Researchers at the University of Michigan developed a treatment using precise 3D imaging technology that offers a safer and more effective way to measure and dose radiation. 

The novel treatment is a means for doctors to view data in real-time, previously unseen. By catching and magnifying small sound waves created by x-rays, radiologists can chart the radiation dose more accurately, allowing real-time treatment. 

Xueding Wang, the Jonathan Rubin Collegiate Professor of Biomedical Engineering and Professor of Radiology, corresponding author of the study in Nature Biotechnology, and leader of the University of Michigan’s Optical Imaging Laboratory, said, “Once you start delivering radiation, the body is pretty much a black box. We don’t know exactly where the x-rays are hitting inside the body, and we don’t know how much radiation we’re delivering to the target. And each body is different, so making predictions for both aspects is tricky.” 

For hundreds of thousands of cancer patients, radiation is the main treatment, which blitzes a specific area of the body with extreme energy waves and particles to kill cancer cells. Though the treatment is standard, the lack of precision leaves room for improvement, as well as the increased risk of developing new cancers around the treatment area. 

Now, with 3D imaging, doctors can more precisely direct the radiation and limit the exposure of adjoining healthy tissue. The new technology can effortlessly be added to current radiation therapy equipment without modifying existing physician methods.

“In future applications, this technology can be used to personalize and adapt each radiation treatment to assure normal tissues are kept to a safe dose and that the tumor receives the dose intended. This technology would be especially beneficial in situations where the target is adjacent to radiation sensitive organs such as the small bowel or stomach,” said Kyle Cuneo, associate professor of radiation oncology at Michigan Medicine. 

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TTG Imaging Solutions, formally Acceletronics, is an industry leader in delivering the best equipment performance and service reliability from CT Scanners and Linear Accelerators across all major brands and models. Call 610-524-3300 to learn more.

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Point-of-Care Ultrasound (POCUS) was recently declared by the American Academy of Family Physicians as, “The biggest advance in bedside diagnosis since the advent of the stethoscope 200 years ago.” 

Many industry professionals, such as anesthesiologists, internal medicine specialists, family practitioners, and more, already use this technology and believe it is beneficial in widespread application. Ongoing advancements in POCUS technology make it an option for radiologists as well. 

Thanks to POCUS’ ability to rule out suspended pathology at the bedside, Rami Zebian, MD, CMO with Florence Medical Center and Marion Medical Center, said, “The best care is local care. There’s a lot of talk about how to do more care locally. While you can have the best technology, a huge hospital setting, and people can travel, the best option is having options locally at the point of care and getting results or answers faster. For example, emergency medicine physicians who graduate from an emergency medicine residency nowadays have ultrasound as part of their training. If we’re concerned about bleeding, they do the fast scan to quickly identify an area of concern, and then you go after it. There are a lot of conditions where time is very important.” 

Ernesto Brauer, MD, RDMS, RDCS, ASCeXAM, FACP, FCCP, ABSM, council chair with the Point-of-Care Ultrasound Certification Academy, says, “A significant number of ultrasound studies are reported as normal studies. This will avoid the unnecessary burden on radiologists.” 

POCUS offers lower-cost imaging devices that allow organizations to scale their use, enabling high-powered image insights to be at their fingertips. Regarding health care, the impact of POCUS will continue to be substantial, as it has unlimited potential in patient diagnosis. 

Physicians use specific tools to understand the complex physiology presented by patients with complicated conditions. POCUS is now being used as an extension of a physical exam. 

Ohad Zrazi, president and CEO of Clarius Mobile Health, said, “The emergence of high-quality handheld ultrasound systems that are even more portable, affordable, and easier to use is enabling physicians from diverse specialties to use ultrasound for diagnosis and treatment, often during first visits. As more physicians become proficient with using ultrasound to diagnose simple cases at the bedside, radiologists will have more time to focus on complex cases that require high level expertise.” 

