Researchers examine the use of combined PET/MR in their study published in the Journal of Nuclear Medicine run by the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI). With breakthroughs in finding new detectors to replace photomultiplier tubes (PMT) in traditional PET, such as avalanche photodiodes (APD), Geiger-mode APDs (AKA silicon PMTs or solid-state PMTs), and silicon photomultipliers (SiPM), tolerance to magnetic fields and time-of-flight PET scans became possible. X-Z LAB’s Basic Detector Module (BDM) | PET Detector Module utilizes this technology and enhances it with our patented multi-voltage threshold (MVT) algorithm. Although the researchers do not see combined PET/MR
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Genetic Loci Influence Cancer Risk from Low-Dose Radiation
Scientific Reports published a new study from researchers at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) examining the risk of mammary cancer in mice from low-dose radiation, which the researchers defined as 100 millisieverts (mSv). For most mice, low-dose radiation had no effect on their risk of cancer. Some even gained more protection from cancer after the dose. However, the other end of the spectrum occurred as well, with some mice becoming more susceptible. Of those mice, the scientists identified thirteen genetic loci that contribute to tumor susceptibility. The researchers hope to find similar loci in humans in the future,
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The Lasting Effects of Radiation
It is interesting: without radiation, there would not be life on earth. With too much, like water or salt, the balance of life and death is precariously close. Four years after Fukushima1 was hit with a huge earthquake and resulting tsunami that caused a nuclear meltdown at the local power plant, the public is still unable to return to normalcy. Personal radiation detectors like X-Z LAB’s RadPavise | Personal Radiation Detector (PRD) are able to help first responders and safety officers in situations in Japan. Not only are they able to detect the presence of radiation like traditional analog detectors do, but they also
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PET-MR More Effectively Diagnoses Cause of Foot Pain than PET-CT
A new study shows that imaging with PET/MR provides better diagnostic information than with PET/CT, reports EurekAlert!, the science news service run by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). Published in the March issue of the Journal of Nuclear Medicine from the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI), the study compared the image quality and diagnostic performance between the two methods when used to obtain more information about undiagnosed foot pain from twenty-two patients. In their evaluation, PET/MR was found to have significantly higher image quality while providing more diagnostic relevant findings. With very promising
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Seven Trends in Medical Radiation Detection
Market research company NanoMarkets identified seven emerging trends in medical radiation detection. According to NanoMarkets, two-thirds of the market for radiation detection equipment is comprised of the medical and healthcare sector. Although this sector has a lower growth rate than others in the market, its sheer size makes it the market’s main revenue generator. NanoMarkets projects that growth within the sector will be primarily for X-ray and neutron systems, as the use of gamma ray imaging systems is on the decline in radiography. Below is a summary of the seven trends: Smaller, portable devices Devices aim for universality, or mobility
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Comparison of Radiation Detectors
This chart offers a quick look at the differences in features of radiation detectors currently available. X-Z LAB uses YSO and SiPM in our products because of the clear advantages they carry over other detectors. Detector High Sensitivity High Energy Response Small Size Low Power Consumption Stable Performance Ionization Chamber Yes Yes No No Yes GM Tube No No Yes Yes Yes Semiconductor No Yes Yes No No NaI & PMT Yes Yes No No No YSO & SiPM Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes
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EPA Updates Guidelines on X-Ray Procedures
This month, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) published new x-ray standards for all federal facilities that use diagnostic and interventional X-ray equipment. Developed by the Interagency Steering Committee on Radiation Standards (ISCORS) Work Group, Federal Guidance Report No. 14: Radiation Protection Guidance for Diagnostic and Interventional X-Ray Procedures offers recommendations for keeping patient doses as low as reasonably achievable without compromising the quality of patient care. First issued in 1976, the X-ray standards outlined in Federal Guidance Report No. 9 was due for an update because of two trends in X-ray technology: the rise of digital imaging technology and
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Anti-Radiation Drug Could Work Days after Exposure
Scientists have developed a new drug candidate, DBIBB, that drastically reduces the death rate in irradiated mice even days after exposure. Led by Gábor Tigyi of the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, the team based the drug off of lysophosphatidic acid (LPA), “a naturally occurring signalling molecule that seems to give cells a better chance against radiation exposure.” In the study, mice were exposed to 8.5 grays (Gy) of radiation—roughly 2 to 3 times of a potentially lethal dose to humans. Of the untreated mice, 12 of 15 died a month later, whereas of the mice given DBIBB 72 hours after exposure,
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Ischemic Heart Disease in Workers at Mayak PA: Latency of Incidence Risk after Radiation Exposure
A study on workers from the Mayak Production Association, a nuclear facility that produced plutonium for the Soviet Union, found that the main detrimental health effects of radiation exposure happen more than thirty years after the exposure. At the facility, workers were exposed to low and medium doses at low dose rates. Gender differences in mortality from ischemic heart disease in the Mayak workers were also discovered, with males suffering higher risk than females. Abstract We present an updated analysis of incidence and mortality from atherosclerotic induced ischemic heart diseases in the cohort of workers at the Mayak Production Association (PA).
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Low-Dose Radiation Research Act of 2015
As reported in the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the House of Representatives recently passed a bipartisan bill that aims to reignite research in low-dose radiation. Driven by the nuclear disaster in Fukushima, Japan, the Low-Dose Radiation Research Act of 2015 tasks the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) with continuing its research program on low-dose radiation—defined by the bill as exposures under 100 millisieverts (mSv)— which has been neglected since its inception in the late ’90s. The bill requires the National Academies to “outline the current status of research, address remaining challenges and scientific goals, and recommend
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