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Study questions need for routine repeated CT scans in patients with mild head trauma

When initial computed tomography (CT) scans show bleeding within the brain after mild head injury, decisions about repeated CT scans should be based on the patient's neurological condition, according to a report in the January issue of Neurosurgery, official journal of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons.

4 Jan 2013

18F-FDG PET/CT may become important distant staging modality in patients with breast cancer

New research published in the January issue of The Journal of Nuclear Medicine shows that 18F-fludeoxyglucose (18F-FDG) positron emission tomography (PET)/computed tomography (CT) imaging offers significant prognostic stratification information at initial staging for patients with locally advanced breast cancer. When compared to conventional imaging, 18F-FDG PET/CT more accurately showed lesions in the chest, abdomen and bones in a single session, changing management for more than 50 percent of the patients in the study.

3 Jan 2013

New insights into devastating second impact syndrome

Physicians at Indiana University School of Medicine and the Northwest Radiology Network (Indianapolis, Indiana) report the case of a 17-year-old high school football player with second impact syndrome (SIS). A rare and devastating traumatic brain injury, SIS occurs when a person, most often a teenager, sustains a second head injury before recovery from an earlier head injury is complete.

2 Jan 2013

Routine reimaging unnecessary after mild head injury

Scheduling a repeat computed tomography scan for patients with mild traumatic brain injury and stable neurologic signs is unnecessary, given that it rarely changes management, say Canadian researchers.

28 Dec 2012

CAC test can identify diabetes patients at high risk of fatal cardiovascular disease

People with Type 2 diabetes have two to four times the risk of cardiovascular disease compared to people without the disease. The best way for doctors to predict which diabetes patients are at the greatest risk for heart disease is to use a coronary artery calcium (CAC) test in addition to the most commonly used assessment tool, according to researchers at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center.

21 Dec 2012

Hospital MRIs may effectively predict long-term outcomes for people with mild TBI

Hospital MRIs may be better at predicting long-term outcomes for people with mild traumatic brain injuries than CT scans, the standard technique for evaluating such injuries in the emergency room, according to a clinical trial led by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and the San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center (SFGH).

19 Dec 2012

Panel of experts recommend more research on health effects of medical imaging

Amid increasing fear of overexposure to radiation from CT scans, a panel of experts has recommended more research on the health effects of medical imaging and ways to reduce unnecessary CT tests, as well as industry standardization of CT machines.

1 Dec 2012

NEXUS criteria could reduce unnecessary CT scans and spare patients from radiation exposure

A Henry Ford Hospital study has found that better use of commonly accepted diagnostic guidelines for detecting cervical spine injuries could reduce unnecessary CT scans and spare patients from radiation exposure.

27 Nov 2012

Study reveals increased risk of leukemia among Chernobyl cleanup workers

A 20-year study following 110,645 workers who helped clean up after the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident in the former Soviet territory of Ukraine shows that the workers share a significant increased risk of developing leukemia. The results may help scientists better define cancer risk associated with low doses of radiation from medical diagnostic radiation procedures such as computed tomography scans and other sources.

8 Nov 2012

Anti-TNF-α therapy reduces CVD risk in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Patients with rheumatoid arthritis exhibit a sub-clinical vasculitis that may underlie their increased risk for cardiovascular disease, shows research.

5 Nov 2012

Combination of phase contrast tomography and EST can produce high-quality 3D breast images

Like cleaning the lenses of a foggy pair of glasses, scientists are now able to use a technique developed by UCLA researchers and their European colleagues to produce three-dimensional images of breast tissue that are two to three times sharper than those made using current CT scanners at hospitals. The technique also uses a lower dose of X-ray radiation than a mammogram.

23 Oct 2012

Study shows few adolescent females undergo pregnancy testing in hospital emergency department

Few adolescent females undergo pregnancy testing in the hospital emergency department, even when they complain of lower abdominal pain, or before they are exposed to radiation for tests or examinations, according to an abstract presented Friday, Oct. 19, at the American Academy of Pediatrics National Conference and Exhibition in New Orleans.

20 Oct 2012

Parametric response mapping could improve diagnosis and treatment of COPD

A new approach to lung scanning could improve the diagnosis and treatment of a lung disease that affects approximately 24 million Americans and is the country's third-highest cause of death.

8 Oct 2012

NVIDIA video cards can help reduce radiation exposure from X-ray and CT scans

Video gamers are generally the biggest consumers of computer graphics cards, using the devices to boost the speed and resolution of their digital quests to fend off invading extraterrestrials or outwit hostile dragons. But researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute seek to harness the power of these computer graphics cards to solve one of the world's most pressing health care technology challenges: radiation exposure from X-ray and CT imaging scans.

25 Sep 2012

Longer looks: The smells to treat PTSD; Nudging healthy choices; When a disabled daughter was shunned

On an Orlando college campus, veterans and active duty soldiers suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder inhale the unmistakable smell of burning tires, rotting garbage and Middle Eastern spices as part of a virtual reality treatment for the psychological wounds of war. Participants sit in a chair wearing a head-mounted display and video goggles connected to a computer system and a scent machine that puffs out the odors, recreating their memories of war.

14 Sep 2012

CT shows promise in predicting COPD exacerbation risk

Measurement of the pulmonary artery-to-aorta ratio can predict the risk for exacerbations in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, particularly those that require hospitalization, say the authors of a US study.

11 Sep 2012

Smoker's pack-years, age and area of emphysema are strong predictors of mortality in COPD

Identifying an individual's the smoking history could help doctors to predict survival time in people with COPD.

5 Sep 2012

CT scan appears to predict risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease exacerbations

The respective size of two major arteries, visible on a simple computed tomography, or CT, scan, is a strong predictor of the risk of exacerbation of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, according to new research from the University of Alabama at Birmingham published online Sept. 3, 2012, in the New England Journal of Medicine.

3 Sep 2012

Fractional flow reserve CT shows potential to non-invasively identify coronary artery disease

A study published in the most recent issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) presented encouraging news regarding physicians' ability to determine blood flow and associated coronary artery disease (CAD) using noninvasive CT scanning technology.

30 Aug 2012

FISH assay identifies only few lung cancer patients who could benefit from crizotinib

Break apart a couple worm-like chromosomes and they may reconnect with mismatched tips and tails - such is the case of the EML4-ALK fusion gene that creates 2-7 percent of lung cancers. Almost exactly a year ago, the FDA approved the drug crizotinib to treat these ALK+ lung cancer patients, who were likely never smokers. Informed doctors use the test called a FISH assay to check for the EML4-ALK fusion gene, and then if the test is positive, ALK+ patients benefit greatly from crizotinib.

29 Aug 2012