Brauer said, “So, in a nutshell, the POCUS community is using POCUS in ways that have never been used conventionally by radiologists or sonographers. We are just in the early phase of the evolution of POCUS.” 

TTG Imaging Solutions is an industry leader in delivering the best equipment performance and service reliability from CT Scanners and Linear Accelerators across all major brands and models. Call 610-524-3300 to learn more.

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Medical equipment professionals often debate whether machines are useful past their “expiration” date. Newer radiation therapy equipment is touted to last seven or eight years, noting that it took roughly seven years to design and program before its release, doubling its age instantaneously. Therefore, the technology, software, and knowledge associated with a 14-year-old device is severely outdated. 

However, this thinking is not necessarily true, as there are machines over 20 years old that are operating safely and reliably. In Latin America, a Varian 6X linear accelerator has been treating patients for more than 40 years.

Since 1953, a GE MaximaR 100 X-Ray Device (also known as a Superficial Unit) has been working at a hospital in the United States. For almost 70 years, this unit has helped treat skin cancer patients by producing mild doses of radiation to destroy cancer cells while preserving the surrounding healthy tissue. This machine is still being manufactured for use in dermatology and radiation oncology clinics.

In the Caribbean, a physician at a radiation oncology center said, “Our 2003 Varian 21EX linear accelerator treats over 50 patients per day. It has all the features we want including RapidArc. The 21EX has successfully treated thousands of patients.”

These machines are well-built and are fully capable of lasting longer than seven or eight years. Certain companies purposefully underestimate the life of their linear accelerators to drive sales and increase new model usage. Also, many refurbished linear accelerators use the exact same technology as the current market models. 

Acceletronics is an industry leader in delivering the best equipment performance and service reliability from CT Scanners and Linear Accelerators across all major brands and models. Call 610-524-3300 to learn more.

Are you looking to purchase a refurbished linear accelerator or have yours repaired? Contact Acceletronics today.

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Artificial Intelligence (AI) has been poised to improve the radiological process for some time, yet despite hundreds of conferences, hype, and promises, AI hasn’t made a huge impact yet. 

Part of the issue with AI’s slow integration for radiologists lies within the application. Algorithms can be applied to specific situations and places, but radiologists need to look beyond these narrow views. True workflow integration is the key to fully utilizing AI. 

Though other areas of our lives already rely on AI, radiology has not caught up with the trend. Today’s viewing software cannot suggest relevant prior imaging exams based on the current image being studied. Two strategies already exist which can help facilitate the AI process. 

Activity Pattern Identification
By recording a radiologist’s habits, AI can look for clusters of repeated actions to automate. Specifically, viewing particular images and reading aloud numbers on a corresponding screen could be achieved by AI. Or AI could monitor click patterns from radiologists to offer the most appropriate measurement tool. Personal patterns for handling protocols can also be improved by AI, which can shave valuable time and improve radiologists’ mental load. 

Information Integration
A large number of radiology algorithms accept images and output a diagnosis or prediction; however, after receiving images, the AI could include extra information with the output which would be of use to the radiologist. With this information at their fingertips, radiologists could make better clinical decisions. For example, if a radiologist is examining a specific body part where surgery had been performed, AI could display the most recent pre-operative images to allow the radiologist to compare the two more easily.  

Considered some of the most technologically-forward physicians, radiologists should harness the power of AI and tap into the potential capabilities. By using pattern detection and information integration, AI can simplify tasks, clarify figures, and help to boost maximum productivity.  

Acceletronics is an industry leader in delivering the best equipment performance and service reliability from CT Scanners and Linear Accelerators across all major brands and models. Call 610-524-3300 to learn more.Written by the digital marketing team at Creative Programs & Systems: https://www.cpsmi.com/

An innovative new technology headed to Flint will be used to treat cancer with proton therapy. The McLaren Proton Therapy Center is the first to receive the new machine that treats patients upright, enabling cancer treatment with more precision. 

