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New Post has been published on http://consultingradiologist.com/in-a-family-emergency-rock-hill-radiology-staff-pitches-in-to-help-eddie-read-more-here-httpwww-heraldonline-comnewslocalarticle144029834-htmlstorylinkcpy/
In a family emergency, Rock Hill Radiology staff pitches in to help Eddie Read more here: http://www.heraldonline.com/news/local/article144029834.html#storylink=cpy
On April 3, while traveling on Interstate 77 from Orangeburg to his home in Tioga, Pa., a father of two sons – ages 9 and 16 – became ill, said Rock Hill Radiology Associates staff members.
“They were heading back Monday morning and only made it to Rock Hill,” said Megan McDowell, a Rock Hill Radiology claims analyst.
McDowell said she saw the boys wheeling their father to the Piedmont Medical Center emergency room on April 3. When she went to work the next morning at about 7:20 a.m., McDowell said she felt someone watching her. In a white pickup truck parked nearby, she saw a dog in the back seat.
“I knew that truck had been there since Monday at 12 o’clock,” she said. “I’m a dog lover. I knew he’d been there all night.”
She told her co-workers, and they alerted security.
“It was supposed to be 81 that day,” McDowell said, referring to the temperature, “so I knew he couldn’t sit there all day.”
The radiology staff learned the father had been admitted to the hospital for observation, and the family didn’t know anyone in the Rock Hill area.
“Everyone rallied,” said Marsha Neely, office administrator for Rock Hill Radiology since 1998 and with the hospital since 1985.
Read more here
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New Post has been published on http://consultingradiologist.com/ultrasound-is-more-accessible-than-ever/
Ultrasound is more accessible than ever
The utility of ultrasound extends across the entire continuum of care and has become fundamental to providing cost-effective care for patients around the world. Though ultrasound originated within traditional imaging, novel point-of-care applications are now being performed by multiple specialties and are contributing to better patient care pathways that are safer and more economical than traditional imaging. Furthermore, there is a growing body of evidence about the benefits of point-of-care ultrasound and why it should be standard care for many disease states.
“Ultrasound gives clinicians incredible insight—the ability to look into patients’ bodies and diagnose, screen, intervene, treat, and monitor,” Souquet says. “Still, this is relatively young technology, only a few decades in use. The impact of ultrasound has grown as new users and new uses demonstrate their usefulness in an expanding variety of settings. We’re going to see a lot more in the future.”
Here is a look at what’s on the mind of each of the major ultrasound manufacturers.
FUJIFILM Medical Systems USA Diku Mandavia, MD, CMO and senior vice president of FUJIFILM Medical Systems USA, Inc, says due to both prevalent patient concerns over the radiation dose associated with CT scans and new advancements in ultrasound technology, ultrasound has shifted from being a largely forgotten modality to playing a ubiquitous role in hospitals and clinics all over the world.
“We are seeing emergency medicine, cardiology, critical care, and anesthesiology departments, among other areas, using point-of-care ultrasound,” Mandavia says. “It is likely that this trend will continue. Many medical schools are already training students to use ultrasound. My prediction is that all physicians will utilize highly mobile ultrasound in the future.”
FUJIFILM SonoSite’s products can provide full diagnostic imaging capabilities at the bedside, Mandavia says, adding that fast, high-quality ultrasound examinations at the point of care save lives, increase patient safety, and improve clinician efficiency. For example, the latest model of the Edge II has been enhanced to accelerate image acquisition, enabling clinicians to make more confident decisions and focus on the patient.
“There have been continual advances in point-of-care ultrasound technology. This is helping to reduce hospital and patient expenses by decreasing costs to the health system and the time required for diagnosis and treatment,” Mandavia says. “Because hand-carried point-of-care systems are so much smaller than conventional cart-based systems—and because mountable point-of-care machines like most of SonoSite’s have a ‘zero footprint’ in locations where space is at a premium—point-of-care ultrasound has also found its way into remote corners of the world where funds, facilities, and space are limited.”
Philips Vitor Rocha, CEO of Philips Ultrasound, notes that automation, reproducibility, and portability continue to be trends driving ultrasound. Rocha has also noticed a trend of ultrasound expanding to new users and new uses, as more compact devices continue to expand the reach of ultrasound. In addition, there’s been a greater commitment to transducer innovations that allow clinicians to easily assess technically difficult patients, such as young children or individuals who are overweight. For example, the Lumify app-based ultrasound system can be plugged into a mobile device.
