Wednesday, April 25, 2007

Ultrasound Upgrade Produces Images That Work Like 3-D Movies

Science Daily — Parents-to-be might soon don 3-D glasses in the ultrasound lab to see their developing fetuses in the womb "in living 3-D, just like at the IMAX movies," according to researchers at Duke University's Pratt School of Engineering.

The same Duke team that first developed real-time, three-dimensional ultrasound imaging says it has now modified the commercial version of the scanner to produce an even more realistic perception of depth. Paired images seem to pop out of the screen when viewed with the special glasses


Complete article here

Sunday, April 22, 2007

First Toshiba Aplio XG Ultrasound Installed At Steinberg DMI

Toshiba America Medical Systems, Inc. (TAMS) announced today that the nation's largest outpatient imaging practice, Steinberg Diagnostic Medical Imaging (SDMI) in Las Vegas, is the first to install the new Aplio™ XG ultrasound system. The system was introduced at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) annual meeting in November 2006 and is the latest version of the company's Aplio ultrasound platform.

SDMI is using the state-of-the-art system to assist with a variety of diagnostic examinations, including abdominal, gynecologic, obstetrical (OB), breast, testicular, thyroid and prostate imaging procedures in its Las Vegas location.

SDMI is using the state-of-the-art system to assist with a variety of diagnostic examinations, including abdominal, gynecologic, obstetrical (OB), breast, testicular, thyroid and prostate imaging procedures in its Las Vegas location.

Complete article is here

Tuesday, April 17, 2007

SC Senators Drop Mandatory Ultrasound Provision

A South Carolina State Senate subcommittee dropped a provision last Thursday on an abortion bill that would have required women to view an ultrasound image before having an abortion. South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster warned lawmakers last week that forcing women to view an ultrasound against her will would be illegal.

While some states have mandated that ultrasound viewing be available, South Carolina would be the only state mandating it if this bill passed with an ultrasound requirement. Democrats anticipate that the bill, which now heads to the Senate Medical Affairs Committee, will easily pass the Senate. A clash is expected, however, because the State Assembly has already approved the bill with the requirement.


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Wednesday, April 11, 2007

New Ultrasound Technique to Detect Breast Cancer

US Researchers have designed a new type of ultrasound which has been tested and found to be very effective in determining whether lumps in breasts are cancerous or not.

The procedure is called elasticity imaging and measures the tissues’ elasticity and compression in response to pressure. Generally tumors are found to be harder and less elastic than benign lumps and thus the test can tell a dangerous growth from a harmless one.

“A tumorous lump should distort very little in response to movement,” said Richard Barr, “whereas a benign one is much more malleable.”

“The finding, if confirmed in a larger trial, could reduce the number of unnecessary breast biopsies and reassure women that their tumors are harmless,” he said . Richard Barr is a radiologist at Southwoods X-Ray and Open MRI in Youngstown, Ohio, who lead the study.

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Monday, April 9, 2007

Concern Over Safety Of Commercial Ultrasound Scans

Science Daily — Expectant parent' desire to see images of their unborn children has given rise to commercial companies offering keepsake ultrasound scans without medical supervision, often referred to as "boutique ultrasonography"

In a special report in this week's British Medical Journal, journalist Geoff Watts considers whether this non-medical use of the technique can be justified

Improvements in ultrasound technology have transformed antenatal scans from two dimensional black and white images to 3D, 4D and even moving pictures of the unborn child। Expectant parents seeking a CD-ROM or a DVD of their scan can expect to pay £150-£250 (€230-380; $300-490).


The companies say that ultrasound has not been shown to cause any harm to mother or baby, but the US Food and Drugs Administration (FDA), the American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine, and the French Academy of Medicine are among several official bodies that have reservations about such use of the technology.


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