The research team, from the University of Heidelberg, Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, found that a three-dimensional image of the pancreas represents an additional, valuable aid to the surgeon in the preoperative assessment of the resection of a pancreatic carcinoma. They examined ten patients with suspected pancreatic tumors prospectively using multidetector CT. Using the CT data sets, a three-dimensional image was created.

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UCF’s Teaching Academy has put on display a new brain-scanning instrument with the potential to aid research in mental illness, stroke rehabilitation, seizure detection and learning disorders. The instrument, also called the functional Near-Infrared Imaging system, was developed by Hitachi Medical Corp., an international medical-supply developer in Tokyo. The system uses infrared light to monitor oxygen levels in the brain, which are associated with increased brain activity and performance.

The University of Florida (UF) Veterinary Medical Center has installed a new clinical imaging system to enable veterinarians to obtain diagnostic images of previously inaccessible and larger parts of the body, such as the upper legs of horses. The new 1.5 Tesla Titan MR, made by Toshiba, has never previously been used by any academic veterinary medical center in the United States.

BIOTRONIK SE & Co. KG has announced the European launch of its new, unified platform pacemaker series, Evia, and several new products to further strengthen its bradycardia portfolio. Evia pacemakers are already designed to be MRI-conditionaland BIOTRONIK is planning to launch a new pacemaker-lead system which will be MRI-compatible under specific conditions during the first half of 2010.

The University of Illinois at Chicago recently unveiled this new generation magnetic resonance imaging (popularly called MRI) machine, which has a magnetic field strength more than three times that of the state-of-the-art clinical units. The world’s most powerful MRI can detect brain tumors and diseases such as Alzheimer’s even before actual symptoms appear. The FDA has approved the use of the device for certain research projects.

NeuroLogica Corporation has received the 510(k) clearance from the FDA for the SPECT (single photon emission computed tomograph). The inSPira HD is a mobile system that runs on batteries and can be moved around hospital wards if necessary. Image quality of inSPira HD is close to that of PET with the resulting reconstructed spatial resolution as high as 3.0mm. inSPira HD is capable of imaging all available neuro radiotracers offering a broad range of clinical applications including Epilepsy, Parkinson’s, Stroke and Alzheimer’s.

A team of researchers led by Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) radiologists has developed a computed-tomography-based protocol that identifies both narrowing of coronary arteries and areas from where blood flow to heart muscle tissue is restricted, giving a better indication of clinically significant coronary artery disease. Their report appears in the September 15 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology. Ricardo C Cury, MD, a cardiac imaging specialist at the MGH Heart Center and the study’s principal investigator said “This is among the first demonstrations of the use of cardiac CT [computed tomography] to detect both coronary artery stenosis and resulting myocardial ischemia simultaneously in a single examination.”

PhotoDetection Systems (PDS) has introduced its NeuroPET scanner. NeuroPET’s wavelength-shifting fiber technology enables high-sensitivity and superior spatial resolution. Its compact/portable design requires no special site preparation. PDS said its scanner uses low doses of 18F and 11C tracers to image metabolism, amyloid and dopaminergic binding in neurological diseases. The tracers are known to be helpful in imaging challenging and costly diseases, such as Alzheimer’s, neuro-oncology, epilepsy, Parkinson’s and neuro-psychiatric disorders.

The FDA has approved a new trauma device in which FISO Technologies Inc’s fiber optic sensor is a key element. FISO expects the device to be released to the markets in the forthcoming months. Fiber optic temperature probes are insensitive to radio frequency and microwave radiation and can, therefore, be used in MRI machines without affecting the image clarity.

According to the Medicare watchdog, GPs are misusing the CT scans by ordering CT scans for patients with uncomplicated back pain. CT, computed tomography, scans subject patients to 400 times more radiation than ordinary X-rays, and doctors appear to be referring patients for CT chest scans without good cause. Unnecessary chest CT scans alone could be responsible for 40 fatal cancers a year in Australia, the experts have estimated.