MedWorm.com provides a medical RSS filtering service. Over 6000 RSS medical sources are combined and output via different filters. This feed contains the latest items from the 'scan man's notes' source. Thu, 08 Jan 2009 11:39:31 +0100 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ScanMansNotes/~3/505122408/ Sharing some of the first images from our new multislice CT. CT Abdominal Aortogram 3D VR image. CT Abdominal Aortogram MIP projection, gray-scale inverted image. CT Urogram MIP image. CT Urogram 3D VR image. Normal lungs with the tracheobronchial tree seen in MinIP projection. Usual Interstitial Pneumonia (UIP) - MinIP projection. Start Slide Show with PicLens Lite (Source: scan man's notes) scan man's notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2086914 Wed, 07 Jan 2009 10:20:13 +0100 2086914 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ScanMansNotes/~3/504530025/ Polls are open at medGadget for the 2008 Medical Weblog Awards. I am a finalist in the Best Clinical Weblog Category (I’m still not sure if that isn’t a mistake). You can vote for me here if you wish. Please vote for the finalists in other categories here. (Source: scan man's notes) scan man's notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2083978 Tue, 06 Jan 2009 18:35:29 +0100 2083978 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ScanMansNotes/~3/503600562/ First I get a new scanner to work toy to play with. Then I find out that my blog made it to the final list of nominees in the 2008 Medical Weblog Awards. All in the first week of the year. Wow!! A great start to 2009. Hope the tempo keeps up :D Update: Sincere thanks to Paul Levy for nominating my blog. (Source: scan man's notes) scan man's notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2081055 Tue, 06 Jan 2009 03:35:58 +0100 2081055 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ScanMansNotes/~3/503009238/ Change and transition are evocative words in the world at present. It thus seems appropriate or even destined that there are changes in my little world too as we enter the new year. We are taking a giant leap at work: upgrading from this… …a basic 4 slice CT scanner which used to scan at a speed of 8 slices/second; to this… [Image Credit] …a state-of-the-art 128-slice CT scanner that scans at a mindboggling speed of about 426 slices/second! The scanner got installed over the weekend and we did a few test cases on Sunday evening. Today will be the first day of actual clinical work on the new scanner. My excitement is tinged with more than a bit of irritation that I am yet to receive the image processing workstation that is supposed to accompany this scanner. Appare... scan man's notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2078714 Mon, 05 Jan 2009 03:04:45 +0100 2078714 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ScanMansNotes/~3/499080473/ Interesting and relevant article that shows there is a neurophysiological basis for my inability to stick to New Year’s resolutions (to be published today, December 31, 2008) in the Journal of Neuroscience. DOTmed.com - New Year’s Resolutions Are Even Harder for Risk-Takers to Keep. For risk-takers and impulsive people, New Year’s resolutions often include being more careful, spending more frugally and cutting back on dangerous behavior, such as drug use. But new research from Vanderbilt University finds that these individuals–labeled as novelty-seekers by psychologists–face an uphill battle in keeping their New Year’s resolutions due to the way their brains process dopamine. The researchers used PET scans to view the levels of dopamine receptors in 34 ... scan man's notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2077755 Wed, 31 Dec 2008 02:13:02 +0100 2077755 http://www.catscanman.net/blog/2008/12/new-years-resolutions/ Interesting and relevant article that shows there is a neurophysiological basis for my inability to stick to New Year’s resolutions (to be published today, December 31, 2008) in the Journal of Neuroscience. DOTmed.com - New Year’s Resolutions Are Even Harder for Risk-Takers to Keep. For risk-takers and impulsive people, New Year’s resolutions often include being more careful, spending more frugally and cutting back on dangerous behavior, such as drug use. But new research from Vanderbilt University finds that these individuals–labeled as novelty-seekers by psychologists–face an uphill battle in keeping their New Year’s resolutions due to the way their brains process dopamine. The researchers used PET scans to view the levels of dopamine receptors in 34 ... scan man's notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2073973 Wed, 31 Dec 2008 02:13:02 +0100 2073973 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ScanMansNotes/~3/491195716/ This is for the few people who stumble in here this week. The reason my blog looks it’s usual unremarkable self (and loads as slow as ever*) is because I got an unexpected Christmas present from a dear friend. I screwed up. Rather, a horribly iffy internet connection screwed up a fairly routine WordPress upgrade from version 2.6.5 to the newly-released-and-being-universally-raved-about 2.7 The abandon upgrade and roll back to status quo ante manoeuvre that I