Thursday, February 24, 2011

Optima MR430s Extremity Scanner Gets FDA OK


GE Healthcare has received FDA regulatory approval for the Optima MR430s MR scanner. The 1.5 Tesla device will generally be used as an addition to a hospital's full size MRI machine because it can take on a good deal of the workload related to extremities. The small size and easy access may also provide a better option for people with claustrophobia when scanning extremities compared to a large bore MR.
Unlike the awkward and uncomfortable positions sometimes required for extremity scanning in whole-body systems, patients can relax in a padded chair beside the scanner, reclining comfortably much like they would in a favorite chair at home. Yet the Optima MR430s features a high-strength 1.5T magnet that ensures uncompromised image quality. And, because a more relaxed patient is less prone to moving around, the resulting images are likely to be even more clear and consistent...

The system has industry leading gradients, delivering 70mT/m of strength and 300T/m/s of slew rate. Short echo spacing and high signal to noise ratio enable high resolution and sharp images. The power of the system comes in a small footprint of approximately 222 square feet (20.62 square meters).
For technologists, the innovative design of the Optima MR430s helps improve productivity by alleviating time-consuming tasks, such as positioning patients and managing their anxiety. Six iso-centric dedicated RF coils can accommodate a full range of patient sizes and anatomies. The system’s design also ensures that the targeted anatomy is precisely positioned at the magnet’s isocenter and coil proximity increases signal to noise ratio for high clarity—even in small anatomies.

source: www.medgadget.com 

ESSR Annual Scientific Congress 2011


ESSR Annual Scientific Congress 2011
June 9-11, Crete/GREECE


Tuesday, February 22, 2011

3ο Συνεδριο Ογκολογίας Μαστού


Οργάνωση Συνεδρίου
Εθνικό Σύστημα Υγείας
2η Υγειονομική Περιφέρεια
Ειδικό Αντικαρκινικό Νοσοκομείο Πειραιά «Μεταξά»
Μονάδα Μαστού
Υπεύθυνος: Δρ. Κυριάκος Καλογεράκος

Τόπος Συνεδρίου
Xenia Palace
37 011, Πορταριά, Πήλιο
Τηλ.: 24280 99980-3
Website: www.xeniaportarias.gr
E-mail: info@xeniaportarias.gr

Ημερομηνίες Διεξαγωγής του Συνεδρίου
25-26 Μαρτίου 2011

Αιγίδα
Υπό την αιγίδα του Ιατρικού Συλλόγου Μαγνησίας.

Γλώσσα Συνεδρίου
Η επίσηµη γλώσσα του Συνεδρίου θα είναι η Ελληνική.

Μοριοδότηση / Πιστοποιητικό Παρακολούθησης
Στους συµµετέχοντες του συνεδρίου θα χορηγηθούν Μόρια Συνεχιζόμενης Ιατρικής Εκπαίδευσης (EACCME-UEMS) και Πιστοποιητικά Παρακολούθησης.

Αξονική τομογραφία της καρδιάς


Παρασκευή 11/3/2011, 18:00-20:00,
Αμφιθέατρο Ελληνικής Καρδιολογικής Εταιρείας

Αξονική τομογραφία της καρδιάς 
Συντονιστής: Α. Αντωνόπουλος

1. Πώς γίνεται η αξονική τομογραφία της καρδιάς; Συσκευές. Εξελίξεις στην τεχνολογία. 
Εισηγητής: Α. Πλώτας, Ακτινολόγος

2. Η αξονική τομογραφία της καρδιάς στην κλινική πράξη.

Εισηγητής: Σ. Κυρζόπουλος, Καρδιολόγος

3. Η ακτινοβολία στην απεικόνιση.

Εισηγητής: Ε. Βουρβούρη, Καρδιολόγος

4. Ενδιαφέροντα περιστατικά.

Σχόλια: Ι. Βασιλειάδης, Καρδιολόγος

Monday, February 21, 2011

A key milestone for mobile medical imaging: FDA approves mobile radiology viewer & smartphone ultrasound probe

 
Two key announcements last week should have physicians excited about the future of mobile medical imaging. FDA approval of a radiology viewing app and approval of a smartphone connected ultrasound probe peripheral.

Last week the FDA announced the first FDA approved diagnostic radiology app for mobile devices — Mobile MIM. We held off on announcing the news because we had read several reports last year stating another another diagnostic radiology app had been approved by the FDA already, ResolutionMD. We never reported on this because of the lack of information from the FDA.

We profiled ResolutionMD last year when it was announced Health Canada (analogous to the FDA) had approved the mobile app for diagnostic radiology viewing purposes.

