vRad (Virtual Radiologic), the nation’s leading telemedicine company and radiology practice, and MetaMind, Inc., a provider of state-of-the-art Artificial Intelligence (AI) solutions powered by “deep learning,” announced a partnership to improve the speed, accuracy and quality of radiology diagnostics for a series of potentially life-threatening conditions, the first of which will be intracranial hemorrhaging (IH).

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health IT (ONC) has awarded more than half a billion dollars to fund the formation and growth of health information exchanges (HIEs). Has the return been worth the investment? One researcher has looked into that question, found a qualified Yes—and pointed to decreased radiology utilization as a prime piece of supporting evidence. 

A neurosurgeon and a neuroradiologist have put their heads together and come up with a new way to map nerve fibers with fine precision prior to removing a particular type of nerve tumor.

Hypothesizing that decision-support tools applied at the point of care lead to lower radiation doses and higher compliance with ACR guidelines, researchers have applied a simulated scenario and come back with two thumbs up—one for clinical decision support and the other for pediatric imaging.   

Viztek announced the availability of the Basic U-Arm, a new U-arm digital x-ray system.

Hospital patients don’t merely dislike dealing with paperwork. When filling out forms seems to slow the delivery of their care, even when hospital staff or clinicians wield the pen and clipboard, patients react viscerally.

If necessity is the mother of invention, compassion must be something like the uncle of ingenuity. We’ve seen as much at points of care in U.S. medical imaging over the past few weeks. 

When the patient experience gets tough, the radiology technologist gets empathetic.