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. 

Vizamyl approved by FDA to aid dementia diagnosis

The FDA today cleared a new PET amyloid imaging agent—F-18 flutemetamol (Vizamyl). The addition of Vizamyl provides more options for dementia experts evaluating amyloid in the brain to rule out Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative disease.

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High-tech MRI and genomics highlight possible origins of autism

The cognitive symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may be due to changes in neuronal microstructures in the brain, according to a review in the October 2013 issue of Frontiers in Human Neuroscience.

SPECT- and MR-primed microspheres track radioembolization

Quantitative imaging with either SPECT or MR reveals the path of microspheres following liver radioembolization and could one day predict success of therapy, according to a study published Oct. 17 in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine.

Xofigo prescriptions set to expand rapidly

An estimated 25 percent of radiation oncologists were already prescribing Radium-223 dichloride (Ra-223) injection, otherwise known as Xofigo, for metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer one month after its launch, according to a market research report published Sept. 16 by BioTrends Research Group.

PET captures how social rejection triggers a feel-good reaction

Painful rejection and other social ills prompt the same opioid response in the brain as physical pain, according to new in vivo PET neuroimaigng of snubbed subjects. 

PET/MR clinical applications growing

Once limited to research novelty, PET/MR has expanded significantly, and in particular in neuroimaging applications and oncologic use—especially for imaging head and neck tumors, according to a review in the September issue of Current Radiology Reports.

Amyloid plaque linked to arterial stiffness and hypertension

Healthy elderly patients with hardened arteries were up to four times more likely to have amyloid plaque in the brain, according to research published Oct. 16 in Neurology.

High-dose MIBG therapy stabilizes neuroendocrine tumors

Dose-intensification of systemic cancer therapy with I-131 metaiodobenzylguanidine (I-131 MIBG) may be ideal for palliative treatment of neuroendocrine tumors, according to a study published Oct. 7 in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine.