Researchers produce first laser ultrasound images of humans

Photo courtesy MIT News

PARCA eNews – Dec. 19, 2019 – MIT engineers have demonstrated an alternative to conventional ultrasound that doesn’t require contact with the body to see inside a patient.

In a paper published Dec. 19, 2019 in the Nature journal Light: Science and Applications, the researchers scanned the forearms of several volunteers and observed common tissue features such as muscle, fat, and bone, down to about 6 centimeters below the skin. The images were judged comparable to conventional ultrasound, but were produced without patient contact using remote lasers focused on a volunteer from half a meter away.

Risks of AI pose complex challenges to deployment in healthcare

Professor Nicholson Price, University of 
Michigan. Credit Petrie-Flom Center - 
Harvard University

Nicholson Price is a professor of law teaching and writing in the areas of intellectual property, health law, and regulation, particularly focusing on the law surrounding innovation in the life sciences. He previously was an assistant professor of law at the University of New Hampshire School of Law, an academic fellow at the Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Harvard Law School, and a visiting scholar at the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. Previously, he clerked for the Hon. Carlos T. Bea of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He received a JD and a PhD in biological sciences from Columbia University and an AB in biological sciences from Harvard College.​  PARCA eNews spoke to Mr. Price following an article he wrote for Brookings about the risks and remedies for AI in healthcare to get his perspective on those risks with regard to radiology and PACS administrators.

RSNA launches initiative to boost imaging sharing

Credit RSNA 2019

PARCA eNews – Dec. 4, 2019 – The RSNA and Carequality announced the addition of a supplement to the Imaging Data Exchange Guide at a town hall event at its 2019 RSNA’s 105th Scientific Assembly and Annual meeting in Chicago in December. 

The supplement expands the scope of the Carequality Interoperability Framework to detail technical standards for exchanging medical images.

AI in healthcare is here to stay

The online magazine AI in Healthcare in collaboration with Pure Storage have released results of their AI in Healthcare 2020 Leadership Survey Report.

The survey questioned 1,238 healthcare providers, executives and IT leaders about artificial intelligence in healthcare.

The goal of the survey was to gain a deeper understanding of the current state of artificial and augmented intelligence in use and what is being planned across healthcare in the next few years.

Office 365 target of Phishing Scams

PARCA eNews – Oct. 1, 2019 – Two new scams targeting Office 365 users have been making the rounds since last July.

One dubbed Trickbot Trojan uses an authentic-looking domain that has all the typical elements of a genuine Microsoft website, including links to Microsoft resources. 

Philips recalls gamma camera for faulty support component

PARCA eNews – Nov. 7, 2019 – The FDA has issued a Class I recall for the Philips Medical Systems Forte Gamma Camera System manufactured between 1998 and 2008.

A Class I recall is the most serious recall type due to the potential for serious injury or death. In this case, a defect has been discovered that can allow an internal component to fail resulting in the gamma camera detector dropping. The 660 pound component could crush or trap a patient resulting in serious injury or death.

DICOM releases Realtime Video standard

Credit - Siemens Healthcare GMBH

PARCA eNews – Sept. 30, 2019 – The DICOM Standards committee released its realtime video standard in September. 

The new standard describes several new DICOM IODs and associated transfer syntaxes for the transfer of realtime video, and or audio along with associated medical data.

ONC names Robert Anthony to head Certification & Testing Division

PARCA eNews – Oct. 28, 2019 – The Office of National Coordinator has named Robert

Anthony as the director of the Certification & Testing Division in ONC’s Office of Technology, where he will oversee the ONC Health IT Certification Program. 

Anthony previously served as a senior policy advisor in the Office of Clinical Quality and Safety and as senior strategic advisor in the Office of Technology at ONC. 

Senator Mark Warner calls on HHS to act to prevent breaches of medical imaging

PARCA eNews – Nov. 11, 2019 – In the wake of a report by ProPublica and German public broadcaster Bayerischer Runkfunk in September showing that millions of medical images were vulnerable to hackers, the US Senate Cybersecurity Caucus heads by Mark Warner, D-Virginia is asking the Department of Health and Human Services to explain why nothing has been done about it.

Failure to do risk assessment most common HIPAA violation

PARCA eNews – Oct. 30, 2019 – Failure to conduct a risk assessment as required by HIPAA is among the most common cybersecurity violations healthcare organizations are charged with according to the Office of Civil Rights.

Recognizing that organizations often struggle with compliance, the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC), in collaboration with the HHS Office for Civil Rights (OCR), has released an updated downloadable Security Risk Assessment (SRA) tool free to healthcare organizations.