attempted did not quite work. I was left with some horrid header code issue that prevented me from logging in. It probably was not an insurmountable issue. I could probably have corrected this via ftp or from the control panel at the hosting site with instructions gleaned via twitter and Google. But it would have taken time, pati... scan man's notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2055819 Sun, 21 Dec 2008 14:01:26 +0100 2055819 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ScanMansNotes/~3/486225926/ * Note: These images are obviously not from a single patient. I included all of them in one ‘case’ to continue with the ongoing theme of ultrasonography & scrotal swelling. … Transverse section of right side of scrotum showing anechoic peritesticular fluid collection displacing the testis medially. Diagnosis: Hydrocele. … Longitudinal section of the scrotum showing a large heterogeneously echogenic peritesticular fluid collection (with mobile internal echoes on dynamic scanning). Testis is displaced posteriorly and appears compressed. Diagnosis: Hematocele (acute). … Longitudinal section of the scrotum showing a large heterogeneous hypoechoic peritesticular fluid collection with internal septations (fishnet weave pattern, similar appearance as in hemorr... scan man's notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2039932 Tue, 16 Dec 2008 04:17:12 +0100 2039932 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ScanMansNotes/~3/485078042/ I expect my blog to get it’s one hundred thousandth visitor by today going by Statcounter, the very first blog stat application that I installed back in 2006 when I started out. That’s not a big number after nearly thirty-four months of irregular blogging. Especially compared to some of the more famous medbloggers that I am fortunate to call my friends. It still far exceeds any expectations that I had when I began blogging. And it strengthens my resolve to continue in whatever fashion that I can. The most popular post on my blog still remains the one about the high cost of CT scans in the USA. The next milestone that I look forward to is for the number of ‘Returning Visitors’, currently near six thousand to reach ten thousand. My heartfelt thanks to all of you who v... scan man's notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2039933 Mon, 15 Dec 2008 02:00:43 +0100 2039933 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ScanMansNotes/~3/483217405/ Note: The inspiration to try this experimental mind map comes from the excellent collection of allergy and immunology related mind maps created by my blog & twitter friend Dr. Ves Dimov, author of the Clinical Cases and Images Blog. It might help to see my previous two casebook posts - Testicular Torsion and Acute Orchitis before you see the mind map. I made this with bubbl.us following Ves’s recommendation in this post (you can check out the features offered by bubbl.us in this mind map) and mildly modified it with Skitch. Many thanks to Enrico for telling me about Skitch, an amazing application (it works only in Mac OS X). Quite possibly the last word in simple intuitive screen grabbing and image manipulation software. Ideal for manipulating image sizes, doing simple annotation... scan man's notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2033084 Sat, 13 Dec 2008 01:50:01 +0100 2033084 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ScanMansNotes/~3/482293076/ A 40-year-old man presented with painful swelling of the right side of his scrotum and history of fever of two days duration. Swelling and tenderness in the right side of scrotum on local examination. High resolution ultrasonography of the scrotum was done. … Longitudinal section of the right side of scrotum shows the right Testis in normal axis (lie), enlarged with inhomogeneous hypoechoic echotexture.  Scrotal wall oedema is seen. … Transverse section of the scrotum shows both testes in normal axis (lie). Oedematous right testis with altered echotexture. Scrotal wall oedema on the right side. … Colour Doppler Ultrasonogram shows marked increase in right testicular blood flow. … Colour Doppler Ultrasonogram of the normal left testis with the same Doppler setti... scan man's notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2033085 Fri, 12 Dec 2008 03:30:20 +0100 2033085 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ScanMansNotes/~3/481360710/ The Evidence Gap - The Pain May Be Real, but the Scan Is Deceiving - NYTimes.com Scans - more sensitive and easily available than ever - are increasingly finding abnormalities that may not be the cause of the problem for which they are blamed. It’s an issue particularly for the millions of people who go to doctors’ offices in pain. The scans are expensive - Medicare and its beneficiaries pay about $750 to $950 for an M.R.I. scan of a knee or back, for example. Many doctors own their own scanners, which can provide an incentive to offer scans to their patients. And so, in what is often an irresistible feedback loop, patients who are in pain often demand scans hoping to find out what is wrong, doctors are tempted to offer scans to those patients, and then, once a scan is done, it... scan man's notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2026931 Thu, 11 Dec 2008 06:31:24 +0100 2026931 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ScanMansNotes/~3/480500625/ A 15-year-old boy presented with acute severe scrotal pain of nearly twelve hours duration. Swelling and tenderness in the left side of scrotum on local examination. High resolution ultrasonography of the scrotum was done. Longitudinal section of the left side of scrotum shows abnormal axis of the left Testis (seen in cross section here, implying 90° rotation of the axis) and enlarged epididymis / distal spermatic cord. Transverse section of the left side of scrotum shows abnormal axis of the left Testis (seen in longitudinal section here, implying 90° rotation of the axis). No intratesticular vascularity is seen on Power Doppler Ultrasonography. 3D Ultrasonogam shows torsion of the distal Spermatic cord close to epididymal head. This is how realtime 3D utlrasonogaphy (also called 4... scan man's notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2026932 Wed, 10 Dec 2008 11:41:06 +0100 2026932 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ScanMansNotes/~3/479470266/ Conclusions. A sonographically detected nuchal cord is not associated with important perinatal complications. Start Slide Show with PicLens Lite (Source: scan man's notes) scan man's notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2026933 Tue, 09 Dec 2008 12:09:09 +0100 2026933 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ScanMansNotes/~3/477067313/ I read about this absurd ’study’ in many places [see sources below] and did not think it worth my while to write about. This is the sort of harebrained research idea that should not get a mention even in a list of hilarious medical research articles. But then I saw this great comeback by Douglas Farrago of the Placebo Journal via this post at Dr. Lee’s blog… Placebo Journal Blog: Medical Humor With A Purpose: Ridiculous Study of the Month: Seeing Real People. If we start getting head shots of patients to give to radiologists there could be more issues that arise. Would they look harder if the patient was hot? Would they discriminate against patients they don’t like? Would a Glamour Shots studio open up in the hospital so that patients could look better for th... scan man's notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2017536 Sun, 07 Dec 2008 00:30:39 +0100 2017536 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ScanMansNotes/~3/476417591/ [This is Dr.Val's response to these two posts] Except mid-levels don’t want to do primary care work… So the problem will not actually be easily solved without substantial pay raises/financial incentives. See my podcast with nurses: http://getbetterhealth.com/nurses-may-not-fill-the-primary-care-shortage-were-not-suckers/2008.11.07 (Source: scan man's notes) scan man's notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2017537 Sat, 06 Dec 2008 06:59:51 +0100 2017537 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ScanMansNotes/~3/476326588/ via Kevin, MD. Foreign medical graduates and mid-levels will provide the majority of tomorrow’s primary care. Currently, 24 percent of mostly primary care training positions are filled with international medical graduates. That number will also likely rise. Not that there’s anything wrong with NPs, PAs, and IMGs. The majority of them provide exceptional care. Soon, specialists will uniformly be comprised of American medical graduates, while the majority of generalists will be composed of mid-levels and foreign-trained physicians. It’s an interesting demographic glimpse of the future American medical workforce. A new kind of caste/class system where the financially less desirable, menial jobs are relegated to second class citizens. The more things change, the more they rem... scan man's notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2017538 Sat, 06 Dec 2008 03:58:30 +0100 2017538 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ScanMansNotes/~3/474365370/ … Long axis view of the Uterus and Cervix on Transvaginal Ultrasonography with thickened Endometrium. Large lobulated hyperechoic Endocervical mass with polypoidal protrusion beyond the external cervical os. Power Doppler shows internal vascularity within the polypoidal mass with a vascular stalk extending from the body of Uterus. 3D reformatted image shows the thickened Endometrium within the Uterus continuing distally as a large polyp protruding from the external cervical os. 3D reformatted image with Power Doppler shows the internal vascularity within the polyp and the long vascular stalk from the body of Uterus. The other blood vessels that are seen are normal myometrial blood vessels. Diagnosis: Large Pedunculated Endometrial Polyp protruding through the Cervix into the Vagi... scan man's notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2013600 Thu, 04 Dec 2008 06:19:31 +0100 2013600 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ScanMansNotes/~3/472485718/ My friend Enrico, blogger, über-geek, fellow pirate and medical student who is bravely enduring an enforced pit stop in his journey to become a doctor continues to be an integral part of the medblogging community. He hosts this week’s edition of