Dutch researchers say they’ve developed an ultrasound-based imaging technology that can accurately identify prostate tumors and potentially could also assess their aggressiveness.

The key is injection of microbubbles of a contrast agent. The bubbles can enter even the smallest blood vessels.

The pattern of blood vessels in tumors differs from that in healthy tissue. So the researchers say they not only can … read more »

Using ultrasound to guide injections for treatment of knee osteoarthritis greatly improved patients’ response to treatment, reduced their pain, and even saved them money, according to a study that’s scheduled to be presented on Thursday at the American College of Rheumatology (ACR) Annual Scientific Meeting in Atlanta.

The researchers studied 94 knees, randomly selected for injection guided by the traditional palpation … read more »

A lawyer who is also the son of an orthopedic surgeon offers a product that compensates patients and their families for surgical complications and at the same time may reduce malpractice claims: complication insurance.

Through his Surgical Risk Solutions, Andrew Kagan offers insurance against a variety of complications, effective for 30 days starting on the date of the surgery. Premiums generally … read more »

MRI-guided laser ablation shows great promise for precisely destroying small tumors by means of heat, say physicians at Mayo Clinic’s Florida campus in Jacksonville.

Surgeons there have successfully used the technique to treat kidney or liver tumors in five patients. Mayo Clinic’s original location in Rochester, Minnesota, has used laser ablation on patients with recurrent prostate tumors.

Said Eric Walser, MD, as … 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 »

A new 3-D CT scanning approach may improve treatment for the potentially life-threatening heart disorder ventricular tachycardia. Current ablation treatment for the disorder, which can develop following a heart attack, has a long-term success rate of only 50 to 60 percent.

Researchers at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore spent two years testing and customizing software to come … read more »

A new imaging technique could guide melanoma surgery, minimizing the amount of tissue that’s cut away while ensuring that every bit of the tumor is removed.

Two researchers at Washington University in St. Louis combined forces to create images of exceptional three-dimensional clarity. Lihong Wang, PhD, the Gene K. Beare Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering, developed photoacoustic tomography (PAT) imaging. Younan … 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 »

Suddenly, nanoparticles are big. We’ve been inundated with imaging-related nanoparticle news in recent weeks. The latest breakthrough comes from Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, where researchers have demonstrated how iron oxide nanoparticles can deliver cancer-fighting antibodies to brain tumors while also enhancing tumor visibility via MRI.

The study, published online by the journal Cancer Research, describes the use of … read more »

Nanoparticle research described last week at the annual meeting of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine could revolutionize breast-cancer treatment.

At the meeting, which was in Philadelphia, Xuanfeng Ding, MS, a graduate student at Wake Forest University in North Carolina, presented his research on multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) containing iron. Ding and his colleagues injected the MWCNTs into breast tumors … read more »