Archive for July, 2011

The Many New Uses for Ultrasound Technology

Ultrasound machines are widely available in hospitals and clinics and are beneficial to patients because they are able to provide physicians with valuable health information. For the general public, this sophisticated piece of medical equipment is most commonly known for its use in obstetrics and gynecology. Obstetricians use ultrasound technology to monitor the size, position, and condition of a fetus growing in the mother’s womb. However, today, ultrasound medical equipment is being in used to assist physicians in a variety of medical diagnosis.

An ultrasound is effective because it can provide alternate views of the area being examined. In addition to obstetrics and gynecology, ultrasounds are being used in cardiology and urology and allowing advanced insight to areas inside the body. Today, ultrasound technology is being used to diagnose health issues of the heart, thyroid, kidney, gallbladder, pancreas, and spleen. They are also being utilized in physical therapy to treat musculoskeletal injuries such as arthritis and fibromyalgia. Ultrasound treatment penetrates the muscle mass and increases circulation to the area.

Ultrasound examinations are a relatively quick procedure that can be done as an in-patient or out-patient treatment Ultrasound medical equipment technology is a non-invasive, cost effective, accurate, painless, safe procedure that can be used to detect and evaluate a vast number of symptoms. Another valuable advantage of ultrasound medical equipment is that it is portable. For the elderly or extremely ill patient, this diagnostic tool can easily be transported to the location of the patient.

Besides x-rays, ultrasounds are the most common form of diagnostic imaging used today. Ultrasound exams are based on a basic sound wave. A transducer located within the ultrasound machine emits high-frequency sound waves that detect echoes and generate high quality visual imaging Doctors commonly use ultrasounds to examine internal organs, bones, and muscle tissue, so they are able to diagnose abnormalities, treat diseases, and improve health conditions.

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Resonance Imaging (MRI) More Effective at Detecting Breast Cancer Than Mammography

Some medical professionals are now advocating screening patients for breast cancer with MRI medical equipment, rather than with the more traditional method of mammogram testing. They claim that MRI technology is superior to mammography and can save lives through early detection. In fact, The Susan G. Komen Foundation recently stated that women pose a higher risk of developing breast cancer from exposure to the ionizing radiation that is emitted during routine mammograms.

New research suggests that MRI’s is a painless treatment that is able to identify a malignancy earlier than mammogram testing. Because MRI medical equipment uses magnet and radio waves, it is able to detect cancerous tumors that a routine mammogram often misses. Doctors are beginning to acknowledge the benefits of an MRI screening of women who are at a higher risk for developing breast cancer. MRI testing also proved to be more effective in finding malignant tumors in women with dense breasts tissue.

Using MRI technology as a routine test for breast cancer is not yet widely accepted. One major disadvantage is that MRI testing can lead to false positive results. However, breast cancer survivors do not acknowledge this as a problem. They argue that a false negative result is far more dangerous for a patient since treatment would be postponed. Another disadvantage to MRI testing is that it is claustrophobic and therefore an uncomfortable procedure.

Furthermore, MRI medical equipment screening is an expensive alternative to mammography and most insurance companies will not cover the cost of an MRI for breast cancer detection. With approximately 2-3 million breast cancer survivors in the United States, the evidence is growing to prove that MRI screening is key to routine follow-ups to prevent breast cancer recurrence. The American Cancer Society is now recommending that women with specific genes related to breast cancer or a family history of the disease, have MRI breast screening on an annual basis.

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Cyberknife: A Safer and More Effective Method to Treat Tumors in Cancer Patients

Technology of Cyberknife medical equipment is rapidly improving the way that doctors treat cancerous tumor cells that are difficult to reach with a scalpel. Cyberknife machines are becoming more available and well-known in hospitals and treatment centers nationwide as an effective method of cancer treatment. The Cyberknife technology treats patients with stereotactic radiotherapy (radio surgery). Its accuracy surpasses all other standard treatments being used today. This advanced technological medical equipment allows doctors to precisely target and treat cancerous tumors that are difficult to remove surgically by shrinking and destroying them with a high dose of radiation.

The advanced imaging software utilized by Cyberknife medical equipment is able to produce high energy x-rays using mobility radio therapy. Using a CT scan, the machine’s internal computer creates a 3-D image of the precise location of the tumor resulting in an individual treatment plan that determines the amount of radiation each beam will use to target the tumor. Cyberknife uses a small, linear accelerator that is mounted onto a robotic arm as the machine moves around the patient and delivers hundreds of radiation beams from a variety of angles. The movable bed and the Synchrony Tracking System in the Cyberknife equipment enables doctors to consistently be accurate in targeting tumors while delivering a high dose of radiation to the area without impacting healthier surrounding tissue, and automatically correcting any type of patient or tumor movement to ensure pin-point accurate treatment.

Cyberknife technology has been used in treating a variety of cancers in the brain, pancreas, liver, and lungs. Unlike traditional surgery, Cyberknife provides patients with benefits that more traditional surgery does not. Controlled by an internal computer, this robotic surgical device provides patients with non-invasive, anesthesia-free, painless medical equipment that does not require hospitalization and little or no recovery time while significantly reducing the number of treatments that were previously needed. The patient has a more comfortable treatment that yields better results.

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