Regular MRI evaluations show that only about half of patients with multiple sclerosis achieve and sustain a response to treatment with interferon beta over three years, according to a study posted Nov. 11 online, and will appear in the January 2009 print issue of Archives of Neurology.

Pre-treatment MRI can eliminate unnecessary diagnostic or surgical procedures for children with suspected musculoskeletal infections (septic arthritis and osteomyelitis), according to a study published in the November issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology.

Canadian researchers have used 3D MRI to accurately detect bleeding within the walls of diseased carotid arteries, suggesting the technique may prove to be a useful screening tool for patients at high risk for stroke.

Mammograms detect 80 percent to 90 percent of breast cancers in women without symptoms, and all women 40 and older should get a yearly mammogram, according to the American Cancer Society (ACS), which marked Oct. 17 as National Mammography Day.

Three-dimensional delayed-enhancement MR imaging (DE-MRI) of the left atrial wall is a powerful tool to evaluate injury resulting from radiofrequency ablation for atrial fibrillation. In addition, injury on MRI seems to reflect tissue scarring, and the degree of scarring correlates with procedural outcomes, according to a study in the Oct. 7 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

The National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), is granting an estimated $11 million over the next five years to create two new Biomedical Technology Research Centers (BTRC) that will provide U.S. researchers with access to specialized research tools, training and equipment.

Duke University chemists have developed a new way to measure temperature changes inside the body with "unprecedented precision" by correcting a subtle error in the original theory underlying MRI, according to a report published in the Oct. 17 issue of Science.

Philips Research reported it has successfully concluded a usability and feasibility study of its decision support software tool for the automatic evaluation of dementia using PET image data.