PET Technologists May Scan Cancer Patients Sooner
This blog is now focused on laboratory specialties. This article is here for your information only, as jobs are longer provided for any radiation technician specialties.
Positron Emission Tomography (PET) scanning is normally done on lung cancer patients after the radiation treatment has been completed in order to see how the cancer reacted to the treatment. This allows the doctors to better understand the patient’s possible outcome and how likely it is that the radiation will get rid of the cancer.
However, it was recently shown by researchers at the University of Michigan Comprehensive Cancer Center that PET scanning can be done sooner to facilitate better outcomes. When a PET technologist does the scan after only a few weeks of radiation treatment, the doctor can use that scan then to see if the tumor has responded and feel confident that from that scan he/she can predict the outcome of the treatment plan they have begun. If the doctor sees that the outcome will not be favorable, they have a chance to draw up a new treatment plan because it is still so early in the treatment process.
The reason that PET scans have not been done sooner before now is that it was assumed that normal lung tissue wold react to the radiation and have a “confounding effect” causing the PET scan to not clearly show whether the tumor was shrinking. In fact, the opposite was found to be true through this research. It was found that this confounding effect was actually greater after treatment than during. So, a PET scan performed sooner will actually be a more useful image, as well as being more useful because it is done sooner.
Despite these interesting and encouraging results, it is still not known how helpful changing the treatment plan after seeing a discouraging PET scan will be. The researchers are now working on this next piece of the puzzle. If they find that lung cancer outcomes can actually be improved using this method, perhaps the standard guidelines will change for the better as a result.
Learn about hiring a PET Technologist.
Source:
- (2008) PET Scan Shows During Treatment If Radiation Is Shrinking Lung Tumor. Medical News Today http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/77241.php
Funcional MRI Helps Understand Concussions
This blog is now focused on laboratory specialties. This article is here for your information only, as jobs are longer provided for any radiation technician specialties.
A concussion is defined as any incident which causes the brain to shake in the skull and then causes any of the following symptoms: loss of consciousness, amnesia, confusion or disorientation. Concuss
ions aren’t well understood because each concussion is different with different symptoms. Concussions probably happen most often while playing sports, and it is difficult to know when the athlete can safely begin playing the sport again. Research has shown that after a concussion a person’s brain is more vulnerable to further injury than normal.
Functional MRI is a useful tool to aid in understanding the impact of concussions. MRI alone shows brain anatomy, but does not show brain activity. Functional MRI shows changes at a metabolic level as well as an anatomic level. Functional MRI can be used to show which parts of the brain are being used during certain tasks or when thinking about certain things.
A recent study completed by the National Institutes of Health used 28 high school athletes who had received concussions, and 13 high school kids who had not been concussed. The functional MRI was done a week after the concussion and then again after the subjects had recovered. During the functional MRI the subjects were asked to complete certain memory tasks. The subjects whose brains were overly activated by the memory tasks were also the subjects who took the longest to recover.
The results of this study are useful because it provides a better way to test those who have gotten a concussion to determine how serious the concussion is and estimate when the person could resume playing sports.
Learn about hiring a MRI Technologist.
Source:
- (August 8, 2007) Sports Concussion Research Using Functional MRI Provides Insight for Safe Return-to-play Decisions. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/08/070806114252.htm
How Radiologic Technologists Can Get the Best Image
This blog is now focused on laboratory specialties. This article is here for your information only, as jobs are longer provided for any radiation technician specialties.
There are four main techniques that a radiologic technologist can employ to adjust x-rays to look their best. If radiologic technologists can master these, less retakes will be necessary, resulting in a lower radiation dose to the patient.
First, radiologic technologists should focus only on the diagnostically relevant areas of each x-ray. If the radiologic technologist focuses too broadly and does not narrow the focus the resulting image can look flat and not have enough contrast. An image that does not have enough contrast will not be useful when the physician is trying to make a diagnosis. Obtaining the right contrast level is usually done by radiologic technologists using a process called grey-scale remapping. Grey-scale mapping is done using a lookup table that maps raw pixel values to display values. Grey-scale mapping is done by entering the correct algorithms in for image processing.