Leo Cancer Care developed the proton therapy called “Marie,” which will take up less space yet provide more accurate treatments since there will be less organ movement. 

The Proton Therapy Center in Flint will receive the first two upright units and be used within the next two years, pending FDA approval. The largest proton center in Michigan, the new machine will allow more patients to be treated. 

According to a news release from McLaren, proton therapy is a type of radiation therapy that uses protons to accurately target tumor cells and leave healthy surrounding cells undamaged.

Stephen Towe, CEO of Leo Cancer Care, said, “The goal of Leo Cancer Care and McLaren Proton Therapy Center’s collaboration is to bring proton therapy to more patients, and we know there are clear advantages with proton therapy. The McLaren Proton Therapy Center is well-positioned to become the first to potentially treat patients with the revolutionary Leo Cancer Care technology.”

Construction to add the “Marie” units to the Proton Therapy Center in Flint will start in the spring of 2023 and be fully operational by the fall of 2024.  

Acceletronics is an industry leader in delivering the best equipment performance and service reliability from CT Scanners and Linear Accelerators across all major brands and models. Call 610-524-3300 to learn more.

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A Lansing company called Niowave has begun producing actinium-225, a silvery metal isotope that barely exists on Earth, with a superconducting linear accelerator. The reason? This isotope is a promising cancer treatment; however, researchers don’t know its full potential due to the absence of clinical trials. 

Niowave has secured a $5 million deal with Fusion Pharmaceuticals to start production in 2024.  Between Russia, the United States, Germany, and Canada, there are only two curies (unit of measurement for radioactive materials) of actinium-225. Niowave plans on making one curie per week. 

In 2019, the federal government gave Niowave $15 million, and another $13 million last year, to produce molybdenum 99, which is used for medical imaging. Since other countries subsidize its production, making a profit from molybdenum 99 is tricky. 

After working with uranium for years, the federal government determined Niowave could function safely with another highly radioactive element, radium, to create actinium-225. 

Cancer therapy isotopes emit beta particles, which can destroy cancer cells but also kill healthy cells around them. Actinium-225 delivers more targeted alpha particles, which can emit more energy at a shorter distance.

Justin Wilson, an associate professor of chemistry and chemical biology at Cornell University said, “If you can get those alpha particles to the cancer cells, they have the capability of doing more damage but in a more confined region. Which, in theory, could prevent hitting healthy cells that maybe aren’t part of the small metastatic lesion.” 

Eric Burak, chief technical officer at Fusion Pharmaceuticals, states that they are working on formulating three separate drugs that use actinium-225. He said the isotope is “One of the rarest elements in the entire planet, and, with more companies interested in its therapeutic potential, everyone is scrambling for actinium supply.” 

Fusion Pharmaceuticals are investing $5 million to help Niowave create actinium-225 in exchange for a guaranteed share of the end result. 

Niowave’s superconducting linear accelerator has been moved to a concrete room as radium is extremely radioactive. 

Acceletronics is an industry leader in delivering the best equipment performance and service reliability from CT Scanners and Linear Accelerators across all major brands and models. Call 610-524-3300 to learn more.

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Video radiology reports are made for specific patients using simplified language and clearly annotated images to help them better understand test results, according to a novel study published by the American Journal of Roentgenology. 

Radiologists at NYU Grossman School of Medicine lead the study in collaboration with Visage Imaging GmbH and Siemens Healthineers. The study outlines how radiologists can create these patient-focused videos in under four minutes, delivering the results directly to patients and referring partners through an integrated patient portal. 

Lead author of the study, Michael P. Recht, MD, the Louis Marx Professor of Radiology and chair of the Department of Radiology at NYU Langone Health, said, “For decades radiologists have provided traditional radiology reports that are full of medical jargon and extremely difficult for patients to understand and decipher. Our findings demonstrate that when radiologists take a more active role in patient-centered care and provide helpful information about a particular diagnosis in an easy-to-comprehend manner, both the patient and clinician benefit.”