“These portable devices improve the accessibility of ultrasound while streamlining diagnostic processes and improving quality of care for patients,” Rocha says. “This has led to wider adoption by a variety of providers who may not traditionally have used ultrasound, including nurses, midwives, and emergency medicine and critical care professionals.”
Philips recently introduced the newest member its Affiniti family, the Affiniti 30, and it has continued to advance its EPIQ ultrasound platform, with anatomically intelligent features like HeartModelA.I.—which provides automatic image quantification, 3D views, and time savings, according to the company—and auto-registration.
“Our customers face increased pressure to reduce costs and improve efficiencies. They look to us for innovative solutions to operate their businesses more effectively,” Rocha says. “Just one example of how Philips is addressing this need is through the introduction of OmniSphere, a suite of tools and applications designed to optimize ultrasound operations in hospitals, clinics, and private practices. OmniSphere gives ultrasound managers a clear look into workflow, staffing and equipment utilization, and downtime.”
GE Previously focused on just diagnosis, ultrasound is now playing a role across the complete care continuum—for example, screening for cancer, including breast cancer. Currently, GE’s Invenia automated breast ultrasound system is the only ultrasound solution FDA approved for dense breast screening; for therapy and guidance, including surgical needle guidance and liver tumor ablation; and for more detailed diagnosis and follow-up care.
“It’s increasingly useful in diverse clinical settings, and we’re proud to be the only ultrasound manufacturer with dedicated development teams by care area,” says Neal Sandy, chief marketing and commercial officer of clinical care solutions at GE Healthcare. “We optimize systems designed specifically for these care areas, which means adjusting the size, shape, capabilities, and mobility of our specific offerings to best meet clinical needs.”
For instance, GE’s LOGIQ systems are designed to deliver ultrasound from head to toe, whether a patient is obese or thin, neonate or geriatric. Its latest platform—the LOGIQ E9—combines the resolution and penetration of XDclear technology with innovations to the system’s architecture, processing engine, and display technologies. The result is 22% more contrast, 99% improved spatial resolution, and 170% more image information. In fact, in late 2016, GE Healthcare made history with the production and delivery of its 17,000th LOGIQ E9, which is now the most installed premium radiology ultrasound system in history.
“We have seen drastic improvements in the quality, cost, and access of ultrasound overall. On quality, we’ve seen continued and dramatic improvements in image quality—now both 3D and 4D—through both higher resolution and deeper penetration; ease-of-use for caregivers; applications across the care spectrum, including screening, breast care, liver contrast, etc; and digital solutions that immediately transfer diagnostic data into actionable clinical insights that benefit both clinicians and patients,” Sandy says.
In terms of cost, product and operating costs have declined, and ultrasound often sits at the clinical point of decision; this helps reduce downstream costs and workflow costs for providers, Sandy adds. And when total cost of ownership goes down, a broader group of potential caregivers and their patients is given access to ultrasound.
Another trend Sandy has noticed is the recent approval of contrast imaging for ultrasound in the United States, bringing that market in line with other regions that have been using contrast-enhanced ultrasound for several years to diagnose patients more cost-effectively than with higher cost modalities.
Konica Minolta Healthcare Americas, Inc At Konica Minolta Healthcare Americas, Inc, enhancements in traditional ultrasound include contrast imaging, volume imaging, and elastography.
“These advances allow physicians to image blood perfusion and blood flow, view real-time 3D imaging of structures, and differentiate malignant tumors from benign, among other applications,” says Joan E. Toth, the company’s senior product marketing manager for the Americas. “Another important technological advance in ultrasound, however, is the development of mobile systems with increased functionality for the point-of-care market. Ultrasound mobility doesn’t just bring the imaging modality to the bedside in hospitals; it also provides access to the real-time medical images of patients in surgi-centers, offices, and clinics.”
Compact ultrasound systems, handheld devices, and wireless transducers that are compatible with a phone or tablet have the ability to help clinicians quickly and confidently image internal organs and diagnose abnormalities in soft tissue, unencumbered by cables or bulky cart-based systems, Toth says. She adds that making diagnoses earlier in the care path has real clinical and economic benefits that are essential in today’s health care environment, and portable ultrasound has played a key role in making that possible. Konica Minolta Healthcare Americas offers the SONIMAGE HS1 Compact Ultrasound System, which Toth notes delivers a superior image quality and needle visualization required for confident patient care decisions.
