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During the coronavirus pandemic, most radiology practices shuttered or scaled back drastically. One service that stood out from the rest pivoted and focused on Radiology Consultation Service (RCS) to provide consultation and ensure permanence of care.

A recent study published in Clinical Imaging followed investigators from Weill Cornell Medical College at New York Presbyterian Hospital, who clarified how their RCS (launched in 2013) expanded through COVID-19.

Melissa Reichman, M.D., a women’s imaging specialist and assistant professor of radiology at Weill Cornell, led the team. Reichman said, “At a time when radiology experienced an unprecedented decrease in imaging studies during the initial peak of the COVID-19 crisis, the RCS at our institution, in contrast, showed a notable increase in services provided. Our experience demonstrates the value of an organized radiology consultation service and may serve as an example for other institutions to adopt a similar program, as patient-centered care is at the forefront of radiology.”

The number of consultations, as well as screening mammograms and ultrasounds, were compared from January 1, 2020, through July 31, 2020, to the same 2019 timeframe. Two more periods, March 1, 2020, through June 30, 2020, were compared to the same dates from the previous year.

Their findings identified many consultations ranging from 1,398 in 2019 to 1,623 in 2020, a 16 percent increase. Also, consultations were higher from March through June 2020 (679) versus 2019 (538), a 16.9 percent increase.

Results from the study indicate that RCS presents a route for radiologists to be at the forefront of the healthcare process, integrating with patients and providers regarding decisions. To determine the best plan possible for patients, all parties worked together as a team.

The report stated, “Physicians have become more conscientious about their imaging recommendations, relying on the radiologists’ clinical judgment of what is essential and minimizing unnecessary potential viral exposure. As a result, we believe that the radiology consultation service has enabled a more appropriate use of imaging.”
RadParts is the world’s largest independent distributor of OEM replacement parts. We specialize in low-cost parts for repairing linear accelerator and radiation equipment. Our mission is to provide high-quality, user-friendly, low-cost parts and support for linear accelerators and radiation equipment. Contact RadParts at 877-704-3838 or visit us on the web: https://www.radparts.com.

Written by the digital marketing staff at Creative Programs & Systems: www.cpsmi.com.

Typically, climate change (a.k.a. global warming) is associated with planes, trains, and automobiles using fossil fuels, hazy skies, and radioactive plants pushing clouds into the atmosphere. However, the radiologic industry plays a more significant role than you might imagine, and industry leaders say the time to reduce that impact is now.

Published in the Journal of the American College of Radiology, a team of industry experts, including Geraldine McGinty, M.D., MBA, president of the American College of Radiology (ACR), issued a call-to-action statement.

“Radiology is well-positioned to spearhead climate change action in our practices and the healthcare system at large. Addressing climate change provides an opportunity to improve healthcare delivery and increase value of care using a different problem-solving approach,” said the team.

The Yale University School of Medicine released data that shows 10 percent of the nation’s carbon emissions (and nine percent of harmful non-greenhouse air pollutants) originate from the United States healthcare system.

Radiology is a significant contributor to each hospital’s energy use. In Switzerland, as the team pointed out, their three CT and four MRI scanners accounted for four percent of the hospital’s overall energy use. Being more environmentally conscious isn’t specific to the industry; it’s a patent priority as well. In the United Kingdom, a survey conducted showed that 92 percent of patients also consider sustainable healthcare operations vital.

Substantial energy use: Radiology utilizes an enormous amount of energy. In the span of a year, cumulative consumption from one CT scanner can equate to five four-person households. A single MRI uses nearly as much as 26 four-person residences. If at all possible, opt for ultrasound instead. Not only is it cheaper, but it also uses less radiation and has a lower environmental impact. Moreover, using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to shorten MRI protocols can lower energy use. To further reduce the carbon footprint, implementing life cycle analyses can quantify the environmental impact of various modalities.

Standby mode: To reduce the amount of energy used by the imaging machines, use standby mode. Even when idle, they are consuming significant amounts of energy, according to the team. Cooling machines take an equal amount of energy to operate. The team recommends a 24-hour operating cycle, as well as exploring energy-efficient HVAC systems and imaging technique improvements.

