2008 June

The Deficit Reduction Act (DRA), competition and continuing focus onhigh quality patient care are all driving imaging departments andfacilities to focus on pushing their productivity. From radiologists,technologists and other staff to equipment and scheduling, facilitiesare finding the best ways to get the most out of their valuableresources.

More than five years after PET/CT technology thrust open the door toclinical molecular imaging, the technology is now proving its clinicalworth. As the National Oncologic PET Registry (NOPR) releases datacollected over the last two years, the value of PET/CT in oncologypatient management is clear.

The combination of single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT)with computed tomography (CT) into a single modality has providedinterpreting clinicians with greater diagnostic certainty, expandedtheir capability to localize disease, reduced patient exam time, anddelivered images and reports to referring physicians that better assistin their delivery of quality care.

The success of other hybrid imaging techniques has helped MR/PET gainground, particularly for neurodegenerative diseases. Research andsystem advances could put the combined modality on the map within thenext several years.

The growing interest in nuclear medicine, especially the surge inhybrid imaging, calls for good workflow and plenty of storage. PET/CTand SPECT/CT are changing the way cancer is detected and tracked sovendors of information systems, PACS and software vendors are offeringsolutions designed to meet the new image management landscape.

With a fluctuating and uncertain economy, many facilities are seeking imaging procedures that will spur growth. So what’s growing? Hand-heldultrasound system exams, virtual colonoscopy procedures and digitalmammography studies, for starters. Health Imaging & IT talked withseveral industry watchers about which procedures are growing, for whichapplications and why.

One technology close to the verge of reality is expected to addressmammography’s shortcomings: breast tomosynthesis. GE Healthcare,Siemens Medical Solutions and Hologic, Inc. are developing breasttomosynthesis systems, and it’s likely that at least one vendor willreceive Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval in the next year,Kopans notes. As researchers demonstrate the promise of breasttomosynthesis, Health Imaging & IT offers a primer on thetechnology to help sites prep for the next wave of breast imagingtechnology.

New devices, radiation therapy treatment planning systems andinformation systems present unique challenges to the modern radiationoncology department. Just as radiology a decade ago opened its doors toIT with the development of PACS, radiation oncology now is opening itsdoors to IT solutions that can streamline workflow.