Grand Rounds, the weekly round-up / carnival of the best of the medblogs. Click on the link below or the image above to go there and enjoy this week’s orchestral edition… Mexico Medical Student » Grand Rounds 5:11 - Death and Transfiguration Welcome to Grand Rounds! I am privileged to be your host for this week’s edition of the best posts of the medical blogosphere. As in the previous two times I’ve hosted, I will integrate music into this edition, but unlike before, I will focus on one piece of music: Tod und Verklärung ... scan man's notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2011071 Tue, 02 Dec 2008 14:02:36 +0100 2011071 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ScanMansNotes/~3/471356748/ My friend Dr. Ramona Bates, a plastic surgeon in Arkansas is not only a prolific and famous medical blogger, but is also an acclaimed quilter. I can personally attest to the beauty and quality of her quilts as she was kind and generous enough to send a very pink quilt for my daughter. The eye-catching, exquisitely crafted Hawaiian Lobster Appliqué quilt that you see above is inspired by the blogosphere’s most famous crustacean, our own Zippy the Lobster who in turn was created by another good friend Dr. Rob Lamberts after the entire medblogging community was affected by Henry’s story. Today, Ramona has announced that the quilt is being put up for auction for the charity called the Childhood Brain Tumor Foundation. Click on the link below or on the picture of the quilt for the ... scan man's notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=2011073 Mon, 01 Dec 2008 14:50:49 +0100 2011073 http://www.catscanman.net/uploads/mp3/Episode-06-scanmanspeaks.m4a The sixth episode of my increasingly frequent podcast is up at scan man speaks, my dedicated podcast blog. You can listen to it there or here by clicking play on the linked title below or subscribe via iTunes to download and listen in your own audio player (see my podcast blog’s sidebar for instructions to subscribe in iTunes). scanman speaks: Episode 6 - My take on the recent events in Mumbai A fairly longish episode (20 minutes) with my opinions on the recent terror attacks in Mumbai and related stuff. It’s a rather unpolished rough first-cut-like recording. My apologies for that. (Source: scan man's notes) scan man's notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1996266 Thu, 27 Nov 2008 17:49:27 +0100 1996266 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ScanMansNotes/~3/467000793/ Several bloggers including some of my friends in the medical blogosphere are engaged in a blog rally (see the explanatory footnote in this post by Paul Levy), simultaneously posting the item below to encourage conversation about a topic that is often avoided but needs to be addressed in every family: We make choices throughout our lives - where we want to live, what types of activities will fill our days, with whom we spend our time. These choices are often a balance between our desires and our means, but at the end of the day, they are decisions made with intent. But when it comes to how we want to be treated at the end our lives, often we don’t express our intent or tell our loved ones about it. This has real consequences. 73% of Americans would prefer to die at home, but up to 5... scan man's notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1990715 Thu, 27 Nov 2008 06:17:47 +0100 1990715 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ScanMansNotes/~3/464612723/ My friend Dr. Val Jones, the President and CEO of Better Health, LLC presents the facts on Dual Source CT in her latest blog post…. Better Health » New CT Scanner Can Take An Image Of The Entire Body In Under 5 Seconds. I really like new technology, especially when it offers a very obvious advantage for patients. I recently heard about a new CT scanner that is so fast, it dramatically reduces radiation exposure for patients and can take crisp images of moving organs (like the heart). I asked to speak with Siemens’ VP of Sales and Marketing, Dr. André Hartung, to find out about the new Somatom Definition Flash Dual Source CT Scanner (it takes longer to say the machine’s name than to scan your entire body). Of course, I invited my Medgadget friend, Gene Ostrovsky, to join the ca... scan man's notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1984800 Tue, 25 Nov 2008 03:39:08 +0100 1984800 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ScanMansNotes/~3/463623436/ According to Gruntdoc “there is some gender disorder elsewhere in the medblogosphere.” Well, NOT here 79% is good enough. There’s enough room left over for my “inner anima” howsoever big it be (I owe a big thank you to Theresa for telling me that I may have an inner anima) Start Slide Show with PicLens Lite (Source: scan man's notes) scan man's notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1984801 Mon, 24 Nov 2008 08:07:51 +0100 1984801 http://www.catscanman.net/uploads/mp3/Episode-05.m4a The fifth episode of my infrequent podcast is up at scan man speaks, my dedicated podcast blog. You can listen to it there or here by clicking play on the linked title below or subscribe via iTunes to download and listen in your own audio player (see my podcast