Subspecialties: Page 646

CMS includes DBT payment codes in 2015 Medicare rates

By Kate Madden Yee

In a major boost for digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT), the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) included payment codes for the exam in its final Medicare Physician Fee Schedule and Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System, issued last week.

November 3, 2014

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Cerebral angiographic data reconstructed from time-resolved CTP

Friday, December 5 | 11:50 a.m.-12:00 p.m. | SST14-09 | Room S403BWavelet analysis is a powerful method of displaying angiographic data from CT perfusion (CTP) and for separating arterial and venous flow patterns. Can it be used to visualize the vascular tree from CTP data in stroke patients, eliminating the need for a separate angiography exam routinely performed for that purpose?

November 3, 2014

CT ownership growth among otolaryngologists and neurologists: Major trend?

Friday, December 5 | 11:00 a.m.-11:10 a.m. | SST10-04 | Room N227Ear, nose, and throat (ENT) physicians and neurologists are among the physician groups increasingly putting CT scanners in their offices -- bypassing radiologists for in-office exams. How common is the trend?

November 3, 2014

Chest size swings calcium scores on CT scans

Friday, December 5 | 10:50 a.m.-11:00 a.m. | SST03-03 | Room S504ABDoes chest size, since it is related to obesity, affect calcium scores? Dutch researchers aimed to find out, having previously found an association between obesity and coronary calcium scores, and shown that CT image quality deteriorates with increased body weight.

November 3, 2014

CT aims for takeover of scintigraphy in GI bleeding

Thursday, December 4 | 11:00 a.m.-11:10 a.m. | SSQ07-04 | Room E353AAcute lower gastrointestinal bleeding (GI) is a medical and surgical emergency that can lead to significant morbidity and mortality. But how should physicians detect where it comes from? CT does it best, researchers from Pakistan will report in this presentation.

November 3, 2014

CTA dose and image quality: 3rd- vs. 2nd-generation DSCT

Thursday, December 4 | 9:35 a.m.-9:45 a.m. | VSVA51-06 | Room E352How much can dose be reduced in CT angiography (CTA) while preserving image quality in the latest dual-source CT (DSCT) scanners? Dr. Florian Schwarz and colleagues from the University of Munich looked at the image quality and radiation dose-saving potential of advanced dual-source CT.

November 3, 2014

Knee perfusion is key in limb salvage after trauma

Wednesday, December 3 | 3:50 p.m.-4:00 p.m. | SSM25-06 | Room E450BTrauma patients are typically assessed for salvageability of lower limbs based on a clinical exam and perfusion assessment of the distal arteries. But a group from Texas found that flow in the geniculate artery on CT angiography studies is crucial in determining whether such patients will eventually need an amputation.

November 3, 2014

Does 4D CTA outperform DSA for arteriovenous malformations?

Wednesday, December 3 | 3:00 p.m.-3:10 p.m.| SSM25-01 | Room E450BDigital subtraction angiography (DSA) is the gold standard for evaluating arteriovenous malformations, but 4D CT angiography (CTA) outperforms it by visualizing the nidus.

November 3, 2014

Study finds ultralow-dose CTC equivalent to normal-dose scans

Wednesday, December 3 | 11:50 a.m.-12:00 p.m. | SSK08-09 | Room E351The need for dose reduction is real in CT colonography (CTC), an exam that could be repeated several times between ages 50 and 80 years, when colorectal cancer screening is recommended. Fortunately, the University of Rome La Sapienza is on the case, working to reduce the dose for CTC to sub-mSv levels consistently.

November 3, 2014

Is iterative reconstruction a fix for motion-altered calcium scores?

Wednesday, December 3 | 11:50 a.m.-12:00 p.m. | SSK03-09 | Room S502ABDr. Martin Willemink and colleagues from University Medical Center Utrecht in the Netherlands addressed this question with iterative model reconstruction, a calcium hydroxyapatite-containing phantom, and a 256-slice CT scanner.

November 3, 2014

CT colonography keynote: Present and future

Wednesday, December 3 | 10:30 a.m.-10:50 a.m. | SSK08-01 | Room E351CT colonography (CTC) expert Dr. Abraham Dachman will start off this year's CTC scientific sessions with a talk on the present and future of the technique.

November 3, 2014

Refresher course examines imaging for traumatic brain injury

Tuesday, December 2 | 4:30 p.m.-6:00 p.m. | RC405 | Room E451AA Tuesday refresher course on traumatic brain injury will present three speakers beginning at 4:30 p.m. First, Dr. Paul Parizel, PhD, will discuss the use of CT and MR for patients with head trauma.

November 3, 2014

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