The second technique radiologic technologists can use is called equalization. There was a study done showing that over 90% of images taken that radiologic technologists used equalization on were satisfactory to radiologists for diagnosis, while in contrast only 55% of images that weren’t equalized were satisfactory to radiologists for diagnosis. Equalizing an image is basically darkening areas that are too light and lightening areas that are too dark, while maintaining contrast.
The third way that radiologic technologists can make their images better is called sharpness restoration. When x-rays are taken there is often a blurring effect that is captured. Radiologic technologists can counteract this using certain algorithms.
Finally, radiologic technologists can ensure that default parameters are set in the way that the radiologist who will be looking at the image will prefer.
Learn more about hiring a radiologic technologist.
Source:
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Foos, David (2004, Novemebr) Tapping Power of Digital X-Ray Boosts Workflow. Diagnostic Imaging, 105-113
Nuclear Medicine Gives Clues to Drug Addiction
The study was done by taking drug addicts and non addicted subjects and giving them Ritalin, and “upper” drug. About half of the people who were not drug addicts said they found taking Ritalin to be enjoyable. 
In contrast, 90% of the drug addicts found it pleasurable. These people were given PET scans while they were on Ritalin. It was found that those who enjoyed the Ritalin had less dopamine receptor sites, and those who did not like the Ritalin had more receptor sites. The researchers believe this means that people who have lower levels of dopamine receptors are more prone to addiction, because the lack of dopamine receptors makes it an enjoyable experience.
The number of dopamine receptors can be influenced by the environment. This is because the environment can have neurobiological effects on the brain. People who are given plenty of affection while growing up have more dopamine receptors than people who are neglected growing up. It has also been shown that there is a correlation between poverty and low levels of dopamine receptors.
Learn about hiring a nuclear medicine technologist.
Source:
- Kaiser, C.P. (2004, November) Imaging Untangles Mystery of Drug-Addicted Brain. Diagnostic Imaging, 19
PET Technologist: PET to Understand Overeating
This blog is now focused on laboratory specialties. This article is here for your information only, as jobs are no longer provided for any radiation technician specialties.
Scientists have found that the brain circuits that cause overeating are the same as those that cause drug addictions. People who overeat can testify that hunger cravings do feel like an addiction, so perhaps they will not be surprised by this finding.
The experiments conducted to discover this involve evaluating how the brain and the stomach communicate with each other using scans by PET technologists to see brain activity. The experiments were done by implanting devices into seven obese individuals that can stimulate the stomach. The devices remained in place and the experiments were conducted for 1 to 2 years.
The stimulators placed in the subjects stomachs work by stimulating a nerve that causes the stomach to expand. When the stomach expands it creates peptides that tell the brain that the stomach is full. Then, scientists were able to look at how the brain reacts to the news by analyzing PET scans done by PET technologists as well as by looking at answered to questionnaires that the subjects would fill out. The subjects were not told if their stomachs had been stimulated or not so that their answers would not be influenced by suggestion.
The PET scan results were mostly seen in the part of the brain called the hippocampus, where after stimulation metabolism was almost 20% higher. The hippocampus is involved with learning, memory, processing sensory and motor impulses and memories. The questions that the subjects answered indicated that they felt 21% less likely to eat emotionally when their stomachs were being stimulated.
These results could help in finding a way to help people get their eating under control.
Learn about hiring a PET Technologist.
Source:
- (2006, October 16) PET Provides Clues to Causes Behind Overeating. Advance for Imaging and Radiation Thereapy Professionals, 9
Radiation Therapists See Advancements in the Field
This blog is now focused on laboratory specialties. This article is here for your information only, as jobs are no longer provided for any radiation technician specialties.
