The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) this month became the first U.S. medical center to offer a speedier cancer radiation therapy. The new RapidArc therapy, which is the next-generation of intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT), can turn a 20-minute radiotherapy session into a 90-second session for selected cancer patients. Additionally, the new therapy saves healthy human tissue from unwanted radiation exposure at rates that are similar to or better than other radiotherapy techniques. Faster radiation delivery times reduce the chances that a slight move will affect the accuracy of the radiotherapy targeting.

According to a Dutch study, the often-used MRI scans to detect breast cancer frequently scare women unnecessarily. Five out of six scans were found to be incorrect, although the women concerned were going for mastectomies only after careful analysis. Published in the Annals of Oncology, the study further states that women with certain genes face 85% risk of breast cancer.

Connect Imaging Inc., developer of customizable PACS (picture archiving and communication systems), has released a new version of its Mammo ViewBox software to support a super high resolution mammography display from Japan’s Totoku Electric Co. Ltd. Connect Imaging’s mammography workstation software is the first to support the ISD technology of the Totoku MS51i2 digital mammography display.

Sonomed Inc., a subsidiary of Escalon Medical Corp, has received the State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) approval in China to market the PacScan(R) and E/Z-Scan(R) series of products. Both products are already being marketed internationally and are among the best-selling ophthalmic biometry and ultrasound imaging systems. Sonomed Inc. is a diagnostic ultrasound company that focuses on instruments for ophthalmology.

Photo by christopher.vanbelle