blog’s sidebar for instructions to subscribe in iTunes). scanman speaks: Episode 5 - Tamil Nadu as described by a western traveller A simple episode where I read some interesting passages from a book that I read (and blogged about) a while ago: ‘The Smile of Murugan. A South Indian Journey‘ by Michael Wood. (Source: scan man's notes) scan man's notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1984802 Sun, 23 Nov 2008 17:07:47 +0100 1984802 http://www.catscanman.net/blog/2008/11/im-a-thinker/ Hat tip to this tweet from my friend Ramona. And I agree with WhiteCoat that Typealyzer seems pretty accurate for the same reasons that he mentions and not just because it said good things about me INTP - The Thinkers The logical and analytical type. They are especialy attuned to difficult creative and intellectual challenges and always look for something more complex to dig into. They are great at finding subtle connections between things and imagine far-reaching implications. They enjoy working with complex things using a lot of concepts and imaginative models of reality. Since they are not very good at seeing and understanding the needs of other people, they might come across as arrogant, impatient and insensitive to people that need some time to understand what they are talking abo... scan man's notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1980615 Sun, 23 Nov 2008 08:07:39 +0100 1980615 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ScanMansNotes/~3/453039272/ In this report, we examine the incident in detail from the official police and ballistic reports. [read the free full text article here, download pdf here] Photograph shows gun (arrow) stuck on right side of MR imaging magnet bore [Image Credit] Photograph shows the actual gun involved in the incident; a 1991 A-1.45 caliber Colt semiautomatic pistol [Image Credit] A short extract from the case report detailing how it happened (emphases are mine)… An off-duty police officer went to an outpatient imaging center (not affiliated with our institution) in western New York State to have an MR imaging examination. The facility housed a 1.5-T MR unit (Signa; General Electric Medical Systems, Milwaukee, WI) with active shielding. The officer was carrying a model 1991 A-1 compact.45 caliber... scan man's notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1960610 Fri, 14 Nov 2008 15:37:47 +0100 1960610 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ScanMansNotes/~3/447575217/ ennui /ɑnˈwi, ˈɑnwi; Fr. ɑ̃ˈnwi/ Show Spelled Pronunciation Pronunciation: \ˌän-ˈwē\ [ahn-wee, ahn-wee; Fr. ahn-nwee] Function: noun Etymology: French, 18th century. from Old French enui annoyance, from enuier to vex, from Late Latin inodiare to make loathsome. Meaning: a feeling of weariness and dissatisfaction. boredom or discontent caused by a lack of activity or excitement. A word that perfectly describes my state of mind over the past week. All the alternates that are found in the Thesaurus in Dictionary.app would also apply… boredom, tedium, listlessness, lethargy, lassitude, languor, weariness, enervation; malaise, dissatisfaction, melancholy, depression, world-weariness, Weltschmerz. Now and again screams of ennui rose from between the potted plants, but mai... scan man's notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1947116 Sun, 09 Nov 2008 17:48:58 +0100 1947116 http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/ScanMansNotes/~3/444560042/ I was pleasantly surprised by some news passed on by one of my medical college classmates from Chennai a couple of days ago. One of our classmates, I’ll call her Sue, has been promoted and appointed as a Unit Chief in the General Medicine department in a big league medical college in Chennai. Sue was among the first few of my classmates to enter postgraduate specialty residency after completing her MBBS. She specialized in General Medicine and took up a teaching job in the medical college hospital where she got her MD. She became an Associate Professor a while ago. Now she has been appointed the head of one of the seven units in the department of Medicine. One really cool thing about this is that she now becomes a postgraduate examiner. It is but a matter of time before she becomes a... scan man's notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1945209 Thu, 06 Nov 2008 16:58:10 +0100 1945209 http://www.catscanman.net/blog/2008/11/happy-birthday-salem/ [Image Credit] Today, November 1, is being celebrated as Salem Day. It is said that* it was on this day in 1866 that the Salem municipality was incorporated under British colonial rule. According to the cringeworthy official website of Salem district… The date of human civilization in this district reaches far back to the stone ages. The existence of prehistoric culture in Salem is evident from the discovery of Paleolithic and Neolithic stone implements and dung ash heaps in and around Salem. A concise chronology of the district is presented (here). * I could not find any online source that validates this. Start Slide Show with PicLens Lite (Source: scan man's notes) scan man's notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1924461 Sat, 01 Nov 2008 09:20:15 +0100 1924461 