Dear AuntMinnie Member,
Neuroimaging with PET is the theme of this edition of Letter from the Editor, thanks to some great new articles in our Molecular Imaging Digital Community.
First up is an article on PET imaging of Alzheimer's disease with a new radiopharmaceutical under development, florbetapir. Researchers believe the tracer could offer a more effective tool for detecting early signs of Alzheimer's than other imaging techniques.
And with early detection comes the promise of early therapy, should effective treatments be developed. Learn more about the study by clicking here.
Brain PET scanner in Japan
In other news, Japanese researchers have developed a dedicated brain PET scanner that uses digital detector technology rather than conventional scintillation crystals. They believe the system has twice the spatial resolution of a conventional whole-body PET scanner.
The researchers tested the scanner in patients with nasopharyngeal carcinoma and found that it produced more-detailed images with sharper tumor edges. This proved to be useful in guiding radiation therapy treatments, where precise determination of tumor target volume is key. Learn more by clicking here for an article from our partner medicalphysicsweb, or visit our Molecular Imaging Digital Community at molecular.auntminnie.com.
CVIS and RIS markets
In other news, a new report on the global market for cardiovascular and radiology information systems (CVIS and RIS) found promising growth prospects in many regions around the world. For CVIS, hospitals are broadening their focus beyond radiology and looking to bring the cardiology department -- historically one of healthcare's largest revenue generators -- into their IT networks.
Meanwhile, RIS is one of the most fragmented of all healthcare IT imaging segments, but it still represents a growth opportunity. Find out how this market will sort out by clicking here, or visit our Healthcare IT Digital Community at healthcareit.auntminnie.com.
