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ACR 2015: Three hot trends in imaging

by Lauren Dubinsky, Senior Reporter | May 21, 2015
Molecular Imaging Rad Oncology Primary Care X-Ray
Courtesy of ACR
This week 1,850 members of the radiology community came together at the Marriot Wardman Park hotel in Washington, D.C., for the annual American College of Radiology (ACR) meeting. From Sunday through Thursday, over 100 clinical and educational sessions explored the state of radiology today and set out ideas for a better tomorrow.

The educational sessions were led by nationally renowned speakers and health policy experts, and covered a variety of topics, such as amyloid brain imaging and breast cancer imaging. Rare insight was shared with attendees, helping to cultivate their understanding of the industry, impactful legislation, and strategies for maximizing their value to patients in the ever-changing field of radiology.

This year's meeting was also special because, unlike in years gone by, all ACR members were able to attend. Previously, it was solely a business meeting attended by representatives elected through state chapters and the ACR council. DOTmed News was among the first-time attendees, and based on our experiences we've come up with the top three most exciting things happening in radiology today.
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Amyloid PET imaging

In April 2012, the FDA approved the first PET tracer for amyloid imaging, Eli Lilly and Company’s Amyvid. Since then, the excitement around the potential for amyloid PET imaging to impact care for Alzheimer’s patients has only grown.

“This is a huge step forward because before this the only way we could look at amyloid in the brain is [through] a brain biopsy and autopsy,” said Dr. Kevin Donohoe of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, during a presentation. “Now with the amyloid agents, we can diagnose in vivo whether they have amyloid accumulation in their brain.”

Concerns about overuse have made CMS cautious about amyloid imaging and it does not yet provide full coverage. As Donohue put it, CMS is concerned that a family practitioner might have any patient who comes in and can’t remember where they left their car keys undergo an exam.

To solve that, the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging and the Alzheimer’s Association came together and published appropriate use criteria (AUC) for amyloid tracers in January 2013. The AUC aims to define the patient population with the most to gain from amyloid imaging.

Efforts toward amyloid reimbursement are showing signs of progress, as CMS has agreed to pay for the study if the patient is part of a database that would allow it to analyze the clinical utility of amyloid imaging. Now, a Coverage with Evidence Development protocol is under development with patient enrollment slated to begin as early as this summer.

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