In order to clarify this we spoke with the FDA and they told us the only mobile app they have approved for radiology diagnostic purposes is Mobile MIM, and that ResolutionMD’s mobile app is currently not approved by the FDA.

In its press release, the FDA stated Mobile MIM is not intended to replace DICOM workstations, and should only be used when a workstation is not available — e.g. when not at the hospital. From details provided in their press release, it’s clear the FDA did comprehensive testing of the device on multiple mobile devices, not just the iPhone. They tested luminance, resolution, and noise with multiple radiologists under various levels of lighting conditions. All the radiologists agreed the app was sufficient for diagnostic imaging interpretation.

From the press release:

The Mobile MIM application includes sufficient labeling and safety features to mitigate the risk of poor image display due to improper screen luminance or lighting conditions. The device includes an interactive contrast test in which a small part of the screen is a slightly different shade than the rest of the screen. If the physician can identify and tap this portion of the screen, then the lighting conditions are not interfering with the physician’s ability to discern subtle differences in contrast. In addition, a safety guide is included within the application.
Ultrasound Smartphone Peripheral:

Last year we reported on a Smartphone based Ultrasound peripheral, MobiUS, from Mobisante, an mHealth company based in Redmond, WA. The device allows an ultrasound probe to be connected to a smartphone via USB 2.0 support. Last week they announced they had received FDA approval of the device.

Unfortunately, based on its form factor, MobiUS will not work on the Apple iPhone or on Android phones. The current setup of the medical peripheral requires USB 2.0 support. MobiUS will only work on the outdated Windows Mobile 6.5 OS with a Toshiba TG01 smartphone. Hopefully Mobisante is working on offering support to a wide variety of smartphone devices because limiting the ultrasound peripheral to one device significantly reduces its appeal.

The probe + phone combination will cost under $8,000 — less then some ultrasound devices that can cost tens of thousands of dollars. The company’s PDF file on the specs of the device do not contain too many specific product details of the probe. There are sample images available on their website that offer a better glimpse into the picture quality of the device.

New High-Resolution Method for Imaging Below the Skin Using a Liquid Lens


ScienceDaily (Feb. 20, 2011) — University of Rochester optics professor Jannick Rolland has developed an optical technology that provides unprecedented images under the skin's surface. The aim of the technology is to detect and examine skin lesions to determine whether they are benign or cancerous without having to cut the suspected tumor out of the skin and analyze it in the lab. Instead, the tip of a roughly one-foot-long cylindrical probe is placed in contact with the tissue, and within seconds a clear, high-resolution, 3D image of what lies below the surface emerges.
Rolland presented her findings at the 2011 annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 19."My hope is that, in the future, this technology could remove significant inconvenience and expense from the process of skin lesion diagnosis," Rolland says. "When a patient walks into a clinic with a suspicious mole, for instance, they wouldn't have to have it necessarily surgically cut out of their skin or be forced to have a costly and time-consuming MRI done. Instead, a relatively small, portable device could take an image that will assist in the classification of the lesion right in the doctor's office."

The device accomplishes this using a unique liquid lens setup developed by Rolland and her team for a process known as Optical Coherence Microscopy. In a liquid lens, a droplet of water takes the place of the glass in a standard lens. As the electrical field around the water droplet changes, the droplet changes its shape and therefore changes the focus of the lens. This allows the device to take thousands of pictures focused at different depths below the skin's surface. Combining these images creates a fully in-focus image of all of the tissue up to 1 millimeter deep in human skin, which includes important skin tissue structures. Because the device uses near infrared light instead of ultrasounds, the images have a precise, micron-scale resolution instead of a millimeter-scale resolution.

The process has been successfully tested in in-vivo human skin and several papers on it have been published in peer-reviewed journals. Rolland says that the next step is to start using it in a clinical research environment so its ability to discriminate between different types of lesions may be assessed.

Rolland joined the faculty of the Hajim School of Engineering and Applied Science's Institute of Optics in 2009. She is the Brian J. Thompson Professor of Optical Engineering and is also a professor of biomedical engineering and associate director of the R.E. Hopkins Center for Optical Design and Engineering.

Friday, February 18, 2011

12 ΠΑΝΕΛΛΗΝΙΟ ΣΥΝΕΔΡΙΟ ΜΑΣΤΟΛΟΓΙΑΣ

FDA Approves Hologic's Selenia Dimensions 3-D System


Bedford, MA based Hologic, Inc. has announced FDA approval of its Selenia Dimensions 3-D system for three dimensional breast imaging. The system was recommended for approval by the FDA’s Radiological Devices Panel this past September, and is now the first 3D breast imaging solution to be FDA approved. Hologic also announced that existing Dimensions 2-D systems can be upgraded to incorporate the new 3D functionality, which uses multiple X-ray views to produce a 3D representation of the patient’s breast.

