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.

AI for opportunistic osteoporosis screening inks FDA clearance
The tool analyzes routine hip and pelvis X-rays for signs of low bone mineral density.
Radiology providers missing the mark when screening disabled women for breast cancer
Only 43% of women with disabilities receive American Society of Breast Surgeons-recommended mammography screening services, according to a new single-center study.
Short-term breast cancer risk prediction improves when AI combines imaging with personal info
Understanding which women have the greatest short-term risk could enable providers to implement targeted screening strategies to ensure malignancies are caught at the earliest possible stage.
Medicare opts not to make CT radiation-related quality measure mandatory in 2027
The measure evaluates the proportion of scans that exceed certain thresholds for image noise or radiation dose across 18 categories.
Emphysema on baseline lung cancer CT a sign of future mortality risk
“Lung cancer screening shouldn’t just be looking for nodules. That’s a small part of what we see on the CT scan.”

First-in-human trial of new serotonin receptor agent

F-18 mefway is a novel serotonin-1A receptor ligand that could one day be used to image neurodegenerative disease and psychiatric disorders, according to a story published Nov. 13 in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine.

Lantheus reports significant third quarter growth

Lantheus Medical Imaging, based in Billerica, Mass., announced the radiopharmaceutical company’s third quarter financials yesterday, revealing an 8 percent increase over the same quarter in 2013.

New 2015 HOPPS ruling cuts into PET payments

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued final rules for the 2015 Hospital Outpatient Prospective Payment System (HOPPS) and the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (MPFS). The rules were recorded in the Federal Register Nov. 10 and go into effect Jan. 1, 2015. It appears that changes to HOPPS will depress PET payments by 1.9 percent.

New blood test for Alzheimer's disease

Yet another blood test for Alzheimer's disease is being developed--this time by a group of Japanese researchers. The technique could, if approved, be used to screen patients who show no signs of neurodegeneration. 

Up to 20% of FDG PET/CT scans are misread, say most referring docs

More than half of surveyed referring physicians said that F-18 FDG PET/CT scans were being clinically misinterpreted in somewhere between 5 percent and 20 percent of cases, according to a study published Nov. 7 in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine.

NeuroPhage names Franz Hefti new president

The Cambridge, Mass.-based pharmaceutical development company NeuroPhage, which specializes in novel drugs for neurodegenerative disease announced last week that Franz Hefti, PhD, would take the lead as president and chief operating officer.

Alzheimer's therapy enters phase IIa clinical trial

New York City-based Anavex Life Sciences has developed an investigational treatment for Alzheimer's called Anavex 2-73, and announced Nov. 7 that the company would be working with Neuronetrix to take the drug through a phase IIa clinical trial.

Preclinical cancer therapy leads to shrinking neuroblastoma

A cell protein known as MYCN (v-myc avian myelocytomatosis oncogene), one of a group of proteins that spur cellular proliferation, is known to be very resistant to even targeted drug treatments, but preclinical research is turning this protein on itself to fight off new neuroblastoma cancer growth, the Dana Farber Cancer Center and Boston Children’s Hospital announced today.

Medical Imaging

AI for opportunistic osteoporosis screening inks FDA clearance

Radiology providers missing the mark when screening disabled women for breast cancer

Short-term breast cancer risk prediction improves when AI combines imaging with personal info

Medicare opts not to make CT radiation-related quality measure mandatory in 2027

Emphysema on baseline lung cancer CT a sign of future mortality risk