CT: Page 362

Growing radiation dose for CF patients highlights risks

Patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) receive substantial radiation doses from medical imaging, especially CT, highlighting the need for careful management of radiation exposure in patients with chronic diseases, according to a new study in Chest that covers nearly two decades.

January 11, 2012

Decision-support software reduces volume of CTPA exams

By Cynthia E. Keen

A combination of clinical decision-support software and a good rapport between emergency physicians and radiologists is credited for decreasing the number of CT pulmonary angiography (CTPA) exams ordered to evaluate acute pulmonary embolism.

January 10, 2012

Contrast CT, PET/CT assess cancer therapy for melanoma

By Wayne Forrest

Dynamic contrast-enhanced CT and FDG-PET/CT can provide additional information to evaluate and confirm how well melanoma patients respond to immune-modulated and antiangiogenic cancer therapy, according to researchers from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

January 10, 2012

CT shows link between statins and lung abnormalities in smokers

A study published January 6 in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine confirms earlier reports suggesting that statin use in current and former smokers is associated with interstitial lung abnormalities detected on CT scans.

January 8, 2012

JACR: Experts offer tips for minimizing pediatric CT dose

An article in the January issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology offers expert advice on radiation dose optimization techniques in pediatric CT. What's the most important step? Making sure a pediatric CT study is justified before it even begins, according to the authors.

January 5, 2012

Radiology dominates ECRI list of healthcare tech issues

Topics related to either diagnostic or therapeutic use of radiation dominated a top 10 list of important hospital technology topics for 2012, published this week by nonprofit technology research firm ECRI Institute.

January 5, 2012

Study of DRA's impact paints a complex picture

By Kate Madden Yee

The Deficit Reduction Act (DRA) took a meat cleaver to reimbursement at U.S. outpatient imaging facilities when it went into effect in 2006. DRA opponents predicted that the law would force private imaging centers to close, shift imaging to less-convenient hospital settings, and reduce access to seniors. But has that really happened?

January 5, 2012

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Open-source tool enables vendor-neutral CT dose archiving

Researchers in Boston have developed an automated radiation-exposure monitoring system that extracts detailed CT exposure data from image repositories. Thanks to optical character recognition software, the open-source software scheme can gather data from virtually any CT scanner model.

January 3, 2012

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CCTA shows cardiac revascularization beats statins alone

A study of more than 15,000 patients who underwent coronary CT angiography (CCTA) found that revascularization in patients identified by CT as high risk was associated with far fewer deaths than medical therapy (e.g., statins) alone.

January 1, 2012

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December 28, 2011

Emergency departments drive growth in CT use

By Kate Madden Yee

Emergency departments are major drivers of the recent explosion in CT utilization -- in fact, without emergency department use, CT utilization rates would have stayed almost flat in recent years, according to researchers at Thomas Jefferson University Hospitals.

December 28, 2011

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Johns Hopkins gets $8M cancer research grant

By AuntMinnie.com staff writers

Johns Hopkins University has received a five-year research grant worth more than $8 million from the U.S. National Cancer Institute to study early diagnostic tests and new treatments for breast, prostate, and other common cancers.

December 27, 2011

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