“[Our] broad frequency linear probes, L18-4 and HL18-4, offer both high sensitivity as well as greater penetration, allowing clinicians to scan both deep and superficial joints and structures,” Toth says. “The hockey stick probe reaches difficult to access areas easily with its small footprint and maneuverability.”
With the new year, Konica Minolta released the J5 Ultrasound System, offering touchscreen interfaces and user-friendly workflow with focused point-of-care exams in a compact, portable system. Toth says the J5 is well suited for musculoskeletal evaluations that require needle visualization for ultrasound-guided injections and biopsies.
Siemens Medical Solutions USA, Inc Peter Pellerito, senior vice president of ultrasound for Siemens Healthineers Ultrasound, notes that the company has been focusing its ultrasound efforts on early breast cancer detection, chronic liver diseases, and prostate imaging.
“We’ve been pushing the envelope to increase the performance of ultrasound imaging to provide improved imaging that benefits from a clinical perspective,” he says.
The company’s ACUSON S3000 Ultrasound System, HELX Evolution with Touch Control, was designed with a dedicated focus on general imaging and IR.
Toshiba Coming out of a year where the major buzz concerned contrast in radiology for ultrasound, the new talk around the modality is how to expand ultrasound in the health care environment.
“A trend we have been seeing is smaller systems, portable handheld ultrasound, and those that have been finding different uses in point of care,” says Paulo Ucio, senior manager of market development for the ultrasound business unit for Toshiba America Medical Systems. “Automation is another trend we are seeing.”
Toshiba recently launched its new Xario 200 Platinum Series ultrasound system at RSNA, which is an upgrade of its popular Xario 200, geared toward radiologists, obstetricians, and cardiologists. The system features capabilities such as precision imaging, differential tissue harmonics, and advanced dynamic flow.
“The systems are more intelligent than ever before, and that helps users to be more confident,” Ucio says. “Ultrasound is very user-dependent, so this is very welcome.”
The Future of Ultrasound Industry insiders foresee continued advancements in ultrasound toward cost-effective solutions that do not compromise high-quality imaging. Souquet predicts ultrasound will become even more automated, mobile, definitive, and intuitive for users, making it an indispensable everyday tool for patient diagnosis and care. Rocha would like to see an increased focus on medical education. He says despite significant advancements in technology, ultrasound education has remained relatively stagnant.
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New Post has been published on http://consultingradiologist.com/quarter-of-radiologist-posts-in-northern-ireland-vacant/
Quarter of radiologist posts in Northern Ireland vacant
Almost 25% of radiologist posts in Northern Ireland are currently vacant.
The Royal College of Radiologists has described the shortage as “severe” and said it was aware of the potential impact on the care of cancer patients.
In a recent report, the Health and Social Care Board said the regional performance against the 14-day breast cancer standard had “deteriorated”.
The Health and Social Care Board confirmed to the BBC that approximately 40 posts remain unfilled.
It said this was despite multiple attempts to recruits doctors.
According to those who work in the area, more money is required to train professionals.
A number of professionals told the BBC that a shortage of radiologists in Northern Ireland is impacting on how quickly patients are receiving cancer diagnosis.
They said more investment is required to train professionals.
In a statement to the BBC, a spokesperson for the Royal College of Radiologists said: “We are aware of the severe shortages of qualified radiologists in Northern Ireland and the potential impact that this is having on the care of cancer patients.”
It added: “This issue has been exacerbated by a combination of additional factors such as inadequate training numbers and the retirement of radiologists.”
The role of the radiologist is vital in cancer diagnosis.
Crucial role
A medical doctor, they specialise in diagnosing and treating disease and injury through the use of medical imaging technology such as X-rays.
Dr Anna Gavin, the director of the Northern Ireland Cancer Registry, said their role is crucial.
“Radiology is a very important area for the diagnosis of many conditions, including cancer,” she said.
“If there are delays in the radiologists’ workload then we are causing a backlog of patients to be diagnosed and treated.”
There are vacancies, however, in almost every health trust especially in the southern area where one radiologist was covering the entire area for almost a year.
