Jonathan S. Batchelor[email protected]Clinical NewsX-ray contrast agents rarely fatalAlthough x-ray contrast agents may cause or contribute to a patient's death, the odds of this occurring in the U.S. are slightly greater than one in a million, according to a study in the American Journal of Roentgenology.February 27, 2006Practice ManagementAuntMinnie.com Imaging Center Radiology InsiderFebruary 26, 2006Practice ManagementAfter-hours imaging not a cost factor in pediatric appendicitis assessmentOne of the most common presentations for children in the emergency room is suspected appendicitis, and this presentation is more likely to be encountered by clinical staff during the after-hours period, such as a weeknight or weekend shift.February 21, 2006ISHIT assets help define scope of EMR effortsSAN DIEGO - The adoption of the electronic medical record (EMR) is no longer an "if" proposition for many U.S. healthcare institutions -- it has become a "when and how" situation with an implementation price tag ranging from millions to tens of millions of dollars. But facilities can adopt certain healthcare information technology (HIT) strategies to help cushion the fiscal blow.February 14, 2006ISIntegrating disparate systems key to EHR deploymentSAN DIEGO - A multifacility independent delivery network (IDN) in Santa Barbara, CA, has begun rolling out an electronic health record (EHR) that integrates more than 130 information technology applications, developed by various vendors, in its enterprise. Rather than attempting to forklift a monolithic, one-size-fits-all EHR onto the institution, the IDN chose to integrate its existing clinical systems and databases.February 13, 2006PACS/VNAStandards, interoperability drive cardiac PACS, IS implementationSAN DIEGO - A cardiology image and information management system (CIIMS), a combination of a cardiology information system and cardiology PACS, has data objects and processes that are unique to the specialty. As such, although many of the precepts gleaned from radiology RIS/PACS integrations and installations are valuable for facilities implementing CIIMS, there are modality elements and data types that make these systems unique.February 12, 2006CTSPECT/CT helps clarify ambiguous bone fociBone scintigraphy with SPECT has a good track record for detecting metastatic areas with a high lesion-to-background contrast. But a drawback of SPECT has been that anatomic details can be lacking. Researchers from Germany, however, have found that SPECT/CT can increase specificity in cases when SPECT alone is equivocal.February 8, 2006MRIMR overordered by primary physicians for back painLower back pain is one of the more common adult patient presentations to primary care physicians in the U.S. And when it comes to the modality most frequently requested by primary care physicians for imaging lower back pain, MRI is rapidly becoming their modality of choice, although it is not always clinically indicated.January 30, 2006ISTranscriptionist proofreaders ease transition to speech recognitionSpeech recognition cuts report turnaround time, resulting in better service to referring clinicians. But, implementing a speech recognition (SR) application requires time and effort, and radiologists' productivity may suffer in the short term. A team at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center found that a combination of manual transcription and SR could mitigate the transitional costs, and improve radiologists' acceptance of new SR systems.January 26, 2006ISAuntMinnie.com RIS Radiology InsiderJanuary 22, 2006Previous PagePage 23 of 82Next PageTop StoriesInterventionalGAE reduces pain biomarkers in knee osteoarthritisGenicular artery embolization (GAE) significantly reduces key biomarkers that drive pain in patients with knee osteoarthritis.Residents/FellowsRace, ethnicity influence educational debt among radiology-bound MDsMRIMRI, CT findings correlate for assessing epicardial fat volumePractice ManagementImaging experts hope NSA enforcement bill delivers on accountabilityCTPET/CT identifies bone demineralization in breast cancer patients
![Regions of interest depicted in colors: cerebrospinal fluid (blue), cortical gray matter (dark green), and white matter (yellow). Scatter plots present significant correlations between (b) [semi-solid spin pool size, or ms0m0s] entropy and age in cerebrospinal fluid and cortical gray matter, and (c) [longitudinal relaxation rates, or Rf1R1f] entropy and age in cortical gray matter and white matter (p < 0.05). Images, graphics, and caption courtesy of Sohae Chung, PhD, and the ISMRM.](https://img.auntminnie.com/mindful/smg/workspaces/default/uploads/2025/05/2025-05-09-novel-mri-technique-image.tmqDtL6pTg.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&dpr=2&fit=crop&h=167&q=70&w=250)
