Imaging

Nuance Communications has shared 3 billion medical images through its cloud-based PowerShare Network, a feat company executives hail as "an industry-first milestone."

Over the past few decades the physical diagnosis skills that were once the cornerstone of doctoring have withered, supplanted by a dizzying array of sophisticated, expensive tests, according to medical educators.

As the volume and variety of medical images increases, providers are looking for better ways to store and access them. Vendor neutral archives are fast finding favor -- but in many respects the jury is still out on just what a VNA is and what it should offer.

In one of the first large-scale empirical studies on the links between HIE participation and imaging in hospital emergency departments, researchers found redundant CT scans, X-rays and ultrasounds decreased fairly significantly -- with savings in the millions of dollars.

The U.S. Defense Department has furthered its investments in digital radiography and medical imaging systems after awarding a one-year, $70.2 million contract to imaging provider Carestream Health.

The Joint Commission has announced changes to its standards for diagnostic imaging, effective July 1, 2014. Additional requirements will be phased in by 2015. The standards changes relate to either quality and safety issues that were needed to more fully address the evolution of healthcare delivery practices.

Leveraging the Industrial Internet to better impact patient outcomes, GE Healthcare launched Centricity 360, a cloud service that the company calls "a GE Predictivity solution."

Three-dimensional holographic medical imaging may not be as far away in the future as one might think, one recently concluded hospital pilot study has confirmed.

With profligate use of CT and MRI scans widely blamed for increased healthcare spending, a new report shows that pairing automated prior authorization with evidence-based guidelines can ensure such tests are only used when necessary, improving patient safety while reducing medical costs by perhaps 40 percent.

The Buffalo Bills announced Wednesday they will partner with Carestream Health to develop new imaging technology aimed at early detection of brain injuries. It's just the latest development for a league that's deploying health IT in football stadiums nationwide.