Power down: Though leaving the PACS off overnight might be more convenient and efficient for workload management, the team suggests turning the machine off overnight. A hospital in Iceland left its systems on overnight and accumulated 25,040 kilowatts of energy, producing 17.7 metric tons of carbon dioxide. These levels are equivalent to the emissions produced by four passenger cars annually. To decrease costs and improve energy efficiency, powering down can be an easy way to accomplish these goals. Additionally, the team suggested reducing excess packaging in your procedures to drive down the environmental costs in production and disposal.

Opt for clean energy: The team said now is the time to shift from fossil fuels and lean toward renewable energy. As prices are dropping, several facilities are already making progress. For example, Kaiser Permanente has achieved carbon-neutrality, and Gundersen Health System is already net carbon positive.

To make these changes a reality, radiologists need to become activists, according to the team. Lobby local ACR chapters to join national efforts or reach out to specialty societies to further push environmentally sustainable radiology. Publishing carbon footprints can help other medical departments understand the environmental dangers associated with over-utilization.

Radiologists are urged to join the Medical Society Consortium on Climate Health, which includes 29 national medical societies, as suggested by the team.

RadParts is the world’s largest independent distributor of OEM replacement parts. We specialize in low-cost parts for repairing linear accelerator and radiation equipment. Our mission is to provide high-quality, user-friendly, low-cost parts and support for linear accelerators and radiation equipment. Contact RadParts at 877-704-3838 or visit us on the web: https://www.radparts.com.

Written by the digital marketing staff at Creative Programs & Systems: www.cpsmi.com.

Recent radiology findings published in Skeletal Radiology by a Northwestern Medicine team pinpointed the causes of COVID-19 symptoms. CT, MRI, and ultrasound images unmask the virus’ pathways within the body and how it prompts the immune system to attack itself.

Sore muscles and achy joints are common symptoms of COVID-19 in some people. For others, the virus can spark otherwise dormant (or managed) rheumatoid arthritis, autoimmune myositis, or swollen and discolored toes, called “COVID toes.”

Corresponding author Swati Deshmukh, M.D., assistant professor of radiology at Northwestern University Feinburg School of Medicine, said, “We’ve realized that the COVID virus can trigger the body to attack itself in different ways, which may lead to rheumatological issues that require lifelong management. Many patients with COVID-related musculoskeletal disorders recover, but for some individuals, their symptoms become serious, impacting the quality of their life, which leads them to seek medical attention and imaging.”

Patients admitted to Northwestern Memorial Hospital between May 2020 and December 2020 were examined with CT, MRI, and ultrasound. Their results were analyzed and used to discover why certain people have lingering musculoskeletal symptoms post-COVID-19.

Edema, inflammatory changes in tissues, hematomas, and gangrene were all expressed in the patients; additionally, some images showed enlarged nerves which indicate injury or blood clots.

With these scans, radiologists can better direct patient care by steering them to a rheumatologist or dermatologist for further treatment. Radiologists could also suggest a COVID-19 diagnosis in patients who might have been unaware they had the virus. Overall, radiologists can use this information to improve patient outcomes. If a radiologist is familiar with the rheumatoid arthritis-prompting effects of COVID-19, they can send a patient with visible joint inflammation to a rheumatologist for further evaluation.

The study explores several types of musculoskeletal abnormalities, including visual samples of what radiologists should look for. Imaging providers should be alert and note the likelihood that pertinent findings are lurking in those images. This was (and is) not standard practice, because many radiologists were unsure what they were looking for. Now, with the results from this study, there is a clearer picture and understanding of the COVID-19’s progression.

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RadParts is the world’s largest independent distributor of OEM replacement parts. We specialize in low-cost parts for repairing linear accelerator and radiation equipment. Our mission is to provide high-quality, user-friendly, low-cost parts and support for linear accelerators and radiation equipment. Contact RadParts at 877-704-3838 or visit us on the web: https://www.radparts.com.

Written by the digital marketing staff at Creative Programs & Systems: www.cpsmi.com.

Stages of deep sleep can significantly change our consciousness, just as it does in a coma or under anesthesia. Scientists have hypothesized that brain activity declines when we sleep, using research conducted with electroencephalography (EEG), a process that uses electrodes placed along a patient’s scalp to measure brain activity.

