Topic

Radiation Exposure


California bill to track rad dose clears one hurdle

Top Stories | Sunday, August 29 2010
The California State Assembly in a bipartisan vote of 70-4 has approved SB 1237, which seeks to establish protocols and safeguards to protect patients from excess radiation exposure during CT scans by requiring radiation dosage levels be recorded on the scanned image and in a patient’s health records and that radiation overdoses be reported to patients, their treating physicians and the California Department of Public Health.
 

SMU nets nearly $600K to study ultrasound in bone strength assessment

Web Exclusives | Thursday, August 19 2010
Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas has received a $596,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) Neurological Disorders and Stroke Institute to study the role of ultrasound in determining the effects of radiation on bone.
 

UN: Medical imaging radiation is main source of rad exposure

Industry News | Wednesday, August 18 2010
The use of radiation in medicine accounts for most human exposure to ionizing radiation, according to a report issued by the United Nations scientific committee on the effects of atomic radiation.
 

JASE: Two studies find carotid ultrasound bests Framingham risk scores

Clinical Studies | Wednesday, July 28 2010
Screening young to middle-aged patients for carotid plaque or carotid intima-media thickness is likely to uncover cardiovascular risk in patients with a low Framingham risk score. In addition, carotid ultrasound proved better than a coronary artery calcium score via CT to predict risk, according to two studies in the August issue of the Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography.
 

Lancet: Pediatric rad therapy in women raises risk of later stillbirth, neonatal death

Top Stories | Thursday, July 22 2010
Women exposed to uterine and ovarian radiation therapy during childhood reported a higher incidence of stillbirth and neonatal death, according to a study published in Lancet online on July 23.
 

AAPM: C-arm radiation scatter least at head & feet

Conference News | Tuesday, July 20 2010
PHILADELPHIA—Radiation scatter about the patient during abdominal fluoroscopic procedures is not isotropic, and staff would receive reduced dose if positioned at the head or feet, rather than laterally, according to a study presented July 19 at the annual meeting of the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM).
 

TomoTherapy delivers rad therapy to U.K. patients

Contracts & Installations | Monday, July 19 2010
James Cook University Hospital in Middlesbrough, England has begun treating cancer patients via the TomoTherapy HiArt treatment system from radiation therapy provider TomoTherapy.
 

JACC Feature: MPI studies responsible for 74% of cumulative rad dose

Web Exclusives | Monday, July 12 2010
Written by Manjula Puthenedam
Cardiac imaging procedures represent an important source of ionizing radiation in the U.S., and the distribution of cumulative effective doses can lead to sizable radiation exposure for many individuals, according to a study published online July 7 in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Better strategies to minimize the radiation exposure from cardiac imaging procedures should be encouraged, said the study's lead author Jersey Chen, MD, in an interview.
 

AHJ: Carotid US + intima-media thickness is safer, cheaper than angio

Clinical Studies | Tuesday, June 15 2010
A carotid ultrasound combined with measurement of intima-media thickness is an effective and inexpensive screening tool for the detection of coronary artery disease, according to a study published in the June edition of the American Heart Journal.
 

ASNC issues recommendations to reduce rad exposure with MPI

Top Stories | Tuesday, June 01 2010
The American Society of Nuclear Cardiology has outlined new recommendations that could significantly lower radiation exposure for patients undergoing myocardial perfusion imaging procedures and have published the recommendations online on May 26 in the Journal of Nuclear Cardiology.
 

AJR: Pediatric body size should be assessed before radiation-emitting exams

Clinical Studies | Wednesday, May 26 2010
While fitted average patient sizes are age dependent, predicted individual patient size does not correlate well with age on CT images, said the results of a study published in the June edition of the American Journal of Roentgenology, aimed at modeling optimal x-ray exposure factors in children.
 

California radiation overdose case with two-year-old settled

Top Stories | Tuesday, May 25 2010
A settlement has been reached in a civil suit filed by the family of a two-year-old boy who was exposed to a massive dose of radiation when he underwent a series of CT scans in a California Hospital.
 

ARRS: Computer system tracks patient-specific CT dose levels

Conference News | Tuesday, May 04 2010
Researchers from the Columbia University Medical Center in New York City have developed a computer-based system, Valkyrie, which may hold the key to tracking patient-specific radiation dose exposure during CT scan, according to a study presented May 3 at the 2010 American Roentgen Ray Society (ARRS) annual meeting in San Diego.
 

