Medical Imaging

Physicians utilize medical imaging to see inside the body to diagnose and treat patients. This includes computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), X-ray, ultrasound, fluoroscopy, angiography,  and the nuclear imaging modalities of PET and SPECT. 

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USC's 7 Tesla MRI scanner first to identify Cushing's disease in US patient

A noninvasive 7 Tesla MRI scanner at University of Southern California is the first 7T scanner to be used on a patient with Cushing's disease in the U.S., according to a USC news release.  

High-risk breast cancer patients avoid MRIs that could improve early detection of disease

Nearly half of women at a high lifetime risk for breast cancer undergo routine mammograms at practices with onsite breast MR imaging capabilities, but MRI screenings are being vastly underused in the population, reaching just 6.6 percent of high-risk patients, a study in the Journal of Women’s Health states.

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MRI study could help train the brain to smell again

Researchers at Washington University in St. Louis are trying to develop a treatment for those who have lost their ability to smell by studying how the brain changes when that sense is lost.

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Preoperative axillary ultrasonography can prevent unnecessary lymph node surgery

South Korean researchers found that preoperative axillary ultrasonography (US) can decipher which patients are least at-risk for non-sentinel lymph node (SLN) metastasis—possibly resulting in fewer unnecessary lymph node dissections.

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Insurer approves, then denies MRI, forcing man to pay $2,340 out-of-pocket

Patients’ wishes and insurance companies’ approval don’t always line up when it comes to coverage for imaging procedures, the Philadelphia Inquirer reported this week.

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How Huntington’s disease alters whole-brain connectivity

Researchers have linked specific gene mutations and brain function in Huntington’s disease (HD) patients by comparing trinucleotide (CAG) repeats with whole-brain connectivity via functional MRI (fMRI). Examining disease carriers and health controls, the researchers found CAG repeat length inversely correlates with an individual’s age at onset.

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When CT scans are negative for patients with blunt neck injuries, follow-up MRI provides little value

When patients experience blunt neck injuries—after a car accident, for example—follow-up MRI is not necessary after a CT scan comes back negative for spine instability, according to a new study published in JAMA Surgery.

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MRI may help limit unnecessary prostate cancer biopsies in UK

An immediate MRI scan given to all men suspected of having prostate cancer may reduce the number of excessive biopsies by 28 percent, according to a March 19 article from The Telegraph.