Some cancer patients are having to wait longer than they should for diagnosis and treatment.
Paul Hutchinson’s cancer returned in November last year. He was diagnosed with a brain tumour in 2013 and underwent surgery and treatment.
However, he had to wait more than three weeks for a scan following surgery.
Image captionPaul Hutchinson had to wait more than three weeks for a scan following surgery
“The wait is terrible. You aren’t supposed to wait that long but the Christmas holidays fell in between and only I kept ringing and hassling the secretary it would have taken a lot longer,” he said.
Mr Hutchinson said that his oncologist had told him that they needed the results of the scan before they could organise his chemotherapy treatment.
The BBC has contacted the Belfast Health Trust and is awaiting a response.
The Health and Social Care Board is aware of the staffing problem.
It said that while most trusts are meeting the 14-day target, in the southern area only 39% of urgent breast cancer referrals were seen within 14 days
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New Post has been published on http://consultingradiologist.com/ucla-uses-artificial-intelligence-to-create-virtual-radiology-advisor/
UCLA uses artificial intelligence to create virtual radiology advisor
Interventional radiologists at the UCLA Medical Center are leveraging artificial intelligence to create a “chatbot” that automatically communicates with referring clinicians, providing them with evidence-based answers to frequently asked questions.
Currently, the AI-powered prototype is being tested by a small UCLA team of hospitalists, radiation oncologists and interventional radiologists. The machine learning application, which acts like a virtual radiology assistant, enables clinicians to rapidly access valuable information while enabling them to perform other duties and to focus on patient care.
The information is delivered in multiple formats, including relevant websites, infographics, and subprograms within the application. And if the tool determines that an answer requires a human response, contact information for an actual interventional radiologist is provided. As clinicians use the application, which is focused on diagnostic and interventional radiology, it learns from each encounter and becomes smarter through deep learning techniques that provide evidence-based answers.
“The more it’s used, the smarter it gets,” says Kevin Seals, MD, resident physician in radiology at UCLA and the programmer of the application, who notes that the application’s user interface consists of text boxes arranged in a manner simulating communication via traditional SMS text messaging services.
“It feels like you’re texting with a human, but you’re texting with artificial intelligence, so the responses are coming from a computer,” observes Seals, who has a background in engineering. “For clinicians in the hospital who aren’t radiologists, it’s a way to speak with a simulated radiologist.”
Read the full story here
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New Post has been published on http://consultingradiologist.com/new-radiology-resource-educates-medical-students-about-imaging/
New radiology resource educates medical students about imaging
Most people at some point in their lives go through medical imaging, such as an X-ray, CAT scan, or MRI. Dr. Marc Willis and his team at Baylor College of Medicine have developed a new educational resource called Radiology-TEACHES (Technology Enhanced Appropriateness Criteria Home for Education Simulation) that aims to give students a more in-depth knowledge about these types of tests.
According to Willis, associate professor of radiology and associate chair for quality improvement at Baylor, the American College of Radiology has had what is called appropriateness criteria for the past 20 years. These are online, evidence-based criteria which experts have gathered by sifting through all of the current medical literature. The problem is that they are in PDF format.
“There is so much information. Realistically, if you are in a busy clinic, you can’t break away from what you are doing to go through these PDFs online,” Willis said.
Instead of having to go through PDFs to learn about radiological tests, Radiology-TEACHES is an online platform that uses simulation education with integrated clinical decision support (CDS). Through an education grant, a team from Baylor has integrated modules based on the seven required medical student clinical clerkships at Baylor.
During each module, students are given a variety of vignettes to go through and they must decide which test is best, most cost-effective, and which test will expose the patient to the least radiation. The students receive immediate feedback via the integrated CDS.
“While the students are on a particular clinical service taking care of patients who may need radiological testing, they are also going through these simulation modules,” Willis said. “Students are using relevant cases to learn how to order tests more appropriately, cost effectively and safer for the patients.”
Based on the feedback from students who have used Radiology-TEACHES, the program seems to be working.
“The physician’s assistant students who have used the tool said they found it very helpful learning how to order, they also got a sense of the cost of radiation and they thought the modules were very easy to work through.”
Throughout the development of Radiology-TEACHES, Willis and his team had three goals in mind.
