AI Tools Launched at Radiology Center for Breast Cancer

 

US Radiology Specialists has partnered with Artificial Intelligence (AI) company Volpara Health to form superior mammography and breast cancer services at Charlotte Radiology in North Carolina. 

Novel analytics performed by Volpara Health’s AI will execute risk assessment, patient communication, reports, quality assurance, and breast density analytics. 

Lindsay Muns, group president of physician practices for US Radiology and CEO of Charlotte Radiology and Upstate Carolina Radiology, said, “With each of our 16 breast imaging centers now equipped with the latest Volpara software tool suite, Charlotte Radiology can better fulfill our most important mission: diagnosing breast cancer early and supporting our patients through their treatment. Implementing advanced technologies like these help us continuously improve both experiences and outcomes for our patients across the Carolinas.”

Amy Sobel, MD, section chief of Charlotte Radiology Breast Imaging, said, “Our partnership with Volpara allows us as radiologists to keep our focus where we need it: on each patient we see. With Volpara, we are assured of accurate and timely reporting, as well as high quality data. This streamlines our workflow and helps us deliver excellent patient care as a team.” 

Across the United States, AI is being implemented at an accelerated rate due to improving cancer care. 

At the Miami Cancer Institute, data from analytics company COTA were used to formulate insights to identify the BRCA gene. This research led to the implementation of total BRCA mutation testing for all newly diagnosed breast cancer. 

Now, a new partnership will focus on minimizing health disparities and gaps in cancer treatment, as preventative care was severely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

The National Cancer Institute (NCI) reported in 2021 that the global pandemic resulted in drastic decreases in cancer screening tests. Without early detection and treatment, many patients suffered from larger growths or more advanced stages of cancer by the time it was eventually detected. 

The COVID-19 pandemic did bring some innovation to cancer screening, however. By using video conferencing tools, education about screening and personalized tests was made possible. 

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Acceletronics is an industry leader in delivering the best equipment performance and service reliability from CT Scanners and Linear Accelerators across all major brands and models. Call 610-524-3300 to learn more.

 

Written by the digital marketing team at Creative Programs & Systems: https://www.cpsmi.com/

 

Deciphering the Difference Between Critical and Mundane Tasks in Radiology

 

Successful people who thrive in their careers are typically engaged in their workload and manage responsibilities well, with a keen focus uninterrupted by distractions. Generally, it isn’t too difficult to decipher actual “work” from mundane tasks that are counterproductive or irrelevant, yet many people are guilty of partaking in the latter more often than not.

Diagnostic radiologists are typically responsible for interpreting images and providing reports outlining the findings. Whether certain clinical questions, managerial roles, or imaging protocols are involved, the overall group functions more efficiently when everyone is equally engaged.

Once in a while, radiologists might feel like they are partaking in mundane activities; for example, if a reporting template doesn’t match their personal style or search pattern. Another scenario might include defending one’s reporting language against a hypercritical QA reviewer.

Based on what the radiologist believes their work should encompass, one radiologist’s critical tasks are another’s mundane tasks.

To bridge the gap between critical and mundane tasks, it’s imperative one notes the subtle perverse incentives that might be happening in the workplace. Government, regulatory, and academic fields all succumb to perverse incentives when someone is rewarded for bad behavior or punished for good.

Common perverse incentives in radiology include no reward for productivity or no survey of who is contributing to the overall team effort. Radiologists who produce more RVUs might be extra stressed, which increases malpractice liability, both of which are perverse disincentives. To regain equilibrium, the radiologist can reduce their efforts or take more breaks, for example.

When certain team members become more aware of their performance impediments, suddenly, better tools, more personnel, etc., are instated. Once leadership is alerted, staff surveys are performed, which could lead to new hardware, software, coworkers, and more.

Without any sign of stress in the system, those who rank higher on the totem pole are unable to specifically outline any issues or provide support. However, with help from other team members through surveys and the like, leadership can improve the situation based on feedback.

Constructive evaluation and prevention is key in reducing perverse incentives and increasing overall morale.

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Acceletronics is an industry leader in delivering the best equipment performance and service reliability from CT Scanners and Linear Accelerators across all major brands and models. Call 610-524-3300 or visit our website: https://www.acceletronics.com.

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

ASTRO’s Top Six Trends in Radiation Therapy

 

At this year’s American Society for Radiation Oncology’s annual meeting, the following radiation therapy technology trends were labeled as the most up-and-coming. 

Flash Therapy
Labeled a “revolutionary” way to treat cancer, flash therapy has been under the radar for the past few years. Rather than giving fractions of radiation to patients over days or weeks at a time, a full dose is delivered swiftly. Healthy tissues react differently to high doses of radiation as opposed to smaller doses over time; the tissues recover well, and cancer cells are rapidly destroyed. This therapy can potentially revolutionize radiation therapy, making patient treatment slots more available. 

Image-Guided Radiotherapy Systems
Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) guided linear accelerators (linac) systems gained popularity through the past few years thanks to their ability to allow real-time imaging during radiation therapy. With this process, patients are more aligned with the therapy through changes in tissue movement, breathing, food intake, bowel gas, etc. Though the results are more accurate and safer, they take longer to perform, and are being reserved for certain types of cancers. 

Proton: A Mainstream Treatment
Becoming more widely available, this therapy is highly accurate and performs better than the best photon therapy systems. Randomized trials will soon compare proton therapy versus photon therapy in prostate, lung, and breast cancer. Proton therapy interacts with cell biology differently than photon beam therapy. Proton flash therapy also makes proton systems more economically viable, since many more patients can be treated at once. 

PSMA PET For Prostate Cancer
Prostate-Specific Membrane Antigen (PSMA) Positron Emission Tomography (PET) imaging for prostate cancer can monumentally improve the diagnosis and treatment of prostate cancer. In male patients with prostate cancer, the drug for PET nuclear imaging of PSMA-positive lesions was approved by the FDA. 

Synthetic CT from MRI Is Cost-Effective for Radiotherapy
New software can convert MRI databases into synthetic CT image datasets to assist in treatment plans. Since separate CT scans are not needed, costs can be reduced and care can be sped up. MRI is preferred for diagnosis compared to CT, as it can help provide a better understanding of the disease extent. 

AI (Artificial Intelligence) in Radiotherapy
AI is being used mainly as a time saver, as it speeds up routine tasks, automates treatment plans, offers alternative options, and more. AI can target tumors, identify tissues to avoid using radiation on, and provide information to suggest better treatment decisions. 

Acceletronics is an industry leader in delivering the best equipment performance and service reliability from CT Scanners and Linear Accelerators across all major brands and models. Call 610-524-3300 or visit our website: https://www.acceletronics.com.

 

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