Blame Beds For Breast Cancer, Melanoma?

Radiation from radio and TV signals, amplified by the metal parts of mattresses and box springs, may cause breast cancer and melanoma—especially on the left side—among people in Western countries, two Swedish researchers suggest.

The researchers are Örjan Hallberg, MSc, of Hallberg Independent Research and Olle Johansson, PhD, of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden.

Their study, published in the journal Pathophysiology, … 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 »

Diffusion MRI beats CT for diagnosing acute ischemic stroke, according to a new guideline from the American Academy of Neurology published today in the journal Neurology.

CT is the de facto standard for stroke diagnosis. But newer MRI techniques, such as diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) and perfusion-weighted imaging (PWI), are more accurate, the article said.

“While CT scans are currently the standard test … read more »

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 »