Properly positioning the patient before administering a dose of radiation is extremely important because radiation therapists are trying to precisely target a malignancy and not the nearly healthy tissue. Some areas of the body are easy to keep still and target accurately, but areas like the lungs, cannot remain still for the duration of a radiation treatment, which has presented radiation therapists with quite a challenge. 
A technique called respiratory gating has been used by radiation therapists with some success. When this technique began the patient would tell the radiation therapist when they got to a certain point in their breathing cycle. The radiation therapist would then try to administer the dose at the same time each breath. This method obviously would have a fair about of user error and be quite difficult for a radiation therapist to perfect.
In recent years respiratory gating has become a much better process and much easier for radiation therapists to administer. It is now a more automatic process. There are sensors that emit radiation that are put on the patient that send signals to a computer showing the exact breathing pattern. This lets the radiation therapist do their work from the computer which is showing them the breathing pattern instead of the radiation therapist being told the pattern by the patient.
Another advancement that has been made to radiation therapy is the use of GPS to track patient movement. Dr. Sandler explained its use very well, stating, “Much like a GPS helps a driver determine where he is and where he is going, the Calypso’s wireless waves tell me exactly where the the prostate is and exactly how I should move the patient.” This technology has only been used for prostate cancer so far, although it is believed that it could be successfully used for other cancer types as well.
Learn about hiring a radiation therapist.
Source:
- McGraw, Mark (2007, October 15) “Something out of Star Wars” Today’s Radiation Therapy. Advance for Imaging and Radiation Therapy Professionals, 16-20
New Tool to Reduce Radiation Exposure to CT Technologists
This blog is now focused on laboratory specialties. This article is here for your information only, as jobs are no longer provided for any radiation technician specialties.
CT technologists have a new tool they can use to reduce radiation exposure to their patients and to themselves. Positioning children and infants has always been difficult for CT technologists. The children are scared and confused and do not understand why they must stay still. Even if a CT technologist managed to position a child, the child would often move after the CT technologist left the room to take the image. This meant that a CT technologist would need to hold the child still while the image was being taken, and in the process receive a totally unnecessary dose of radiation.
Now there is a new option, and it is called the universal octopaque. It is basically a padded board that a CT technologist can gently strap a child to. The child is first wrapped with a blanket for comfort, and then strapped down. The child’s head is restrained too, with big pads on each side of the head. Using this device, the child can be safely restrained so that a good image may be taken on the first try, instead of having to repeat the image and increase the radiation dose to the child. Also, this allows the CT technologist to be safely away from the imaging process.
The universal octopaque also allows for a CT technologist to take images from angles that would have been difficult to achieve while just holding a child.
This device is useful in several other modalities as well, allowing MRI technologists, nuclear medicine technologists, and radiation therapists to remain safe while performing pediatric imaging.
Learn about hiring a CT technologist.
Source:
- Femia, John (2006, October 6) Keeping Kids Still, and RTs Safe from Radiation. Advance for Imaging and Radiation Thereapy Professionals, 6
How Radiation Therapy is used to Fight Cancer
This blog is now focused on laboratory specialties. This article is here for your information only, as jobs are no longer provided for any radiation technician specialties.
Radiation therapy uses ionizing radiation to destroy cancer cells and to shrink tumors. Normal cells are killed during radiation therapy too, but they are usually able to recover fully. Radiation therapy can consist of different types, which can treat a variety of areas small, large, deep, or shallow. Radiation therapy is very common, and on average half of cancer patients are treated with ionizing radiation.
Radiation therapy can be internal, external, or systemic. External is the simplest type, given using a machine outside the body. Often with external radiation therapy the patient does not need to stay in the hospital any longer than the time the treatment takes. External radiation therapy does not make the patient radioactive, so they do not need to worry about staying away from others. Internal radiation therapy is inserted in the body near the tumor in a certain dose that dissolves. Internal radiation therapy will make patients radioactive near the area where the ionizing radiation was implanted. Because the patient will be radioactive for a short time they are sometimes kept in the hospital and during that time those visiting need to take precautions. Systemic radiation therapy is given by mouth or injection. This type of radiation therapy also make the patient slight radioactive, so precautions are sometimes necessary.
