Dear Ultrasound Insider,
While ultrasound's diagnostic capabilities continue to grow, so do its therapeutic powers. This week, researchers at the University of Virginia have launched a clinical trial that will evaluate the safety and effectiveness of MR-guided focused ultrasound (MRgFUS) in reducing tremor related to Parkinson's disease.
The researchers believe that transcranial MRgFUS could prove to be a better and less-invasive alternative to deep brain stimulation in Parkinson's patients who are not responding to medication.
Our coverage of the trial is the subject of this newsletter's Insider Exclusive, which you can access before it's published for the rest of our AuntMinnie.com members.
In other news this month in your Ultrasound Digital Community, get the details on how breast ultrasound is emerging as the best modality for the initial evaluation of breast cancer in symptomatic women younger than 40.
Our popular columnist Dr. Jason Birnholz is back with another edition of his Practice of Ultrasound series. In Part 8, he delves into the sometimes murky world of fetal biometry. You'll also want to check out Part 7, in which Dr. Birnholz examines how ultrasound can help with an age-old problem in medicine: how to deliver the best services to as much of the population as possible.
Proponents of the Screening Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms Very Efficiently (SAAAVE) Act had high hopes that the legislation would greatly affect mortality from AAA, but so far it seems that hasn't been the case. A research team from Stanford University found that the law has failed to improve rates for AAA repair, AAA rupture, or all-cause mortality since it took effect for Medicare patients in 2007. Find out what else they discovered by clicking here.
On the regulatory front, automated breast ultrasound (ABUS) proponents were likely delighted with news that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has cleared the first device specifically for use in screening women with dense breasts. The agency approved U-Systems' somo.v ABUS system as an adjunct to mammography for asymptomatic women with dense breasts. You can find all the details here.
Do you have an idea for a topic you'd like to see covered? As always, please feel free to drop me a line.
