Although targeted therapies have produced dramatic advances in the ability to control some types of advanced lung cancer, growth of the disease in the brain remains a major problem. Radiation is often used to treat deposits in the brain, but the best technique to deliver radiation can be controversial. Whole-brain radiation therapy, as its name suggest, treats the entire brain but can be associated with notable cognitive side effects. Another strategy, radiosurgery, directs highly-focused radiation only to the sites of metastasis, largely sparing the normal brain.

January 3, 2018 — medQ Inc. recently announced the launch of its Q/ris MIPS Reporting module. This module is designed to enable eligible physicians, who do significant Medicare work to qualify for fully reimbursement under the Merit-based Incentive Payment System (MIPS).

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued the final version of the guidance, “Technical Considerations for Additive Manufactured Medical Devices." Additive manufacturing (AM), the broad category of manufacturing encompassing 3-dimensional (3-D) printing, is an emerging technology. This guidance is not intended to introduce new policy, but rather outlines the Agency’s current thinking about the technical aspects associated with AM processes, and provides manufacturers with recommendations for device design, manufacturing and testing considerations for use when developing devices that include at least one additively manufactured component or additively fabricated step.

Chagas disease (ChD), an infectious parasitic disease transmitted primarily by triatomine insects, has become a significant public health problem in recent decades. While many ChD patients suffer only minor symptoms, 20-30 percent develop chronic heart disease (ChHD); the variety of possible abnormalities caused by ChHD requires understanding of how different imaging modalities can assist in diagnosis and treatment decisions. A new document, Recommendations for Multimodality Cardiac Imaging in Patients with Chagas Disease: A Report from the American Society of Echocardiography in Collaboration With the InterAmerican Association of Echocardiography (ECOSIAC) and the Cardiovascular Imaging Department of the Brazilian Society of Cardiology (DIC-SBC), aims to provide the first comprehensive guidance for how best to use the multiple cardiac diagnostic tools to assess and monitor the growing number of patients with these Chagas-induced heart problems.

Philips and Arizona-based Banner Health recently announced they have extended their multi-year partnership to include adoption of Philips' PerformanceBridge Practice, helping Banner to accelerate its clinical transformation in radiology and further deliver on its goal of improving care for patients. PerformanceBridge Practice is a part of the Philips PerformanceBridge portfolio, a suite of operational performance improvement software and services that assist radiology departments in enhancing productivity, improving the patient and staff experience, while delivering better value-based care. Philips and Banner will work collaboratively to pinpoint improvement opportunities, and a dedicated Philips Solution Advisor will help Banner to develop solutions that address areas for improvement. Banner will roll out PerformanceBridge Practice in all 28 of its radiology departments in a two-phased approach, starting with their 16 Arizona and academic sites, then expanding to its 12 radiology departments in five other states.

Information from brain magnetic resonance images (MRIs) can help identify people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and distinguish among subtypes of the condition, according to a study appearing online in the journal Radiology.

About 25 percent of screening patients and 60 percent of diagnostic patients do not have prior mammograms available for comparison at the time of their examinations due to the lack of interoperability or other restrictions preventing clinicians from accessing prior exams.

Sixty million women undergo regular screening mammography in the United States, but even in the digital age, it is difficult to keep patients connected to their prior mammograms. You would think that with the proliferation of handheld devices and the reach of the Internet it would be easier than ever for patients and physicians to manage clinical images. But in fact, 25 percent of screening patients and 60 percent of diagnostic patients do not have prior mammograms available for comparison at the time of their examinations.[1-4]

MEDraysintell recently downgraded its projection for proton therapy rooms expected to be operational in 2030 from 1,200 to 900. The company said this still represents a 12 percent annual growth from 2017 to 2030, and the need to open an average of more than 50 proton therapy treatment rooms every year from 2018 to 2030.

Seno Medical Instruments Inc. (Seno Medical) recently reported data from their clinical study demonstrating that its Imagio opto-acoustic (OA)  breast imaging system achieved significant differentiation among prognostic subtypes of breast cancer (PSBC). These prognostic subtypes provide important information about the genes that each patient's cancer expresses. The data were presented during a poster presentation at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium, Dec. 5-9 in San Antonio, Texas.

iCAD Inc. announced that its Xoft Axxent Electronic Brachytherapy (eBx) System is now available at two California-based centers from The US Oncology Network – Santa Clarita Radiation Therapy Center and Sherman Oaks Radiation Therapy Center. Local patients with non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC), including individuals precluded from surgery or those seeking a non-invasive option, will now have access to a proven alternative.

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