Goal 1: Making Radiology-TEACHES user-friendly
“We wanted to create a user-friendly program and we did so by incorporating technology that the students are used to using,” Willis said. “This isn’t a lecture where they are sitting and listening. This is an interactive program where they can simulate doing actual work and it is something that they can do on their tablet or handheld.”
Goal 2: Encouraging collaboration
“Historically, medicine has been practiced very competitively and from a departmental perspective. However, we wanted to make sure Radiology-TEACHES promoted collaboration and we have done that by collaborating with other departments and by ensuring that all students know how to work together to evaluate what is best for the patient,” Willis said.
Goal 3: Expanding the use of the Radiology-TEACHES to all medical personnel
“We want to address this issue by helping teach people across the continuum of medicine. It’s one thing to teach the students differently but it would take years to actually have enough students trained to change the way medicine is practiced,” Willis said. “I think we have to educate on both fronts. If we go upstream but also work simultaneously with practicing providers, then we can make some significant headway.”
-By Julia Bernstein
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New Post has been published on http://consultingradiologist.com/review-before-medical-malpractice-neglect-trials/
Review Before Medical Malpractice, Neglect Trials.
House Passes Bill Adding Review Before Medical Malpractice, Neglect Trials
By RYLAND BARTON • MAR 1, 2017
Medical malpractice and neglect lawsuits would have to be reviewed by a committee of doctors before they head to court under a bill that narrowly passed the state House of Representatives on Wednesday.
Supporters of the legislation say the state is too “litigation friendly” and that the policy would help weed out frivolous lawsuits.
Republican Rep. Robert Benvenuti said the bill will make the state more attractive to doctors and hospitals.
“They’re looking for climates that respect them, that do not demonize them, that understand that mistakes are made,” Benvenuti said. “And when mistakes are made, there’s a price to be paid for that. That’s all fine with them. But we need a balanced approach.”
Under the bill, a panel of three doctors would review claims made against doctors, nursing homes and other healthcare organizations before they head to court. The body would produce an opinion that could be used as evidence if the case goes to trial.
Full Story
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New Post has been published on https://consultingradiologist.com/hyperlinked-multimedia-enhanced-radiology-reports/
Hyperlinked multimedia-enhanced radiology reports
News | February 27, 2017 | PACS and Informatics
By Diagnostic Imaging Staff
Hyperlinked multimedia-enhanced radiology reports improve concordance of target lesion selection and measurements used to calculate therapeutic response, according to a study published in the American Journal of Roentgenology.
Researchers from the National Institutes of Health Clinical Center in Bethesda, MD, performed a retrospective study determine the clinical value of hyperlinked tumor measurements in multimedia-enhanced radiology reports in the PACS and the inclusion of a radiologist assistant in the process of assessing tumor burden.
Full article
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New Post has been published on http://consultingradiologist.com/amputees-retrieved-leg-plays-key-part-in-va-malpractice-suit/
Amputee's Retrieved Leg Plays Key Part in VA Malpractice Suit
Seattle Times | Jan 12, 2017 | by Lewis Kamb
Since its recovery in July 2016 from a local nonprofit that used it to train rescue dogs, Kuncl’s amputated limb has become a key piece of evidence in a federal legal dispute. Its very existence may help Kuncl prove his case that negligent medical treatment at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ Puget Sound Health Care System ultimately caused him to lose his leg, according to court records filed last week.
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New Post has been published on http://consultingradiologist.com/308-2/
Screening breast MRI boosts early diagnosis of cancer
Screening breast MRI: Not just for high-risk women
By Kate Madden Yee, AuntMinnie.com staff writer
February 21, 2017 — Screening breast MRI boosts early diagnosis of cancer in all women, not just those at high risk, according to a new study from Germany published online February 21 in Radiology. So why isn’t the modality being used more frequently?
The findings suggest that use of the technology could be expanded beyond its traditional application in high-risk women, helping to catch cancer earlier in women of all ages and risk levels, wrote a team led by Dr. Christiane Kuhl of Aachen University in Aachen, Germany.
Dr. Christiane Kuhl from the University of Aachen in Germany.
“By far, most women who develop breast cancer are ‘average risk,’ ” Kuhl told AuntMinnie.com via email. “Our results demonstrate that breast MRI improves early diagnosis in this group to the same extent as it does for women at high risk.”
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