Improving the ability to efficiently process MR images used for breast cancer analysis, the AegisTM breast imaging workstation is now available with Toshiba America Medical Systems' MR products. The Aegis workstation was developed with the distinct needs of radiologists and technologists in mind, offering flexibility and workflow efficiency.
The Aegis breast workstation offers powerful real-time 4D (3D + time) image processing, combining the speed and flexibility of a 3D visualization workstation with dedicated breast MRI algorithms, including kinetic curves and color maps and customizable reports. Powerful software and hardware technology provides the clinician with real-time interactive control of large dynamic datasets, as well as analysis driven by true, real-time 3D visualization of any dataset in any orientation. Combined with advanced hanging protocols, automated reporting, interventional accuracy, dynamic real-time processing and interventional guidance to multiple targets, the Aegis breast workstation is an industry leader in breast MR visualization and interventional guidance.
source: Toshiba Medical
6.23.2010
ASIR Technique Significantly Reduces Already Low Radiation Dose from CT Colonography
A newly adapted low-dose computed tomography (CT) technique called adaptive statistical iterative reconstruction (ASIR) can help radiologists reduce the already low radiation dose delivered during CT colonography (CTC) by another 50 percent, according to a study published in the July issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology (www.ajronline.org).
ASIR is a technique that allows radiologists to reduce the noise in an image and improve image quality (like adjusting a TV antenna to make a “fuzz” image sharper) while reducing the radiation dose to only one-quarter of that delivered by a typical abdominal CT scan.
“Despite the fact that the radiation dose delivered by CTC was already low and a lack of conclusive data regarding risk from medical radiation, radiologists strive to reduce dose at every opportunity,” said C. Daniel Johnson, MD, lead author of the study. “This new technique allows us to use far less radiation than even a typical abdominal CT scan without compromising image quality. CTC has been shown to be an effective front line screening tool for colorectal cancer. The fact that we can now screen patients with an increasingly lower dose can allay concerns, attract more patients to be screened and ultimately save tens of thousands of lives each year,” said Johnson.
source: ARRS
ASIR is a technique that allows radiologists to reduce the noise in an image and improve image quality (like adjusting a TV antenna to make a “fuzz” image sharper) while reducing the radiation dose to only one-quarter of that delivered by a typical abdominal CT scan.
“Despite the fact that the radiation dose delivered by CTC was already low and a lack of conclusive data regarding risk from medical radiation, radiologists strive to reduce dose at every opportunity,” said C. Daniel Johnson, MD, lead author of the study. “This new technique allows us to use far less radiation than even a typical abdominal CT scan without compromising image quality. CTC has been shown to be an effective front line screening tool for colorectal cancer. The fact that we can now screen patients with an increasingly lower dose can allay concerns, attract more patients to be screened and ultimately save tens of thousands of lives each year,” said Johnson.
source: ARRS
6.19.2010
UBC study offers ethical and cost-effective strategy for managing MRI incidental findings
The increasing number of incidental findings in brain imaging can be managed ethically and cost-effectively by screening study participants based on gender, age and family history, according to University of British Columbia researchers.
Incidental findings are anomalies discovered unexpectedly during research that utilizes brain imaging techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of the brain.
The UBC study, published online today the journal Value in Health, is the first economic analysis of current incidental finding management practices. More than 1,800 fMRI studies were published between 2002 and 2008.
Incidental findings that require clinical follow-up are detected in two to three percent of healthy participants in these studies. At an average of 10 participants per study, that is two to three percent of 18,000 volunteers.
Incidental findings that require clinical follow-up are detected in two to three percent of healthy participants in these studies. At an average of 10 participants per study, that is two to three percent of 18,000 volunteers.
Currently, protocols for handling incidental findings vary widely across institutions, ranging from costly, full clinical-grade imaging for all study participants before enrolment to “don’t look, don’t tell,” where brain images aren’t screened for anomalies.
source: University of British Columbia
Incidental findings are anomalies discovered unexpectedly during research that utilizes brain imaging techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of the brain.
The UBC study, published online today the journal Value in Health, is the first economic analysis of current incidental finding management practices. More than 1,800 fMRI studies were published between 2002 and 2008.
Incidental findings that require clinical follow-up are detected in two to three percent of healthy participants in these studies. At an average of 10 participants per study, that is two to three percent of 18,000 volunteers.
Incidental findings that require clinical follow-up are detected in two to three percent of healthy participants in these studies. At an average of 10 participants per study, that is two to three percent of 18,000 volunteers.
Currently, protocols for handling incidental findings vary widely across institutions, ranging from costly, full clinical-grade imaging for all study participants before enrolment to “don’t look, don’t tell,” where brain images aren’t screened for anomalies.
source: University of British Columbia
6.14.2010
Lantheus Medical Imaging, Inc. Presents Preliminary Data Comparing Novel Cardiac PET Imaging Agent With SPECT at SNM Annual Meeting
N. BILLERICA, Mass., Jun 07, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Lantheus Medical Imaging, Inc., a worldwide leader in diagnostic medical imaging, today announced preliminary data from a single site participating in the multicenter Phase 2 clinical trial that showed that Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging with its novel investigational agent flurpiridaz F 18 injection (formerly known as BMS747158) provided better image quality than technetium-99m sestamibi single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), the current standard for the non-invasive detection of coronary artery disease (CAD). The data also indicated that PET imaging with flurpiridaz F 18 injection rendered a significantly larger perfusion defect size when compared with the corresponding defects seen in SPECT imaging. The data were featured today in an oral presentation (# 798032) by Balaji Tamarappoo, M.D., Clinical Fellow, Advanced Cardiac Imaging at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, at the SNM 57th Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City.
