Dear AuntMinnie Member,
It's a well-known problem in some developing Asian countries: the use of ultrasound to guide gender-selective abortions. But could the practice also be occurring in the U.S.?
It might be, according to an article by senior editor Erik L. Ridley that we're featuring in our Ultrasound Digital Community this week. The article discusses a presentation at last week's American Institute of Ultrasound in Medicine (AIUM) meeting, in which researchers described finding lower female-to-male birth ratios in areas with a high prevalence of 4D keepsake ultrasound facilities.
The researchers said that the abnormally low female-to-male ratios were found only among Asian communities in California, and they were careful to add that they saw no direct link between keepsake ultrasound and gender-selective abortion. But they plan to conduct additional research to see if a more definitive link can be found. Learn more by clicking here.
Read more coverage of the AIUM meeting in the community, which you can reach at ultrasound.auntminnie.com.
FDA hearings on medical radiation
In other news, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today is convening its much-anticipated two-day hearing on medical radiation dose.
Preliminary reports indicate that the first day of the hearing will focus on what imaging vendors can do to reduce radiation dose from an equipment design perspective, with a particular emphasis on CT and fluoroscopy systems.
The second day will highlight whether vendors can better train healthcare personnel who use the equipment, as well as ways to improve quality assurance at imaging sites to avoid radiation overdoses and errors. Read more by clicking here, and be sure to check back on the site this week for our wrap-up of the hearings.