More than 100 radiologists at NYU Langone Health generated more than 3,500 video radiology reports during a four-month span between September 2021 and January 2022. All imaging modalities were used in the reports, such as MRIs, mammograms, X-rays, CT scans, ultrasounds, etc. 

The average length of each video report was 55 seconds. In a survey, 91 percent of patients reported they preferred both a written and video radiology report, suggesting it was helpful at showcasing the most imperative aspects of the overall report.

Researchers created the video radiology reports with Visage Imaging GmbH to integrate and build a tool inside the Picture Archiving and Communication System (PACS), which radiologists use to read imaging studies. 

After a series of images were identified, they were brought into the diagnostic viewer screen and recorded with audio while a mouse was used to identify notable anatomical anomalies. 

The NYU Langone Health MyChart housed the video radiology reports on the patient portal, with personalized clinical notes and a complete written report. 

Dr. Recht said, “Our study disrupts the old adage that radiologists ‘sit in a dark reading room all day’ and are invisible to patients. Through projects and research like this, our radiologists take a more active approach to patient-centered care that allows our department to provide exceptional, world-class care.”

Acceletronics is an industry leader in delivering the best equipment performance and service reliability from CT Scanners and Linear Accelerators across all major brands and models. Call 610-524-3300 to learn more.

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US Radiology Specialists has partnered with Artificial Intelligence (AI) company Volpara Health to form superior mammography and breast cancer services at Charlotte Radiology in North Carolina. 

Novel analytics performed by Volpara Health’s AI will execute risk assessment, patient communication, reports, quality assurance, and breast density analytics. 

Lindsay Muns, group president of physician practices for US Radiology and CEO of Charlotte Radiology and Upstate Carolina Radiology, said, “With each of our 16 breast imaging centers now equipped with the latest Volpara software tool suite, Charlotte Radiology can better fulfill our most important mission: diagnosing breast cancer early and supporting our patients through their treatment. Implementing advanced technologies like these help us continuously improve both experiences and outcomes for our patients across the Carolinas.”

Amy Sobel, MD, section chief of Charlotte Radiology Breast Imaging, said, “Our partnership with Volpara allows us as radiologists to keep our focus where we need it: on each patient we see. With Volpara, we are assured of accurate and timely reporting, as well as high quality data. This streamlines our workflow and helps us deliver excellent patient care as a team.” 

Across the United States, AI is being implemented at an accelerated rate due to improving cancer care. 

At the Miami Cancer Institute, data from analytics company COTA were used to formulate insights to identify the BRCA gene. This research led to the implementation of total BRCA mutation testing for all newly diagnosed breast cancer. 

Now, a new partnership will focus on minimizing health disparities and gaps in cancer treatment, as preventative care was severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) reported in 2021 that the global pandemic resulted in drastic decreases in cancer screening tests. Without early detection and treatment, many patients suffered from larger growths or more advanced stages of cancer by the time it was eventually detected. 

The COVID-19 pandemic did bring some innovation to cancer screening, however. By using video conferencing tools, education about screening and personalized tests was made possible. 

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Acceletronics is an industry leader in delivering the best equipment performance and service reliability from CT Scanners and Linear Accelerators across all major brands and models. Call 610-524-3300 to learn more.

Written by the digital marketing team at Creative Programs & Systems: https://www.cpsmi.com/

Successful people who thrive in their careers are typically engaged in their workload and manage responsibilities well, with a keen focus uninterrupted by distractions. Generally, it isn’t too difficult to decipher actual “work” from mundane tasks that are counterproductive or irrelevant, yet many people are guilty of partaking in the latter more often than not.

Diagnostic radiologists are typically responsible for interpreting images and providing reports outlining the findings. Whether certain clinical questions, managerial roles, or imaging protocols are involved, the overall group functions more efficiently when everyone is equally engaged.