Anjali Tarun, a doctoral assistant at EPFL’s Medical Image Processing Laboratory within the School of Engineering, decided to investigate brain activity during sleep using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI.) Dimitri Van De Ville, lab lead, said, “MRI scans measure neural activity by providing important information in addition to EEGs.” Tarun used EEG to identify when study patients fell asleep, pinpointing the individual sleep stages. The MRI images were later used to produce spatial maps of neural activity, specifying brain states.

Deep sleep is reasonably challenging to achieve while undergoing an MRI, as the machines are quite noisy. Despite the hurdle, Tarun was able to leverage simultaneous MRI and EEG data from roughly thirty people. “Two hours is a relatively long time, meaning we were able to obtain a set of rare, reliable data,” she said. “MRIs carried out while a patient is performing a cognitive task usually last around 10 to 30 minutes.”

The data Tarun collected was surprising. “We calculated exactly how many times networks made up of different parts of the brain became active during each stage of sleep. We discovered that during light stages of sleep – that is, between when you fall asleep and when you enter a state of deep sleep – overall brain activity decreases. But communication among different parts of the brain becomes much more dynamic. We think that’s due to the instability of brain states during this phase.”

Van De Ville said, “What really surprised us in all of this was the resulting paradox. During the transition phase from light to deep sleep, local brain activity increased and mutual interaction decreased. This indicates the inability of brain networks to synchronize.”

Neural networks might be linked to our introspection process, memory, and spontaneous thoughts, all associated with consciousness. “We saw that the network between the anterior and posterior regions broke down, and this became increasingly pronounced with increasing sleep depth. A similar breakdown in neural networks was also observed in the cerebellum, which is typically associated with motor control.” At this point, the researchers aren’t sure why this happens; their findings are a novel step toward a better understanding of our sleep consciousness.

“Our findings show that consciousness is the result of interactions between different brain regions, and not in localized brain activity. By studying how our state of consciousness is altered during different stages of sleep, and what that means in terms of brain network activity, we can better understand and account for the wide range of brain functions that characterize us as human beings,” said Tarun.

For further reading, find the original article from EPFL.

RadParts is the world’s largest independent distributor of OEM replacement parts. We specialize in low-cost parts for repairing linear accelerator and radiation equipment. Our mission is to provide high-quality, user-friendly, low-cost parts and support for linear accelerators and radiation equipment. Contact RadParts at 877-704-3838 or visit us on the web: https://www.radparts.com.

Written by the digital marketing staff at Creative Programs & Systems: www.cpsmi.com.

Technologists are well-aware of the possibility of metal burns from MRI machines. Due to the components of an MRI, all metal must be removed prior to patients entering Zone III, the space before entering the scanner room. The COVID-19 pandemic has forced the world to wear face masks in public indoor areas, including medical procedures. Also, of recent fashion trends, women have become more prone to use magnetic eyelashes, a beauty product that is easier to apply and remove. Both have resulted in MRI patient injuries.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) released a statement warning health care providers that patients might be injured if they wear face masks with metal parts during a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) exam. These small metal parts are usually found within the nose area or throughout the mask fabric. Nose clips, wires, ultrafine particles, or antimicrobial coating (silver or copper) can become hot and burn MRI patients.

This note of caution comes as a patient received burns from donning a face mask during an MRI. “The FDA is reminding patients and providers that patients should not wear any metal during an MRI,” according to the statement issued.

The Journal of Applied Clinical Medical Physics issued a report explaining how magnetic eyelashes are unsafe in an MRI; some lashes can rapidly become moving projectiles. False eyelashes are placed onto magnetic eyeliner (applied to eyelids) or discreetly clamp around natural eyelashes. Patients might forget to mention the eyelashes and MRI technicians might not notice them.

All medical providers should screen patients for MRI safety. Tiny metallic objects within face masks or fake eyelashes can easily slide past an initial assessment. If patients experience burns while wearing face masks, providers are encouraged to report the incident to the FDA. Gathered reports help the FDA improve patient safety.
For more information regarding the FDA’s warning, read the full report. The complete journal article pertaining to magnetic eyelashes can be found here.

RadParts is the world’s largest independent distributor of OEM replacement parts. We specialize in low-cost parts for repairing linear accelerator and radiation equipment. Our mission is to provide high-quality, user-friendly, low-cost parts and support for linear accelerators and radiation equipment. Contact RadParts at 877-704-3838 or visit us on the web: https://www.radparts.com.

Written by the digital marketing staff at Creative Programs & Systems: www.cpsmi.com.