AANS: Spine surgeons face chronic radiation dangers

Conference News | Monday, April 26 2010
By not wearing appropriate radiation protection, spine surgeons performing high volumes of cases could approach the annual cumulative exposure limit of 5 Rem to the thyroid or torso, according to research to be presented during the America Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS) annual conference, May 1-5 in Philadelphia.
 

AJR: CCTA is cost-effective alternative to cardiact cath for CAD evaluation

Clinical Studies | Wednesday, April 21 2010
Non-invasive coronary CT angiography (CCTA) is a cost-effective alternative to invasive cardiac catheterization in the care of patients who have positive stress test results, but less than a 50 percent chance of having coronary artery disease (CAD), according to a study in the May issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology.
 

Aeolus initiates drug study for radiation exposure

Industry News | Wednesday, April 14 2010
Aeolus Pharmaceuticals has initiated a second study of its lead drug, AEOL 10150, funded by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases radiation/nuclear medical countermeasures development program as a countermeasure for radiation exposure to the gastrointestinal tract.
 

JAMA: ASTRO, FDA launch radiation safety initiatives

Industry News | Thursday, April 08 2010
The American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) and the FDA have launched radiation safety initiatives to enhance the safety of medical radiation and to reduce unnecessary exposure in patients, according to an article published in the April 7 issue of Journal of the American Medical Association.
 

JACR: Pros & cons of iPhone rad dose, cancer risk tracking app

Industry News | Monday, April 05 2010
A recent article published in the April edition of the Journal of the American College of Radiology discussed a Radiation Passport, an iPhone and iPod Touch application that tracks radiation dose and estimates associated cancer risks.
 

FDA meeting on CT rad exposure: Too many problems or too many solutions?

Top Stories | Wednesday, March 31 2010
Written by Lisa O. Buono
GAITHERSBURG, Md.—CT took center stage at yesterday’s morning session when the FDA began its two-day public meeting to hear responses about what manufacturers of medical imaging devices could do to help reduce unnecessary patient exposure to ionizing radiation.
 

Radiology: CT with dose reduction detects significant renal stones

Clinical Studies | Tuesday, March 30 2010
Reducing radiation from 100 to 30 mAs resulted in similar detection of renal stones 3 mm or larger while reducing patient radiation exposure by as much as 70 percent, based on the results of a study published in the April edition of Radiology.
 
Web Exclusives

Feature: Early a.m. rad shift expedites communication of urgent findings

An early morning radiologist shift can expedite the communication of urgent findings and improve patient care, according to a study in this month's Journal of the American College of Radiology. “The Joint Commission and the ACR have emphasized the importance of improved communication, particularly of critical test results, for better patient care,” Rathachai Kaewlai, MD, of Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, shared with Health Imaging News.

Feature: U.S. needs national strategy to curb imaging overutilization

Medical imaging overutilization--a growing concern in the U.S.--exposes patients to unnecessary radiation, while also adding to rising healthcare costs, according to a study published online Aug. 24 in Radiology. In an interview, William R. Hendee, PhD, lead author, reviewed various methods by which medical imaging could be curtailed.

Radiology: Prelim study shows CE breast CT outperforms CT, mammo

Dedicated contrast-enhanced (CE) breast CT delivered significantly improved conspicuity of malignant breast lesions, including ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), compared with unenhanced breast CT and mammography, according to a study published in the September issue of Radiology.

SMU nets nearly $600K to study ultrasound in bone strength assessment

Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas has received a $596,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) Neurological Disorders and Stroke Institute to study the role of ultrasound in determining the effects of radiation on bone.

Radiology: Rad role may evolve as image-guided biopsies trend up

CT, ultrasound and MRI have helped shift biopsy techniques away from more invasive approaches toward image-guided percutaneous techniques, according to a study published in the September issue of Radiology. The trend toward less-invasive approaches translates into enhanced safety and efficiency and could lead to more interaction between patients and radiologists.

CMS Webinar: Incentive payments to offset EHR adoption, not reimburse

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) EHR incentive payments are not considered reimbursement for money expended on EHR technology, but are intended to offset the cost associated with adoption and ongoing meaningful use, according to CMS during an Aug. 12 webinar.

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