Once in a while, radiologists might feel like they are partaking in mundane activities; for example, if a reporting template doesn’t match their personal style or search pattern. Another scenario might include defending one’s reporting language against a hypercritical QA reviewer.

Based on what the radiologist believes their work should encompass, one radiologist’s critical tasks are another’s mundane tasks.

To bridge the gap between critical and mundane tasks, it’s imperative one notes the subtle perverse incentives that might be happening in the workplace. Government, regulatory, and academic fields all succumb to perverse incentives when someone is rewarded for bad behavior or punished for good.

Common perverse incentives in radiology include no reward for productivity or no survey of who is contributing to the overall team effort. Radiologists who produce more RVUs might be extra stressed, which increases malpractice liability, both of which are perverse disincentives. To regain equilibrium, the radiologist can reduce their efforts or take more breaks, for example.

When certain team members become more aware of their performance impediments, suddenly, better tools, more personnel, etc., are instated. Once leadership is alerted, staff surveys are performed, which could lead to new hardware, software, coworkers, and more.

Without any sign of stress in the system, those who rank higher on the totem pole are unable to specifically outline any issues or provide support. However, with help from other team members through surveys and the like, leadership can improve the situation based on feedback.

Constructive evaluation and prevention is key in reducing perverse incentives and increasing overall morale.

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Acceletronics is an industry leader in delivering the best equipment performance and service reliability from CT Scanners and Linear Accelerators across all major brands and models. Call 610-524-3300 or visit our website: https://www.acceletronics.com.

Written by the digital marketing team at Creative Programs & Systems: www.cpsmi.com.

At this year’s American Society for Radiation Oncology’s annual meeting, the following radiation therapy technology trends were labeled as the most up-and-coming. 

Flash Therapy
Labeled a “revolutionary” way to treat cancer, flash therapy has been under the radar for the past few years. Rather than giving fractions of radiation to patients over days or weeks at a time, a full dose is delivered swiftly. Healthy tissues react differently to high doses of radiation as opposed to smaller doses over time; the tissues recover well, and cancer cells are rapidly destroyed. This therapy can potentially revolutionize radiation therapy, making patient treatment slots more available. 

Image-Guided Radiotherapy Systems
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) guided linear accelerators (linac) systems gained popularity through the past few years thanks to their ability to allow real-time imaging during radiation therapy. With this process, patients are more aligned with the therapy through changes in tissue movement, breathing, food intake, bowel gas, etc. Though the results are more accurate and safer, they take longer to perform, and are being reserved for certain types of cancers. 

Proton: A Mainstream Treatment
Becoming more widely available, this therapy is highly accurate and performs better than the best photon therapy systems. Randomized trials will soon compare proton therapy versus photon therapy in prostate, lung, and breast cancer. Proton therapy interacts with cell biology differently than photon beam therapy. Proton flash therapy also makes proton systems more economically viable, since many more patients can be treated at once. 

PSMA PET For Prostate Cancer
Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen (PSMA) Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging for prostate cancer can monumentally improve the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer. In male patients with prostate cancer, the drug for PET nuclear imaging of PSMA-positive lesions was approved by the FDA. 

Synthetic CT from MRI Is Cost-Effective for Radiotherapy
New software can convert MRI databases into synthetic CT image datasets to assist in treatment plans. Since separate CT scans are not needed, costs can be reduced and care can be sped up. MRI is preferred for diagnosis compared to CT, as it can help provide a better understanding of the disease extent. 

AI (Artificial Intelligence) in Radiotherapy
AI is being used mainly as a time saver, as it speeds up routine tasks, automates treatment plans, offers alternative options, and more. AI can target tumors, identify tissues to avoid using radiation on, and provide information to suggest better treatment decisions. 

Acceletronics is an industry leader in delivering the best equipment performance and service reliability from CT Scanners and Linear Accelerators across all major brands and models. Call 610-524-3300 or visit our website: https://www.acceletronics.com.

Written by the digital marketing staff at Creative Programs & Systems: www.cpsmi.com.