September 27, 2017 — A new study finds Medicaid expansion enacted as part of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) improved care coverage for cancer patients receiving radiation therapy and potentially decreased healthcare disparities.

For certain patients with oropharyngeal cancer caused by the human papilloma virus (HPV), an aggressive reduction of radiation therapy after surgery may provide excellent cancer control while simultaneously reducing post-treatment side effects, according to research presented at the 59th Annual Meeting of the American Society of Radiation Oncology (ASTRO). Reducing radiation therapy post-surgery may also improve quality of life and lower treatment costs. Patients in the phase II clinical trial received half the standard radiation dose but achieved equally high cure rates at two years following treatment.

MedLever Inc. recently announced the launch of a comprehensive agreement with the Hong Kong Sanatorium & Hospital (HKSH) to use the MedLever Platform to enable interoperability and streamline workflow for proton therapy delivery. MedLever and HKSH are working together to develop the information backbone to support the magnetic resonance (MR)-guided proton therapy solution being developed at HKSH. Additionally, MedLever will support the information management needs for conventional patient setup incorporating MR imaging. The solution will be first deployed in the conventional therapy department to enable simplified workflow, effective connectivity and data exchange among multiple systems.

Hologic Inc. announced the commercial availability of its new SmartCurve breast stabilization system, which has been clinically proven to deliver a more comfortable mammogram without compromising image quality, workflow or dose, according to the company. The SmartCurve system is available exclusively with Hologic's Genius 3-D Mammography exam, which detects more invasive cancers, reduces false positives, and is U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved as superior to conventional 2-D mammography for all women, including those with dense breasts, according to Hologic.

September 26, 2017 — Patients at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center now have access to the latest in dynamic volume computed tomography (CT) technology with the installation of the Aquilion One/Genesis Edition from Toshiba Medical.

Psychological distress has long been associated with negative health outcomes for cancer patients, though specific reasons remain unclear. A new study finds that roughly half of all patients who reported having severe distress, which the National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) describes as “a mix of anxiety and depressive symptoms,” subsequently missed one or more radiation therapy appointments and/or were admitted to the hospital during their treatment, compared with fewer than 20 percent of patients who reported lower levels of distress. The study was presented at the 59th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), which runs Sept. 24-27 in San Diego.

Combining radiation therapy with chemotherapy for patients with limited metastatic non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) may curb disease progression dramatically when compared to NSCLC patients who only receive chemotherapy, according to a new randomized phase II clinical trial reported at the 59th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), Sept. 24-27 in San Diego. Progression-free survival in the trial escalated from 3.5 months to 9.7 months with the addition of radiation therapy delivered to all the metastatic sites of lung cancer as well as the primary disease site. Treatment-related side effects were similar for the two treatment approaches.

September 25, 2017 — Toshiba Medical will showcase new advanced technology on its Aquilion LB computed tomography (CT) system at this year’s American Society of Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) annual meeting, Sept. 24-27 in San Diego. Giving oncologists the tools to clearly visualize patients’ anatomy with a lower dose, the system comes standard with Toshiba Medical’s PUREViSION CT Detector and Single Energy Metal Artifact Reduction (SEMARM).

A new survey finds breast cancer patients’ actual radiation therapy experiences largely exceeded their expectations. The survey, which addressed the fears and misconceptions regarding radiation therapy for breast cancer, found that more than three-fourths of the breast cancer patients surveyed found their experiences with radiation therapy, including overall and specific long-term and short-term side effects, to be less “scary” than anticipated, according to research presented at the 59th Annual Meeting of the American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO), Sept. 24-27 in San Diego.

September 25, 2017 — Bay Medical Management and its radiology services provider Bay Imaging Consultants have chosen MedInformatix to implement a new revenue cycle management solution for the expansive practice. MedInformatix will customize a billing platform as part of its signature V7.6 RIS (radiology information system) and enterprise practice management technology suite.

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