The sale and use of CT scanners could ramp up this year, thanks at least in part to lung cancer screening. Low-dose computed tomography (CT) screening programs are popping up from coast to coast. The feds are picking up the tab for Medicare patients. And, while third-party payers have not been so forthcoming, the cost of a screening exam is within many peoples’ reach.

Having been active in the age of transformation which manufacturing, retail, finance, high-tech, oil and gas all experienced in the late 1980s and into the 1990s, I realized that healthcare would have its date with enterprise-wide change. Healthcare as an industry has existed for too long in an environment of stasis. Now with the rapid pace of technology, competition and exorbitant costs, it is evident to the patient, the competition, the government and the rest of the world that it must adapt to survive. Medical imaging is a profit center for most healthcare providers and has historically been the hotbed for technology advancement and innovation.

Imaging is pivotal for detection, staging and evaluation of tumor response to treatment. It is instrumental in determining which treatment is best suited to a patient and may be used to help guide surgery and radiation therapy. With chemotherapy, follow-up imaging exams are used to track tumor response and determine if different drugs should be used.

The future of ultrasound looks auspicious, according to Jonathan M. Rubin, M.D., Ph.D., director of the division of ultrasound in the department of radiology at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, who presented on “The Future of Ultrasound” at the 2014 Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) conference in Chicago this past December. His lecture highlighted emerging techniques for volume blood flow and shear wave imaging.

The Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) 2014 meeting in December showcased many new digital radiography (DR) products. In today’s fairly stagnant economy, medical facilities are looking for ways to do more with what they already have, and stretch their budgets. In searching for new DR systems, cost-effectiveness, ease of use and flexibility top their list. Many vendors debuted solutions to meet this demand.

ITN relies on its readers for input as to what trends and topics you are interested in and are affecting your business. We continuously monitor what the audience is viewing online at itnonline.com, and also through social media channels. This year, topics on women’s health and dose monitoring dominated the list.

A University of California-Davis study found that half of primary care physicians are still unfamiliar with a controversial state law mandating that radiologists tell women if they have dense breast tissue.