There is a team required to take care of just one patient. The oncologist comes up with the treatment plan. The dosimetrist is trained to figure out the correct dose. The radiation physicist makes sure the machines that are used for external radiation therapy are working correctly and that the right amount of radiation is being delivered. Finally, the radiation therapist is the person who actually gives the radiation treatment.
Learn more about hiring a radiation therapist.
Source:
- National Cancer Institute (2004, August 25) Radiation Therapy for Cancer: Questions and answers. http://www.cancer.gov/cancertopics/factsheet/therapy/radiation
Mammographers are Imaging More Men
This blog is now focused on laboratory specialties. This article is here for your information only, as jobs are no longer provided for any radiation technician specialties.
Often when people think of breast cancer they think of women, not men. However, over the past three decades the number of men with breast cancer has grown. Mammographers need to know how to make men feel comfortable during an exam, how to best perform an exam on a man, and the facts about breast cancer in men.
The obvious challenge a mammographer faces when scanning a man’s breast is that there is usually not a lot of breast to work with. It can be a challenge for a mammographer to get the breast into the compression device and to get it to stay while being scanned. Some mammographers have found quite unique methods for scanning men, including using a cooking spatula to hold the breast in place.
Another thing that mammographers find hard about scanning a man’s breast is that they are often hairy, and so the skin slips during compression. Mammographers find that a spatula is apparently helpful to deal with this too.
Also, mammographers find that men have larger pectoral muscles than women in general. Mammographers can use different views to get good images to get past this.
Finally, mammographers have a hard time setting many men at ease enough to perform the exam. It doesn’t help that most waiting rooms that men have to wait in before seeing a mammographer are decorated in very feminine ways.
There are many issues mammographers face when imaging men, but men do have an advantage over women in one case. Some mammographers make a point of calling men out of the waiting room sooner than they would a woman, so that the man doesn’t have to feel self conscious in front of all of the women for too long.
Learn about hiring a mammographer.
Source:
- Stanislaw, Stacy (2007, December 10) Breast Cancer: It’s a Guy Thing Too. Advance for Imaging and Radiation Thereapy Professionals, 13-15
Are Male Ultrasonographers Discriminated Against?
This blog is now focused on laboratory specialties. This article is here for your information only, as jobs are no longer provided for any radiation technician specialties.
Being a male ultrasonographer can make it tough to find a job. Many facilities will only hire a female . There are several reasons why this is so.
There are many facilities that require a chaperon to be present when a male ultrasonographer performs an sonogram on a woman. Facilities probably choose to make this a policy to avoid lawsuits. However, a female ultrasonographer is usually not required to have a chaperon present during a sonogram. This means that most facilities who choose to hire a male ultrasonographer would then have to pay a chaperon to be present during every sonogram or other sensitive exam. Also, it is common for patients to only allow female ultrasonographer to scan them.
These reasons make it easy to see why hospitals would not want to hire a male ultrasonographer. But, is this illegal? The Civil Rights Act of 1964 does state that “no employer may discriminate on the basis of race, sex, national origin and religion”. However, it goes on to provide employers leeway: “where religion, sex, or national origin is a bona fide occupational qualification reasonably necessary to the normal operation of that particular business of enterprise”.
While male ultrasonographers are discriminated against, it is done legally, and there isn’t anything right now that they can do about it. This is sad, because there are some male ultrasonographers who are very good at what they do that do not get the opportunities that a female would. On the other hand, male ultrasonographers choose their professions knowing that this discrimination exists.
Learn about hiring an ultrasonographer.
Source:
- Stanislaw, Stacy (2007, December 24) Sex in Sonography: Is There a Double Standard? Advance for Imaging and Radiation Thereapy Professionals, 18
