MRI Brain Scan Diagnoses Adult Autism

A 15-minute MRI brain scan has proven more than 90 percent accurate in diagnosing autism in adults, according to researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry at King’s College London. Such a technique could greatly streamline diagnosis of the disorder.

According to the National Institutes of Health, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) affects three to six children out of every 1,000. The term … 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 »

MRI is getting more and more useful as a tool for diagnosing prostate cancer. Rutgers University researchers say they can now use it to distinguish between fast-growing and slow-growing cancers with more than 90 percent accuracy.

That would make noninvasive, radiation-safe MRI an excellent tool for helping to decide which patients need immediate treatment and which might better be served by … read more »

Stress is bad for you. We know that. But in what way? How does a stressful situation translate into negative physical consequences?

MRI has now given us a partial answer: people who show greater neural sensitivity to social stress also demonstrate physical increases in inflammatory activity. And chronic inflammation is a risk factor for asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, cardiovascular disease, some cancers, … read more »

A new laser probe not only looks promising for early detection of oral cancer but also could be used during surgery to locate the edges of a tumor.

Researchers at UC Davis Health System in Sacramento, California, developed the fiber-optic probe. The lab of Laura Marcu, PhD, a professor of biomedical engineering at UC Davis, collaborated with a team led by … 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 »

A lawsuit seeks $2.5 million in damages from a Virginia medical clinic and three physicians’ assistants who worked there for not diagnosing the breast cancer that killed a woman at age 58.

The Northern Virginia Daily newspaper reports that George Pierce Sr. of Winchester, Virginia, filed suit this week against Amherst Family Practice, also of Winchester. The lawsuit says Amherst provided … read more »

Any institution that does perfusion CT scans of the brain should right this minute check the settings on its machines and the training of its technologists. At least eight hospitals, plus manufacturers, regulators, patients, and, of course, lawyers, are complaining, arguing, investigating, and pointing fingers regarding excessive radiation doses during such scans.

The Los Angeles Times reported this week that, at … 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 »

The cell phone industry association has sued to stop San Francisco from requiring that purchasers of cell phones be given already-public information about the phones’ radiation emissions.

Confused? Here’s another way to put it: the cell phone industry doesn’t want in-store radiation-emission labels for cell phones because it’s afraid consumers will worry that the phones aren’t safe.

In June, San Francisco established … read more »