A new study by radiation oncologists at Mayo Clinic comparing the world’s literature on outcomes of proton beam therapy in the treatment of a variety of advanced head and neck cancers of the skull base compared to intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) has found that proton beam therapy significantly improved disease free survival and tumor control when compared to IMRT. T

July 11, 2014 — On July 3, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule that would update payment policies and payment rates for services furnished under the Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) on or after Jan. 1, 2015.

July 11, 2014 — The Texas Center for Proton Therapy received its new cyclotron this month, and the center is expected to treat its first patients in early 2016. The center is a collaboration of Texas Oncology, the US Oncology Network and McKesson Specialty Health.

Biotronik announced that the first device patients to undergo full-body magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans in the United States have been implanted with the Biotronik DX System.

July 8, 2014 — A brain imaging study shows that patients with chronic fatigue syndrome may have reduced responses, compared with healthy controls, in a region of the brain connected with fatigue. The findings suggest that chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) is associated with changes in the brain involving brain circuits that regulate motor activity and motivation. The results were scheduled for publication in the journal PLOS One.

July 8, 2014 — Humana Inc. announced earlier this year an expanded coverage policy for cardiac CT (computed tomography). Many of the new Humana indications have long been advocated for by the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography (SCCT) and described in the model local coverage determination policy (LCD) developed by the organization.

The Idaho Supreme Court affirmed the October 2011 jury verdict in MRI Associates’ $52 million lawsuit against Saint Alphonsus Regional Medical Center. The ruling is the latest, and last, in a landmark legal battle between the two parties that began in 2004.