Eric Barnes[email protected]CTPositive trial results boost VC's prospects for broader screening roleBOSTON - To those in attendance at the opening of the International Symposium on Virtual Colonoscopy on Monday, the outlook for virtual colonoscopy appeared bright. In the run up to this year's meeting, two major studies released in as many weeks had judged the virtual exam equivalent to optical colonoscopy in important measures of efficacy, lending more support for including virtual colonoscopy as a colorectal cancer screening option.October 15, 2007Digital X-RayMR studies gauge heart risk after myocardial infarctionA pair of new studies examines cardiac MRI's ability to predict adverse outcomes in patients with evidence of a previous myocardial infarction (MI). Researchers from Sweden studied whether MI scars represented early damage from atherosclerosis, while a team from Germany and California examined whether infarct size could be used to predict left ventricular modeling.October 14, 2007Digital X-RayCTA improves as first-line test for traumatic neck injuryThere are clinical guidelines for determining which trauma patients should undergo CT of the neck, but there is little definitive advice on which patients should undergo CT angiography (CTA) to screen for blunt cerebrovascular injury (BCVI). Dr. Michael Lev, director of emergency neuroradiology at Boston's Massachusetts General Hospital, discusses the use of extracranial vascular imaging, particularly CTA, in blunt trauma patients admitted to the emergency department.October 11, 2007CTMichigan heart center aims DSCT guns at image qualityDoctors at William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak, MI, do a lot of heart imaging with their dual-source CT (DSCT) scanner. Many of their coronary CT angiography patients come from the emergency room with obesity, significant comorbidities, and worries sufficient to keep their hearts racing during the scans. Center director Dr. Gilbert Raff recently discussed the patient demographics, processes, and results that led to the group's current protocols for DSCT.October 7, 2007CTStudy of two large screening cohorts favors VC over OCIn one of the largest studies so far to compare virtual colonoscopy and optical colonoscopy screening results, the two exams showed very similar detection rates for advanced adenomas in two similar cohorts, according to researchers from the University of Wisconsin Medical School in Madison.October 3, 2007Clinical NewsAuntMinnie.com Cardiac InsiderOctober 2, 2007CTDual-source coronary CTA largely unaffected by heart rateAs multidetector CT scanners have added detector rows over the years, faster and faster heart rates have been required to cause motion artifacts significant enough to reduce the diagnostic accuracy of coronary CT angiography (CTA). Researchers in Europe recently studied how dual-source CT performs with high heart rates, and found that diagnostic image quality is sufficient for a wide range of heart rates and heart rate variability.October 2, 2007Clinical NewsWeed out variability, bias in trial designARLINGTON, VA - Study end points -- such as sensitivity, specificity, and the area under the curve -- are crucial for gauging the effectiveness of an imaging modality being tested for application in a clinical trial. Equally important is what goes into those end points, according to Jeffrey Blume, Ph.D., from Brown University's Center for Statistical Sciences in Providence, RI.September 30, 2007CTPolyp ranking scheme boosts CAD efficiencyWhen virtual colonoscopy computer-aided detection (CAD) software is set to achieve maximum sensitivity for polyp detection, it also tends to output large numbers of false positives. But when sensitivity is set too low, true positives are missed. A new method aims to speed up CAD processing by determining from the start which polyps are likely to be deemed false positives, then eliminating them from further analysis.September 30, 2007CTACRIN trial shows VC ready for widespread useARLINGTON, VA - Trial results unveiled today marked the apparent end of a long road to validation for virtual colonoscopy, a radiology-based colon screening exam whose advocates have toiled for more than a decade to show equivalent detection sensitivity in a large screening trial compared to more invasive optical colonoscopy.September 27, 2007Previous PagePage 170 of 258Next PageTop StoriesCTNew benchmark helps monitor cumulative CT radiation doseThe findings highlight the need for systematic dose tracking and rigorous justification of imaging.Radiation Oncology/TherapyStudy questions routine use of radiotherapy after bone surgeryUltrasoundCEUS outshines color Doppler imaging for indeterminate kidney lesionsWomens ImagingWomen's Imaging MinnieCast, Episode 2: Risk-based vs. annual mammography screening, part 1Digital X-RayChest x-rays reveal atherosclerosis in patients undergoing amputations