http://www.catscanman.net/blog/2008/10/happy-deepavali-3/ Happy Deepavali [Image Credit] I’m very late. Posting this on the eve of Deepavali. This is a post on Fireworks Safety by my friend Ramona. She has posted this twice on her blog, before the July 4th American Independence Day for the past two years. Very relevant for us in India at this time of the year. Suture for a Living: Fireworks Safety. ….please use the following tips to keep yourself and your children safe (or consider leaving the fireworks to the experts and just enjoy the show): Never allow children to play with or ignite fireworks. Read and follow all warnings and instructions. Fireworks should be unpacked from any paper packing out-of-doors and away from any open flames. Be sure other people are out-of-range before lighting fireworks. Small children should be kept a... scan man's notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1908748 Sun, 26 Oct 2008 16:40:55 +0100 1908748 http://www.catscanman.net/blog/2008/10/scans-that-dont-scan/ .. This is for my blog & twitter friend lekhni, who asked me on twitter a few days ago. .. lekhni @scanman I’d love your thoughts on this http://www.nytimes.com/2008… 2:59 AM Oct 15th from web in reply to scanman .. The link, to an article in The New York Times, was about, as the author Gina Kolata says… This is a story about M.R.I.’s, those amazing scans that can show tissue injury and bone damage, inflammation and fluid accumulation. Except when they can’t and you think they can. The article goes on to detail how Ms.Kolata [shortened to GK from here on] had an MRI scan done for her forefoot, which she injured while running. The scan, which was done at a local radiology center was reported as normal, but her pain persisted. She went to an orthop... scan man's notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1894918 Wed, 22 Oct 2008 09:09:52 +0100 1894918 http://www.catscanman.net/blog/2008/10/web-based-modules-will-improve-radiology-resident-education/ Instead of flipping through a textbook, radiology residents will soon use computers to learn about the physics of radiology. Four Web-based instructional modules are being developed by medical physicists and radiologists at the Medical College of Georgia. The project is funded by the Radiological Society of North America and the American Association of Physicists in Medicine. Read the rest here… MCG News: Web-based modules will improve radiology resident education. (Source: scan man's notes) scan man's notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1894919 Wed, 22 Oct 2008 08:12:38 +0100 1894919 http://www.catscanman.net/blog/2008/10/fetal-breathing/ One of the cool things about doing obstetric ultrasonography is watching babies moving around and doing stuff within the uterus: kicking, clenching and unclenching their fists, yawning, sucking their fingers or toes or the umbilical cord, etc.  Earlier (I mean a few years ago) the mother and family used to be most thrilled if we (as in the person doing the scan) showed them the baby’s beating heart. Nowadays most of them are aware of 3D (aka 4D) ultrasonography and ask for such scans. Provided all the requirements are met, like adequate amount of liquor around the baby, and the baby is cooperative (i.e., it is facing the ultrasound probe) we get excellent 3D images of the fetal features. If the equipment is capable of realtime 3D (aka 4D) ultrasonography and the baby is active, ... scan man's notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1891946 Tue, 21 Oct 2008 09:09:01 +0100 1891946 http://www.catscanman.net/blog/2008/10/common-diagnosis-through-uncommon-means-2/ While looking through the archives of ultrasound images I came across a couple of instances of common diagnoses made through tests that are not commonly done to diagnose them. This is the second example. The first is here. Hydroureteronephrosis with ureteric calculus is a common diagnosis on ultrasonography of the Abdomen (TAS = Transabdominal sonography). Here is a calculus at the uretero-vesical junction with dilatation of the distal ureter. It is unusual to find a uretero-vesical junction calculus on TVS… Start Slide Show with PicLens Lite (Source: scan man's notes) scan man's notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1891947 Mon, 20 Oct 2008 17:30:57 +0100 1891947 http://www.catscanman.net/blog/2008/10/exploding-mris/ Watch this video first… … and then read this article. Some excerpts… A medical physicist in Alabama has noticed what could be a disturbing trend: exploding MRI magnets. Dr. Wlad Sobol of the University of Alabama-Birmingham, describes what may have caused the incidents and offers advice for avoiding potentially catastrophic incidents at medical facilities. Wlad Sobol, PhD, a medical physicist and professor of radiology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Health System, said at least five MRI magnets have exploded in U.S. healthcare facilities over the last 10 years, but the incidents have gone mostly unreported. After investigating the scene of an explosion, inspecting current installations, and visiting two MRI magnet manufacturing sites, Sobol said the mo... scan man's notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1888983 Sun, 19 Oct 2008 13:45:52 +0100 1888983 http://www.catscanman.net/blog/2008/10/scan-mans-casebook-case-4/ This one is for Bongi. Inspired by these two posts in his blog. Diagnosis: Large pseudoaneurysm in the Superficial Femoral artery. Cause: Bull gore injury. Further reading: Rads Wiki - Pseudoaneurysm. Pseudoaneurysms and the Role of Minimally Invasive Techniques in Their Management. RadioGraphics 2005;25:S173-S189. Free fulltext. Sonographic Evaluation of Vascular Injuries. J Ultrasound Med 2008. 