Mark G. Watson Named RSNA Executive Director
Mark G. Watson will become RSNA executive director on April 1, 2009. He comes to the position with nearly 20 years of experience working at RSNA on significant projects and in key capacities, including service as the interim executive director since September 2008.
Assistant executive director (AED) for finance and administration at RSNA for the past 15 years, Watson was selected after a thorough search and from a field of candidates reviewed by Korn/Ferry International, the Executive Director Search Committee and the Board of Directors.
Learn more about new RSNA executive director Mark G. Watson.
Headlines
Leading the News
Research
Technology
Medical-Legal Issues
Clinical Practice
Leading the News
Detection of Asymptomatic Breast Cancer Recurrence Improves Survival; Mammography Sensitive for Second Cancers
Detection of breast cancer recurrence while it is still in the asymptomatic stage improves survival rates by between 27 percent and 47 percent, according to a study led by Nehmat Houssami of the University of Sydney. The study included a analysis of the medical records of 1,044 women who had developed a second breast cancer, 67 percent of which were asymptomatic. Houssami and colleagues also found that mammography was more sensitive than clinical examination for detecting second breast cancers: 86 percent compared to 57 percent. The researchers note that 14 percent of the cancers were detected only by clinical examination. Full results of the study can be found in the Annals of Oncology.
From "When Breast Cancer Recurs, Finding Pre-Symptoms Is Key"
U.S. News & World Report (03/18/09)
Research
Overall Utilization of Radiologic Exams in Pregnant Patients Increases 107 Percent in 10-Year Review
Brown University assistant professor of diagnostic imaging Dr. Elizabeth Lazarus and colleagues recently determined that the utilization of radiologic imaging in pregnant patients increased from 237 patients undergoing 331 studies in 1997 to 449 patients undergoing 732 examinations in 2006. This represents an increase of 89 percent in patients and 121 percent in examinations. However, the total number of pregnant patients measured by deliveries also increased 7 percent, so total utilization rates (examinations per 1,000 deliveries) of all radiologic examinations increased 107 percent. Furthermore, the authors found that the number of conventional radiographic examinations rose an average of 7 percent per year, while nuclear medicine examinations increased by 12 percent per year and computed tomographic examinations went up by 25 percent annually. Full results of the study can be found in Radiology.
From "Utilization of Imaging in Pregnant Patients: 10-Year Review of 5,270 Examinations in 3,285 Patients--1997-2006"
Radiology (03/22/09) Lazarus, Elizabeth; DeBenedectis, Carolynn
MR Imaging Detects Brain Changes Linked to Alzheimer's
A team of researchers, led by VU University Prof. Wouter J.P. Henneman in Amsterdam, used MR imaging to detect brain changes that may be associated with Alzheimer's disease or mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Henneman and colleagues obtained MR scans for 64 patients diagnosed with Alzheimer's, 44 with MCI, and 34 healthy controls. Follow-up scans were then performed after an average interval of 1.8 years. At that time, three of the controls and 23 patients with MCI progressed to Alzheimer's disease. The MR scans found that those patients in the control group who had a small hippocampus or a high shrinkage rate of the hippocampus had a fivefold increase risk of developing Alzheimer's, while a small hippocampus and a high shrinkage rate was associated with 61-fold greater odds of developing Alzheimer's. For patients with MCI, there was a smaller effect of these combined factors, with a 20-fold increased risk of progressing to Alzheimer's disease. Full results of the study can be found in the journal Neurology.
From "Brain Scans Spot Changes Linked to Alzheimer's"
Reuters (03/16/09)
Advanced Imaging Helps Increase Efficacy of Local Excision of Rectal Cancer
New research published in the World Journal of Gastroenterology details how advanced imaging techniques have increased the accuracy of preoperative rectal cancer staging. The study, led by Dr. DB Zhao of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, evaluates prognostic factors for five-year survival after local excision of rectal cancer. Zhao and colleagues also describe how advanced imaging and other technological and clinical developments have improved the preservation of physical function in rectal cancer patients while still effectively preventing local recurrence.
From "Increasing the Efficacy of Local Excision of Rectal Cancer"
News-Medical.Net (03/23/2009)
Technology
Contrast-Enhanced Carotid US Aids Risk Stratification in Patients With Carotid Atherosclerotic Plaque
Dr. Li Xiong of Huazhong University of Science and Technology and colleagues recently concluded that contrast-enhanced carotid ultrasound (US) may be used for risk stratification in patients with carotid atherosclerotic plaque. This conclusion was based on an investigation including 104 patients with carotid plaques using standard and contrast material-enhanced US. Results of the study, published in Radiology, found that symptomatic patients had more intense contrast agent enhancement in the plaque than asymptomatic patients, with plaque enhancement detected in 80 percent of symptomatic patients and 30 percent of asymptomatic patients.
