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CT screening lowers negative appendectomy rate from 20% to 3% at urban hospital

Five years ago, the negative appendectomy rate at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) in Boston was 20%, but since the advent of CT screening, it has dropped to 3%, say MGH researchers. The negative appendectomy rate measures how often patients with symptoms of appendicitis have their appendix removed and then are diagnosed as not having acute appendicitis.

8 Jun 2005

High-tech imaging software locates more accurately the abnormal electrical impulses that produce heart arrhythmias

Loyola University Health System is one of the first hospitals in the United States to employ new high-tech imaging software - in conjunction with a three-dimensional cardiac mapping and navigation system - to locate more accurately the abnormal electrical impulses that produce heart rhythm disturbances (arrhythmias). This technology represents a major breakthrough in treating complex arrhythmias.

3 Jun 2005

Whole-body positron emission tomography/computed tomography scans may help physicians identify malignant cancerous tumors

A team of researchers at Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions in Baltimore, Md., reports that whole-body positron emission tomography/computed tomography (PET/CT) scans may help physicians identify new, unexpected malignant cancerous tumors in patients, according to an article in the May issue of the Society of Nuclear Medicine’s Journal of Nuclear Medicine.

29 May 2005

A small kidney stone should not preclude people from being donors

Results from a Mayo Clinic study suggest that using kidneys which have kidney stones for living donor transplant has little impact on the organ's function one year later.

26 May 2005

Patients with metabolic syndrome and moderate calcium levels in the coronary arteries have greater chance of blocked arteries

Conditions such as abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, abnormal cholesterol levels and high blood sugar are problematic enough for people all on their own.

26 May 2005

Medical imaging costs at a steady percentage of overall hospital costs

The substantial increase in the use of medical imaging during recent years has fueled speculation that imaging costs were a major factor behind the rise in overall health care costs.

24 May 2005

Ultrasound-guided percutaneous biopsies are a safe and effective alternative to endoscopic biopsies

In most cases (61%) a diagnosis was possible after two passes with the biopsy needle. There were no major complications. In 14 of the patients, malignancy was diagnosed; eight patients had benign results.

20 May 2005

Chest CT can be first step to identifying if patient has had a heart attack

When radiologists are looking at contrast-enhanced chest CT examinations, they should take a look at the patient's heart to rule out heart attack, regardless of why the chest CT examination is being performed, a new study shows.

20 May 2005

Don’t skip chest CT in the ER just because X-ray checks out okay, warns study

Chest X-rays may miss 40% of clinically significant thoracic injuries in multiple trauma patients that can be caught by chest CT, say researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

18 May 2005

Zevalin safe and effective for non-Hogdkin's lymphoma patients

According to a University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) study, patients with advanced non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) previously treated with chemotherapy and adult stem cell transplantation can safely tolerate Zevalin (ibritumomab tiuxetan), a radiolabeled monoclonal antibody that targets radiation directly to a tumor.

17 May 2005

Routinely reformatting computed tomography (CT) scans to view organs from several different directions may help radiologists improve diagnosis

"You can see things in one view that you might miss in another," said Craig Barnes, M.D., section head of pediatric radiology at Wake Forest Baptist's Brenner Children's Hospital. "It costs no more as relates to scan time or radiation exposure, and we believe it provides added value in diagnosis."

17 May 2005

MDCT overtakes ventilation-perfusion lung scan for diagnosing pulmonary embolism

MDCT pulmonary angiography is replacing the ventilation-perfusion lung scan to diagnose suspected pulmonary embolism in hospitalized patients, say researchers from Rhode Island Hospital in Providence.

17 May 2005

Significant non-coronary findings found during heart CT scans point to importance of trained radiologists

A significant percentage of patients undergoing targeted CT of the heart have abnormalities outside the coronary arteries, some of which could be life threatening, and as a result need the experience of trained radiologists to interpret them, say researchers from the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Center in Ann Arbor.

16 May 2005

Use of CT angiograms (CTAs) may be too high

The number of CT angiograms (CTAs) has gone up substantially, but the number of pulmonary emboli found has not, leading some researchers to question the utilization of this procedure.

16 May 2005

Tungsten-antimony breast shield reduces radiation dose to the female breast during chest CT by 43% to 73%

A new custom-designed tungsten-antimony breast shield reduces radiation dose to the female breast during chest CT by 43% to 73% without compromising diagnostic image quality, say researchers from the VCU Health System, Medical College of Virginia Hospitals and Physicians, in Richmond.

16 May 2005

Accuracy of CT colonography is excellent in comparison with conventional colonoscopy for colorectal cancer screening

The diagnostic accuracy of CT colonography is excellent in comparison with conventional colonoscopy for colorectal cancer screening, an analysis of previous studies shows.

16 May 2005

Women more vulnerable to chronic drinking than men are

A study in the May issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research addresses this gap in research, using computed tomography (CT) to examine brain atrophy in the brains of alcoholic men and women. The findings support and build upon a prior hypothesis that women develop alcohol-related brain damage more readily than men.

16 May 2005

Breast CT may improve on mammography - more gentler, more accurate

A new breast screening technology that may be able to detect tumors earlier than mammography -- without the need for uncomfortable breast compression -- is being tested in patients at the University of California, Davis, Medical Center.

10 May 2005

Cocaine use increases the risk of coronary aneurysms

Researchers in Minnesota say that cocaine users may be putting themselves at risk of coronary aneurysms, a ballooning of the walls of coronary arteries, which is potentially fatal.

9 May 2005

$Soft tissue injuries can predict risk of facial fractures in trauma patients$

Soft tissue injuries can predict risk of facial fractures in trauma patients

Trauma patients with specific types of facial soft tissue injuries should have a CT (computed tomography) scan of the face as well as a standard head scan to determine the presence and severity of facial fractures, according to a study published in the May issue of the Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery.

8 May 2005

CT News and Research

CT screening lowers negative appendectomy rate from 20% to 3% at urban hospital

High-tech imaging software locates more accurately the abnormal electrical impulses that produce heart arrhythmias

Whole-body positron emission tomography/computed tomography scans may help physicians identify malignant cancerous tumors

A small kidney stone should not preclude people from being donors

Patients with metabolic syndrome and moderate calcium levels in the coronary arteries have greater chance of blocked arteries

Medical imaging costs at a steady percentage of overall hospital costs

Ultrasound-guided percutaneous biopsies are a safe and effective alternative to endoscopic biopsies

Chest CT can be first step to identifying if patient has had a heart attack

Don’t skip chest CT in the ER just because X-ray checks out okay, warns study

Zevalin safe and effective for non-Hogdkin's lymphoma patients

Routinely reformatting computed tomography (CT) scans to view organs from several different directions may help radiologists improve diagnosis

MDCT overtakes ventilation-perfusion lung scan for diagnosing pulmonary embolism

Significant non-coronary findings found during heart CT scans point to importance of trained radiologists

Use of CT angiograms (CTAs) may be too high

Tungsten-antimony breast shield reduces radiation dose to the female breast during chest CT by 43% to 73%

Accuracy of CT colonography is excellent in comparison with conventional colonoscopy for colorectal cancer screening

Women more vulnerable to chronic drinking than men are

Breast CT may improve on mammography - more gentler, more accurate

Cocaine use increases the risk of coronary aneurysms

Soft tissue injuries can predict risk of facial fractures in trauma patients

E-Cigarettes and Ethanol: A forensic Perspective on Vaping

Understanding Consumer-Consented Data to Optimize Digital Health Programs

The Future is Wearable: Advancing Human Health Through Portable Spectroscopy

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