27:95-107. Free fulltext available in India. (Source: scan man's notes) scan man's notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1886347 Sat, 18 Oct 2008 10:45:13 +0100 1886347 http://www.catscanman.net/blog/2008/10/scan-mans-casebook-case-3/ Not something that we see everyday (like this one). Transvaginal ultrasonogram showing an early second trimester intrauterine pregnancy with an intrauterine contraceptive device in situ (tiny white arrows) impinging on the gestational sac. Axial section of the fetal thorax (and the heart) and the fetal upper limbs are seen nearby. (Source: scan man's notes) scan man's notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1886348 Fri, 17 Oct 2008 15:30:25 +0100 1886348 http://www.catscanman.net/blog/2008/10/helping-the-disadvantaged/ I saw my friend Ramona’s post and multiple posts on twitter about Blog Action Day 2008 - Poverty earlier today yesterday. It’s past midnight and I know I am late. I initially did not want to write anything. My reasoning was that any medical person in my country could fill volumes with the gut-wrenching instances of poverty that they come across on a daily basis. What was I going to say in a single post on one day? That was until I read this truly touching post by my friend Theresa. So here I am, risking my dear wife’s wrath, wide awake at an ungodly hour trying to churn out a post about poverty. I checked the Blog Action Day site and they have helpful post ideas. I decided to go with this one… A Personal Blog might document a personal activity of the blogger that is... scan man's notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1879814 Wed, 15 Oct 2008 21:35:50 +0100 1879814 http://www.catscanman.net/blog/2008/10/farmer/ F I E L D W O R K . Ammampuram, originally uploaded by © Claude Renault. Brings back memories of my ancestral village! (Source: scan man's notes) scan man's notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1879815 Wed, 15 Oct 2008 19:18:32 +0100 1879815 http://www.catscanman.net/blog/2008/10/letta-2-referring-dr/ dEr Dr. Pulmo, tnx 4 referring yr patient Mr.X. I found dat d CT scan of hs thorax showd a mild pleural effusion on d ryt cYd. there’s no abnormality n d lungs n mediastinum. I dnt tnk tube drainage or needl aspiration S needed @ dis point n tym. We cUd w8 n woch d clinical progression. I recomend dat he B reviewed W chest radiography n utlrasound scan ina week’s tym. rgds, scanman Inspired by this post by my friend Lakshmi, lamenting the dying arts of grammar, syntax and punctuation in the English language… The age of SMS and IMs has ushered in a total and complete disregard for punctuations.  I know many people have huffed and puffed about it, and let me add my own to them.  I could fall on Lynn Truss’s shoulders and sob my heart out. More specifically by h... scan man's notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1870654 Sun, 12 Oct 2008 20:36:59 +0100 1870654 http://www.catscanman.net/blog/2008/10/surgexperiences-208/ My good friend Dr. Ramona Bates, plastic surgeon and quilter extraordinaire from Little Rock, AR, is the host of the latest edition of SurgeXperiences, the blog carnival of all things surgical. She has done a great job (as usual) with posts that rival the weekly Medical Grand Rounds. Suture for a Living: SurgeXperiences 208. Welcome to the latest edition of SurgeXperiences!  Fall is here in the northern hemisphere.  The leaves are being to turn colors and the air is cooler.  Perfect for a nice walk in the woods (don’t forget the hunter orange) with my dog.  I’ll leave this “bounty” of good writing for you to read at your leisure.  Enjoy! (Source: scan man's notes) scan man's notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1870655 Sun, 12 Oct 2008 08:41:08 +0100 1870655 http://www.catscanman.net/blog/2008/10/essential-skills/ Thanks to Ves for tweeting about this article in Popular Mechanics AllergyNotes 100 Skills Every Man Should Know: 2008’s Ultimate DIY List http://tinyurl.com/6hqp43 about 6 hours ago from web 100 Skills Every Man Should Know: 2008’s Ultimate DIY List Brains and charm are fine, but a real guy needs to know how to do real stuff. After months of debate among PM’s expert editors, here’s our lineup of essential skills, broken down in 10 categories for the competent man-plus 20 tools you need to own. I thought I’d see how many of those skills and tools I possess. Bold Blue - I possess. Red - I wish I did. Green - I could probably do that. Automotive 1. Handle a blowout 2. Drive in snow 3. Check trouble codes 4. Replace fan belt 5. Wax a car 6. Conquer an o... scan man's notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1853563 Sun, 05 Oct 2008 19:28:57 +0100 1853563 http://www.catscanman.net/blog/2008/10/something-you-dont-see-every-day/ From Shadowfax Read the rest of the story at Shadowfax’s blog… Movin’ Meat: Something you don’t see every day. (Source: scan man's notes) scan man's notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1850969 Fri, 03 Oct 2008 15:54:31 +0100 1850969 http://www.catscanman.net/blog/2008/10/remembering-a-simple-great-man/ [Image Credit] the greatness of this man was his simplicity Generations to come, it may be, will scarcely believe that such a one, as this, ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth. - Albert Einstein October 2 is Gandhi Jayanti and International Day of Non-violence. Some quotations… An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind. Victory attained by violence is tantamount to a defeat, for it is momentary. If one has no affection for a person or a system, one should feel free to give the fullest expression to his disaffection so long as he does not contemplate, promote, or incite violence. Nonviolence is the first article of my faith. It is also the last article of my creed. Seven social sins: politics without principles, wealth without work, pleasure without consci... scan man's notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1844642 Thu, 02 Oct 2008 05:21:10 +0100 1844642 http://www.catscanman.net/blog/2008/10/stabbed-in-head/ [Image credit] Via: Police release X-ray of teen stabbed in head | UK | Reuters. PS. Technically, these are CT scanograms, not radiographs. Never x-rays! (Source: scan man's notes) scan man's notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1840977 Wed, 01 Oct 2008 05:14:25 +0100 1840977 http://www.catscanman.net/blog/2008/09/dr-vals-radiology-humor/ Well hello there, folks. It’s Dr. Val posting from Scanman’s blog in India! The hospitality I’ve been receiving from the medical blogging community has been tremendous. So many trusting souls, allowing me to post directly to their Wordpress acccounts. My goodness… I could just remain nomadic and not create a new blog home for myself.  Maybe this is blogging 3.0!? Anyway, many thanks to my recent hosts, Grunt Doc, Ramona Bates, Dr. Rob, InsureBlog, KevinMD, Emergiblog, and Happy Hospitalist. Beware… the next post you read at your favorite blog may be from ME! …. (Source: scan man's notes) scan man's notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1833160 Sat, 27 Sep 2008 02:30:15 +0100 1833160 http://www.catscanman.net/blog/2008/09/scan-mans-casebook-case-2/ Note: The worst renal injury that I have seen. This is one of the cases that I was telling my surgical blog friends Bongi, Buckeye & Ramona that I would post on my blog. A 50-year-old lady fell down a flight of stairs in her house and badly hurt her right loin. Brought to the casualty almost in shock. After initial resuscitation and stabilisation, the surgeon asked for an emergency CT scan. Plain CT axial section at the right renal hilum level. Very large retroperitoneal (perirenal) hemorrhage. Note the inhomogeneous high attenuation of fresh hemorrhage compared to normal soft tissue attenuation of the left kidney and paravertebral muscles. Arterial phase dynamic CECT axial section through the kidneys. Coronal MIP image from Arterial phase dynamic CECT showing the kidneys. Transec... scan man's notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1829114 Fri, 26 Sep 2008 03:42:15 +0100 1829114 http://www.catscanman.net/blog/2008/09/scan-mans-casebook-case-1/ Note: Starting yet another series of radiological posts. I am going to model this on Laughlin Dawes’s excellent Radiology Picture of the Day, which unfortunately has run aground due to lack of submissions. So this will be mostly images with a little bit of explanatory or reference text. Two-days-old baby with a large Liver mass detected on antenatal ultrasonography. Plain CT axial section through the Liver. Arterial phase dynamic CECT axial section through the Liver. Portal venous phase dynamic CECT axial section through the Liver. Delayed venous phase (5 minutes) dynamic CECT axial section through the Liver. Findings: Large well-defined solid mass is seen occupying Couinaud segments 2 and 3 of the Liver. The mass appears hypoattenuating relative to the Liver with small areas o... scan man's notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1825560 Thu, 25 Sep 2008 12:39:57 +0100 1825560 http://www.catscanman.net/blog/2008/09/shadowfax-speak-out-now/ Movin’ Meat: Speak out now. In their continuing war against women’s reproductive rights, HHS Secretary Leavitt has proposed a new federal regulation which would allow healthcare providers to refuse to provide any service they deem would violate their personal values. Now let’s be clear: this is not about abortion. There already exist in many other statutes — federal and state — ample protections for OB/GYNs who do not wish to perform terminations. That’s not at issue here, the Secretary’s claims to the contrary notwithstanding. This is entirely intended to reinforce the Christian right’s effort to redefine contraception as abortion, specifically post coital contraception, also known as “Plan B” or the “morning after pill.&... scan man's notes blogs http://www.medworm.com/rss/comments.php?id=1825561 Wed, 24 Sep 2008 12:09:59 +0100 1825561