Imaging :: Economic motivation may affect how often some physicians order imaging studies

Diagnostic imaging has been one of the fastest growing areas of health care in recent years. Some of that increase can be attributed to the availability of improved imaging studies, but whether some imaging utilization may be inappropriate has been an issue of concern. Now a study from the Institute for Technology Assessment in the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Department of Radiology finds that physicians who consistently refer patients to themselves or members of their own specialty for imaging studies, rather than to radiologists, are more likely to order such studies for a variety of medical conditions. The results suggest that economic motivation could underlie some of the excess referrals.

Medical :: NIH and India Partner to Develop Low-Cost Medical Technologies

The National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) of the Ministry of Science and Technology of the Republic of India, have entered into a bilateral agreement to develop low-cost health-care technologies aimed at the medically underserved.

Endoscopy :: Patients may have sweet and effective way to prepare for upper GI endoscopy – an anesthetic lollipop

Researchers at the American University of Beirut Medical Center in Lebanon have found that administering a lidocaine lollipop as a single-agent anesthetic to patients undergoing an upper gastrointestinal endoscopy procedure eliminated the need for sedation in the majority of patients. The research appears in the October issue of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, the monthly peer-reviewed scientific journal of the American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy.

Obesity :: 1 in 5 bariatric surgery candidates not psychologically cleared for surgery

A new study by Rhode Island Hospital and Brown University researchers reported that 18 percent of 500 candidates for bariatric surgery did not receive the initial psychiatry clearance for the surgery. The study is the first to examine the reliability of decisions to clear candidates for surgery, and the largest to determine the percentage of candidates who are not cleared, and detail the reasons for exclusion.

Breast Cancer :: AACR, BCRF award inaugural grants in translational breast cancer research

Through the generous support of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF), the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) is pleased to announce the inaugural recipients of the 2007 BCRF-AACR Grants in Translational Breast Cancer Research. These grants provide direct support for innovative breast cancer research projects designed to accelerate the discovery, development, and application of new ways to treat breast cancer, or for preclinical research with direct therapeutic implications.