Health officials are trying to ban 3-D ultrasound machines from the state of Haryana, India. Mobile ultrasound machines are already banned (ineffectually)  in much of the state.

What’s the problem? Ultrasound scans reveal the sex of fetuses. In India, many parents prefer boys. So ultrasound machines ultimately lead to the elective abortions of many female fetuses.

According to The Times of India, … read more »

When the school year ends, most students head for the beach or a summer job or a couch in front of a video game. In May, fourth-year medical student Benjamin Johnson will head to Uganda to help test an inexpensive new radiology system that could greatly improve health care in developing countries.

Johnson is a student at the University of California, … read more »

About your mobile phone, we have good news and bad news: it apparently won’t give you brain cancer, but it might hurt your business.

First, the good news: a study by University of Manchester scientists looked at rates of brain cancer diagnoses in England from 1998 through 2007. The researchers found no statistically significant change in the incidence of brain cancer … read more »

British Columbia authorities have been investigating approximately 3,400 CT and ultrasound scans read by two radiologists who, according to a news release by the province’s Ministry of Health Services, “lacked either the appropriate credentials or experience” to analyze such scans.

After two regional health authorities discovered the problem in early October, they waited four months before they began notifying patients early … read more »

A former technician at a Texas radiology clinic accepted a plea deal earlier this week to end a case in which he was accused of sexually assaulting a patient during an ultrasound exam.

Brian Riley, 40, the former technician, had faced a charge of sexual assault, a second-degree felony. He pleaded guilty on Monday to a misdemeanor charge of assault. He … read more »

These may not actually have been your “favorites,” unless you’re all big fans of lawsuits. But the following Radiology Daily stories did attract the most page views in 2010. We’ll list them in order of popularity, starting at the top:

Lawsuit Says Radiologist Missed Breast Cancer: A Quebec woman said a radiologist failed to notice signs of cancer that showed up … read more »

A team of University of Washington students has won a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation $100,000 Grand Challenges Explorations grant to test its low-cost ultrasound system, intended for use by midwives in developing countries.

The students connected an ultrasound probe via a USB port to a netbook computer with a touch-sensitive screen and free software. Total cost: about $3,500. Of that, … 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 »

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 »

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 »