’s drugs.

The research was part of … read more »

The world could run out of helium in three decades, says a Nobel Prize–winning physicist. Why should radiologists care? Because MRI machine cooling systems account for more than a quarter of annual helium use.

Robert C. Richardson, PhD, who shared the 1996 Nobel Prize in Physics, sounded the alarm at the 60th annual Nobel Laureate Lectures in Lindau, Germany. Helium is … read more »

Cuts to a California state program to provide free mammograms for low-income women will continue indefinitely because the state Legislature has not reached a budget deal.

The Associated Press reports that no new enrollments have been allowed since January, and the qualification age for annual services will stay at 50 instead of returning to 40. The state Public Health Department had … read more »

Radiation exposure isn’t the only safety issue that ought to concern radiologists.

Two radiology technicians have sued Bozeman Deaconess Hospital in Bozeman, Montana. They claim that, while working in a darkroom at the hospital, they were exposed to unsafe levels of X-ray film developing chemicals.

Court documents say one of the women began working at the hospital in 2000 and the other … read more »

What’s the most effective way to encourage women to get mammograms regularly? A) Reminders. B) Education/motivation. C) Counseling. D) All of the above. E) None of the above.

The correct answer, according to the results of a study published online this week in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, is: F) We don’t know; we need to do more studies.

Sigh.

Sally … read more »

Someone shows up at the emergency room with chest pain. An initial consultation categorizes the patient as “non-low risk.” Next step: hospital admission for tests and further evaluation, right?

Not so fast, say researchers at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center. Instead, their new study suggests placing such patients in an observation unit, monitoring them carefully, and stress testing them with … read more »