From the press release:
Unlike prior-generation mammography systems which generate two-dimensional images, breast tomosynthesis produces three-dimensional images which are intended to reveal the inner architecture of the breast, free from the distortion typically caused by tissue shadowing or density. Tomosynthesis images are acquired with the breast held briefly in compression. The examination, which includes a 3-D tomosynthesis image in combination with a 2-D image, takes only seconds longer than a conventional 2-D digital mammogram at a total exam dose within current FDA guidelines. The 3-D scan results in a stack of thin high-resolution image slices intended to provide clear rendition of structures in the breast and their spatial relationship with the surrounding breast tissue. The images are displayed on a standard diagnostic workstation for review by the radiologist.
source: www.medgadget.com

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Radiology Conferences this month..

FEBRUARY
1-04 Multimodality Detection and Diagnosis of Occult Breast Cancer, La Jolla, California
03-05 Breast Imaging Boot Camp, ACR Education Center, Reston, VA
03-06 2011 SCMR/EuroCMR Joint Scientific Sessions, Nice, France
07-10 Emergency Radiology, Palm Beach, FL
10-12 JIM 2010 Joint Interventional meeting, Rome, Italy
17-19 Multimodality Detection and Diagnosis of Occult Breast Cancer, Cape Town, South Africa
17-20 Breast MRI: Science, Technique, and Interpretation Including Clinical Correlation and Recent Developments, Scottsdale, AZ
21-23 ISMRM Workshop on Ultra High Field Systems & Applications: 7T and Beyond: Progress, Pitfalls & Potential, Lake Louise, Alberta, Canada
21-25 Internal Derangements of Joints: Advanced and Intensive MR Imaging/With a Special Weekend Symposium on Ankle and Foot, Coronado, California
23-26 ASSR 2010 Annual Symposium, Honolulu, Hawaii
25-27 ISUOG’s 7th International Scientific Meeting, Macau, China

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Galen courses..


GALEN Courses

The aim of the GALEN visiting schools is to familiarise young radiologists with the established approaches and the most recent achievements in diagnostic imaging, related to topics across the modalities.

The foundation courses are aimed at residents in their 1st, 2nd or 3rd year of training in radiology and are primarily assigned to the geographic area of central and south-east Europe. The advanced courses are aimed at residents in their 4th and 5th year of training in radiology and at recently board-certified radiologists, who desire a comprehensive review of diagnostic radiology. Each programme is structured in organ-oriented lecture series and interactive workshops, offered by internationally renowned European faculties. Every course is held in English and accompanied by a self-assessment test.

The GALEN courses are implemented with the great support and partnership of GE Healthcare Medical Diagnostics South Central Europe and GE Healthcare. All courses are CME accredited.
Registration from February 1, 2011.

GALEN FOUNDATION COURSES 2011

Neuroradiology
May 12-14; Iasi, Romania
Local organiser: Dragos Negru

Oncologic Imaging
May 26-28; Vilnius, Lithuania
Local organiser: Jurate Dementaviciene

Paediatric Radiology
June 16-18; Sofia, Bulgaria
Local organiser: Vesela Stoinova

Chest/Cardiovascular Radiology
October 20-22; Prague, Czech Republic
Local organiser: Vlastimil Valek

Breast Imaging
November 3-5; Budapest, Hungary
Local organiser: Gabor Forrai


GALEN Advanced Courses 2011

Cardiac Cross-Sectional Imaging
April 14-15; Umea, Sweden
Local organiser: Katrine Ahlström Riklund

Urogenital Cross-Sectional Imaging
April 28-29; Barcelona, Spain
Local organiser: Luis Donoso

Abdominal Cross-Sectional Imaging
October 13-14; Lisbon, Portugal
Local organiser: José Venancio

Musculoskeletal Cross-Sectional Imaging
November 17-18; Lille, France
Local organiser: Anne Cotten
 

source: www.myesr.org 

Mobile MIM App First to Receive FDA Clearance for Viewing Radiological Images


MIM Software, Inc. out of Cleveland, Ohio, has announced that its multi-modality imaging software, Mobile MIM, has received 510(k) clearance from the FDA, showing it to be safe and effective for "viewing images and making medical diagnoses based on computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and nuclear medicine technology, such as positron emission tomography (PET). It is not intended to replace full workstations and is indicated for use only when there is no access to a workstation."

For the app's review, the FDA performed various tests that measured luminance, image quality (resolution), and noise. These tests were performed under various lighting conditions, which often create significant, but important differences in images.

Mobile MIM was the winner of the Apple Design Award for Best iPhone Healthcare & Fitness Application in 2008 and should be available in the US Apple App Store next week.
source:www.medgadget.com
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