From "Correlation of Carotid Plaque Neovascularization Detected by Using Contrast-Enhanced US With Clinical Symptoms"
Radiology (03/20/09) Xiong, Li; Deng, You-Bin; Zhu, Ying
Computer-Aided Volumetry Scheme Improves Detection and Measurement of Pneumothoraces in Trauma Patients
Wenli Cai of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School and colleagues developed a computer-aided volumetry scheme that provides radiologists with an automated method to detect and measure pneumothoraces in trauma patients imaged with MDCT. The success of the scheme was validated in a study that included 68 trauma patients with at least one diagnosed occult pneumothorax and three pigs. The patient study found that the sensitivity of the computer-aided volumetry scheme was 100 percent with a false positive rate of 0.15 per case for 32 occult pneumothoraces greater than or equal to 25 mL.
From "MDCT for Automated Detection and Measurement of Pneumothoraces in Trauma Patients"
American Journal of Roentgenology (03/01/2009) Cai, Wenli; Tabbara, Malek; Takata, Noboru
Medical-Legal Issues
Congress Introduces Medical Device Safety Act of 2009
Just over a year ago, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that patients could not file suit against medical-device manufacturers under state law alleging harm from a device that had been approved by the FDA. This ruling was based on the Medical Device Amendments of 1976 to the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act, which says that a state may not "establish with respect to a device intended for human use any requirement … which is different from, or in addition to, any requirement applicable" to a medical device under federal law. For this reason, FDA approval currently preempts any failure-to-warn or design defect lawsuits for medical devices. However, Reps. Henry Waxman (D-Cal.) and Frank Pallone (D-N.J.) recently introduced the Medical Device Safety Act in the House, while Sens. Edward Kennedy (D-Mass.) and Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) introduced a companion bill in the Senate. These bills are designed to nullify the Supreme Court ruling by adding language to the Medical Device Amendments that would clearly state that the law does not preempt suits against device companies.
From "The Medical Device Safety Act of 2009"
New England Journal of Medicine (03/18/09) Curfman, Gregory D.; Morrissey, Stephen; Drazen, Jeffrey M.
MedPAC Chairman Cites Medical Imaging as a Cause of Rising Medicare Costs
In testimony before the House Ways and Means subcommittee on health, Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) chairman Glenn M. Hackbarth specifically cited medical imaging as one of the causes of increasing Medicare costs. His testimony follows the 2009 MedPAC report to Congress which maintained that imaging overpayments are particularly evident with equipment utilization assumptions in the relative value formula unit used to calculate the technical component of Medicare Part B reimbursement. To reduce incentives to overuse advanced imaging modalities, including CT and MRI, the report recommended changing the equipment rate utilization factor for imaging equipment costs above $1 million to 45 hours per week, or 90 percent utilization. Currently, utilization is set at 25 hours per week, or 50 percent utilization.
From "Medical Imaging Takes Rap for Fueling Higher Medicare Costs"
Diagnostic Imaging (03/17/09) Abella, H.A.
HHS Names David Blumenthal As National Coordinator for Health Information Technology
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has officially named Dr. David Blumenthal as the the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology. As the National Coordinator, Dr. Blumenthal will lead the implementation of a nationwide interoperable, privacy-protected health information technology infrastructure as called for in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The Act includes a $19.5 billion investment in health information technology. Dr. Blumenthal will lead the department's effort to modernize the health care system through the adoption of interoperable health information technology by 2014. By doing so, HHS hopes to reduce health costs for the federal government by an estimated $12 billion over 10 years.
From "HHS Names David Blumenthal As National Coordinator for Health Information Technology"
Health and Human Services Department Documents and Publications (03/19/09)
Clinical Practice
Report Finds Utilization of X-Ray Mammography Decreases 16 Percent Between 2000 and 2008
Approximately 36.7 million x-ray mammography procedures were performed in the United States in 2008, according to a recent report by IMV Medical Information Division. That figure represents a 2 percent decline from 2007, when 37.3 million such procedures were reported, and a 16 percent decline from the 43.9 million procedures performed in 2000. The report indicates that this drop may be partially influenced in the decline in the number of MQSA-certified sites in the United States, from 9,910 sites in 2000 to 8,670 sites in 2007. The report also found that 38 percent of sites have installed mammography units with digital capability, while 62 percent are film-screen units. Overall, 36 percent of the sites surveyed indicate that the average lead time to schedule a diagnostic mammography is less than one day, while 57 percent say the lead time averages between one day and one week and 7 percent indicate the average time ranges from one day to one month. Additionally, the report found that ultrasound is used for breast imaging at nearly three-quarters of mammography centers. Other imaging modalities--including scintimammography, breast MR imaging, and PET scanning for breast cancer--are also available. In the case of x-ray mammography, computer-aided detection software systems are used at over half of U.S. mammography centers.
From "IMV Reports Mammography Imaging Decline"
Advance (03/20/09)
RSNA Weekly is a briefing of the latest radiology-related news selected from hundreds of sources by the editors of Information, Inc. While care is taken to use good sources, inaccuracies in source material are not the responsibility of RSNA or Information, Inc.
Abstract News © Copyright 2009 INFORMATION, INC.
Radiological Society of North America, Inc.,
820 Jorie Blvd, Oak Brook, IL 60523-2251
|
