Anthracycline chemotherapeutic agents are commonly employed in thetreatment of lymphoma; however, their efficacy in combating themalignancy comes at a cost—they are cardiotoxic and are known to causecardioditis and cardiomyopathy. A study presented at the recentRadiological Society of North America annual scientific conferencesought to determine a relation between myocardial FDG metabolism withFDG PET/CT scanning and the use of anthracycline chemotherapeuticagents.

A resting radionuclide scan that can identify metabolically impaired myocardium may be able to stratify patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) but no apparent heart disease, according to risk of death from cardiac causes, suggests a study in the Jan.15 issue Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

As SPECT imaging migrates to private physicians offices, PET/CT provides hospitals an opportunity to recapture some of that business.

Considered to be a critical diagnostic tool in imaging patients with suspected or confirmed coronary artery disease (CAD), single photo emission computed tomography (SPECT) is holding its own against emerging cardiovascular imaging modalities such as cardiac CT and MRI and offers considerable advantages that cannot be ignored.

Although declining reimbursement led to a fall in sales of 64-slice CT scanners in 2007, practices with sufficient volume can still make their technology investment pay off, thus bringing marketing to the fore in the battle to maintain or increase market share. Despite the decline in sales, 64-slice scanners are still selling, and with recent innovations in the field — such as Toshiba’s Aquilion ONE, a dynamic volume CT with 320 detector rows with 0.5mm elements — the challenge for both new and established practices is keeping the cardiac CT scanner busy enough to at least break even.

In the realm of diagnostic displays, the line between color and grayscale is starting to blur. Many facilities are embracing such a merge—presenting a variety of color and grayscale medical images along with other critical patient information in comprehensive displays with multiple monitors to review studies across different modalities.

Thanks to new, more intelligent interfacing capabilities based on new open software protocols, next-generation contrast injectors support more complex injection protocols and integrate with information systems, while keeping pace with increasing CT scanner speeds.

Insurers and the government may not be on board, but the medical community sure is: when it comes to improving patient care, cardiac CT is a must-have technology. But depending on the size and scope of your practice, department or hospital, the business case is a little less clear. Clouding the picture are uneven reimbursement rates across the country, the steep learning curve toward reading proficiency and the expense of the equipment and third-party advanced visualization software.