Dear AuntMinnie Member,
So you'll never believe this one: Doctors who own their own MRI equipment tend to order more knee scans that turn out to be negative.
Sounds crazy, right? Well, it's the conclusion of a study we're highlighting this week in our MRI Digital Community in which researchers from Duke University analyzed the outcomes of 700 knee MRI scans -- half ordered by doctors who owned their own scanners and half by those who didn't.
They found that the self-referring physicians ordered 33% more negative exams than doctors without a financial interest. The authors declined to attribute the findings to doctors ordering scans for profit, but questions remain, especially as federal regulators look at closing loopholes that allow the practice. Read more by clicking here.
While you're there, also check out this story on whether asymptomatic athletes should be screened with imaging for cardiac abnormalities. After a literature review, researchers were skeptical.
Get these stories and more by visiting the community at mri.auntminnie.com.
PET/MRI gains oncology edge
In other news, visit our Molecular Imaging Digital Community for an article on how PET/MRI matches up with PET/CT for various oncology applications.
Italian and U.S. researchers assessed the two modalities in more than 130 patients with neoplasms outside the central nervous system. They found that PET/MRI detected additional abnormalities not seen on PET/CT in almost half of patients, changing treatment plans for 18%.
Learn more by clicking here, or visit the community at molecular.auntminnie.com.
Reducing neonatal dose
Finally, check out our X-Ray Digital Community for an article on an easy way to potentially reduce radiation dose when imaging neonatal children.
Researchers from Indiana University discovered that comfort pads used to swaddle infants could be a source of radiation attenuation, creating noisier images that could prompt technologists to dial up the exposure settings on x-ray equipment.
Indeed, they found that the thickest pads attenuated radiation by up to 72%. The solution? Simply remove the pads before the x-ray exam.
Learn more by clicking here, or visit the community at xray.auntminnie.com.