"These encouraging preliminary data from our clinical research site show that PET imaging with flurpiridaz F 18 injection provided improved image quality and an increase in defect size compared to SPECT," said Daniel S. Berman, M.D., Chief, Cardiac Imaging and Nuclear Cardiology, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. "A PET imaging agent that may provide higher quality images with more obvious perfusion defects can have a profound effect on physicians' ability to make more definitive assessments of coronary artery disease."
source: MarketWatch
"These encouraging preliminary data from our clinical research site show that PET imaging with flurpiridaz F 18 injection provided improved image quality and an increase in defect size compared to SPECT," said Daniel S. Berman, M.D., Chief, Cardiac Imaging and Nuclear Cardiology, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. "A PET imaging agent that may provide higher quality images with more obvious perfusion defects can have a profound effect on physicians' ability to make more definitive assessments of coronary artery disease."
source: MarketWatch
6.07.2010
Siemens Celebrates 1000th MAGNETOM Espree MRI System
Malvern, Pa., June 3, 2010 – Siemens celebrates the milestone of the 1,000th MAGNETOM® Espree system sold worldwide with Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, which is ranked among the top 10 hospitals in the United States and is the largest teaching hospital in Missouri. This installation marks the third MAGNETOM Espree that the 1,259-bed hospital will employ to image patients of all sizes, ages and disabilities.
“We are extremely pleased with the Espree scanners,” says Dr. Vamsi Narra, a Washington University radiologist on staff at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. “The wide bore configuration allows us to accommodate patients of all sizes, while providing top-notch imaging. More and more patients prefer the Espree to other standard-bore scanners.”
The 1.5 Tesla MAGNETOM Espree revolutionized the industry when it was introduced in 2004 as the world’s first Open Bore system. As a trailblazer in Open Bore technology, it combines the largest magnet bore – 70 cm – with the shortest magnet length – 125 cm cover to cover. This unique design provides 30 cm space above the patient’s face – twice that typically offered by vertical field open MRI systems. The very short length allows for 60 percent of exams to be completed with the patient’s head outside of the bore. The expanded face space and head-out scanning has proven to increase patient acceptance.
source: Siemens Healthcare
“We are extremely pleased with the Espree scanners,” says Dr. Vamsi Narra, a Washington University radiologist on staff at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. “The wide bore configuration allows us to accommodate patients of all sizes, while providing top-notch imaging. More and more patients prefer the Espree to other standard-bore scanners.”
The 1.5 Tesla MAGNETOM Espree revolutionized the industry when it was introduced in 2004 as the world’s first Open Bore system. As a trailblazer in Open Bore technology, it combines the largest magnet bore – 70 cm – with the shortest magnet length – 125 cm cover to cover. This unique design provides 30 cm space above the patient’s face – twice that typically offered by vertical field open MRI systems. The very short length allows for 60 percent of exams to be completed with the patient’s head outside of the bore. The expanded face space and head-out scanning has proven to increase patient acceptance.
source: Siemens Healthcare
6.02.2010
PET Scanning Probes Reveal Different Cell Function Within the Immune System
ScienceDaily (June 2, 2010) — A commonly used probe for Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scanning and a new probe developed by researchers at UCLA reveal different functions in diverse cells of the immune system, providing a non-invasive and much clearer picture of an immune response in action.
The probes, the commonly used FDG that measures cellular glucose metabolism, and FAC, developed at UCLA and which measures the activity of a distinct biochemical pathway, work better when used in combination than either does alone. In addition to revealing the extent and cellular composition of an immune response, the probes also may be useful in evaluating therapies that target different cellular components of the immune system, said Dr. Owen Witte, a professor of microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator and senior author of the study.
"We demonstrated with this study that each probe targets different cells in the immune system with a high degree of specificity," said Witte, director of the UCLA Broad Stem Cell Research Center and a Jonsson Cancer Center researcher.
source: Science Daily (Release)
The probes, the commonly used FDG that measures cellular glucose metabolism, and FAC, developed at UCLA and which measures the activity of a distinct biochemical pathway, work better when used in combination than either does alone. In addition to revealing the extent and cellular composition of an immune response, the probes also may be useful in evaluating therapies that target different cellular components of the immune system, said Dr. Owen Witte, a professor of microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics, a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator and senior author of the study.
"We demonstrated with this study that each probe targets different cells in the immune system with a high degree of specificity," said Witte, director of the UCLA Broad Stem Cell Research Center and a Jonsson Cancer Center researcher.
source: Science Daily (Release)
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