Ultrasound News and Research

RSS

Ultrasound is a procedure in which high-energy sound waves are bounced off internal tissues or organs and make echoes. The echo patterns are shown on the screen of an ultrasound machine, forming a picture of body tissues called a sonogram. Also called ultrasonography.

Virginia uproar frames abortion, contraception legislation in many states

States are grappling with reproduction-related issues after Virginia's pre-abortion ultrasound bill passed: In California, lawmakers are set to consider a bill to give more women access to early-term abortions while lawmakers in Ohio and Minnesota consider legislation on contraception.

11 Mar 2012

Va. Gov. signs pre-abortion ultrasound bill

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell has signed a contentious bill mandating women who want an abortion get an ultrasound before the procedure.

9 Mar 2012

Elekta Clarity 3D system transforms prostate radiotherapy at UHG

Soft tissue imaging with 3D ultrasound both at therapy simulation and just before treatment has transformed prostate radiotherapy at University Hospital Galway.

From Elekta 9 Mar 2012

State legislatures take on ultrasound mandate costs, employee health plans, Medicaid reform, malpractice

Democrats in the state Senate have sent Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell a list of conditions they want addressed before allowing a new state budget necessary to fund state services and operations to pass. … They want the state to pay for the ultrasound exams now mandated for women seeking abortions under a bill McDonnell signed Wednesday. ... And they want Medicaid eligibility restored for about 4,500 nursing home residents.

9 Mar 2012

New ultrasound technique for rapid and accurate assessment of osteoporosis

Laser-based measurements are proving to be a promising method for the assessment of osteoporosis. The team led by Professor Jussi Timonen has developed an ultrasound technique that use laser beams for a rapid and accurate assessment of osteoporosis.

8 Mar 2012

Women with breast pain do not gain benefit from imaging

Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and Boston Medical Center (BMC) have found that women with breast pain who receive imaging (mammograms, MRIs or ultrasounds) as part of breast pain evaluation, undergo follow-up diagnostic testing, but do not gain benefit from these additional studies.

8 Mar 2012

Viewpoints: Contraception politics; Better food labels; Opposing stands on ultrasounds and abortion

Between the flap at the Susan G. Komen for the Cure and the squall about the Obama administration's directive that health insurance plans cover the cost of birth control, contraception is shaping up as one of the year's biggest political land mines.

7 Mar 2012

somo•v Platinum Automated Breast Ultrasound system to be showcased at NCBC conference

U-Systems, the leader in automated breast ultrasound, today announced it will showcase the recently introduced somo•v Platinum, an update to the somo•v® Automated Breast Ultrasound (ABUS) system, at the 22nd Annual National Interdisciplinary Breast Center Conference of the National Consortium of Breast Centers (NCBC).

6 Mar 2012

AMAG fourth quarter total revenues decrease to $14.9 million

AMAG Pharmaceuticals, Inc. a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of a therapeutic iron compound to treat iron deficiency anemia, today reported unaudited consolidated financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2011. As of December 31, 2011, the company's cash, cash equivalents and investments totaled approximately $230 million.

5 Mar 2012

FDA clears UELS contactless breast cancer imaging tool

UE LifeSciences Inc. (UELS), a medical device manufacturer focused on providing novel breast cancer screening solutions, announced today that it has received market clearance from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its NoTouch BreastScan™ device. NoTouch BreastScan™ is a contactless breast-imaging tool cleared by the FDA specifically for adjunctive diagnostic screening for the detection of breast cancer.

5 Mar 2012

Promising results from initial trial of new ultrasonic breast cancer screening

Scientists have successfully completed an initial trial of a new, potentially more reliable, technique for screening breast cancer using ultrasound. The team at the National Physical Laboratory (NPL), the UK's National Measurement Institute, working with the University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust, are now looking to develop the technique into a clinical device.

3 Mar 2012

Ga. House passes bill restricting abortion to limit fetal pain

The legislation would cut six weeks from the time women can have an elective abortion, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

2 Mar 2012

AJPM&R releases new iPad app for physical medicine and rehabilitation specialists

Ninety years after its first issue, American Journal of Physical Medicine & Rehabilitation has announced the latest step in its evolution with the release of the new AJPM&R for the iPad app.

2 Mar 2012

Viewpoints: Ryan and Medicare; Va. ultrasound bill 'overreaches'?; NEJM on patient-centered care

Over the past year, an entitlement revolution has taken place on Capitol Hill. ... The revolution involves Medicare, the health-care program for the elderly and the single biggest cause of America's looming debt crisis. Reform of Medicare would be achieved by a policy known as "premium support." It would bring consumer choice and spending restraint to the beleaguered program.

1 Mar 2012

Akeso Medical Imaging starts clinical study for proof of concept of imaging device for rheumatoid arthritis disease activity monitoring and control

Akeso Medical Imaging BV, announces today the start of a clinical study with their novel imaging device for assessment of joint inflammation in patient with rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In this proof of concept study, Akeso’s imaging device will be compared to other methods to assess disease status, such as the DAS-28 score, Ultrasound and in some cases MRI. The study will be performed at the University Medical Center Utrecht (UMC Utrecht) in cooperation with Regional Rheumatology Centre Eindhoven (RRC). Seventy subjects will be included; sixty RA patients with varying degrees of inflammation of the joints of hands and wrists at the time of examination and a control group of ten subjects.

1 Mar 2012

Va. lawmakers approve scaled-back abortion ultrasound bill

Lawmakers in Virginia have passed a scaled-back version of a contentious ultrasound proposal that would force women to get a "non-invasive" ultrasound before having an abortion.

1 Mar 2012

Ultrasound-based TE more accurate in detecting hepatic fibrosis

Researchers from the Mayo Clinic confirm that ultrasound-based transient elastography (TE) provides excellent diagnostic accuracy for detecting cirrhosis due to recurrent infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection following liver transplantation.

1 Mar 2012

Viewpoints: 'Romney's rebound,' Va. lawmakers' ultrasound vote, Kennedy's not sole interpreters of Senator's legacy

But Mr. Romney also improved his case for his own candidacy, stressing a reform agenda as much as his business biography. In the final days in particular, he pressed his new plan for a 20 percent across-the-board income tax cut, as well as Medicare reform. He stressed his ability to revive the economy, which remains the dominant issue even among conservatives, despite the prominence of social issues in the last week.

29 Feb 2012

First Edition: February 29, 2012

Today's headlines include reports on yesterday's GOP presidential primary elections and how health policy played a role in some of the rhetoric.

29 Feb 2012

UVA, Johns Hopkins receive NIH grant to develop methods against glioblastoma

The most common primary brain cancer is glioblastoma, a highly aggressive and deadly form of tumor that kills about 95 percent of its victims within five years of diagnosis. Like other brain cancers, it is extremely difficult to treat because glioblastomas are usually deeply embedded within healthy brain tissue and therefore nearly impossible to safely access. Chemotherapy drugs cannot reach these tumors because a membrane between the bloodstream and brain tissue, called the blood-brain barrier, blocks them.

29 Feb 2012