scanman’s posterous

Brain Flash Drive by Elle Topo

X Ray reclaimed paper notebooks by Momerath

Lungs Anatomy Illustration T Shirt by Isotope

cool.

i especially like the radiograph used as notebook cover. i think there's a great utility/business idea for all the waste films generated in large radiology departments.

Researchers at the Joslin Diabetes Center in Boston have successfully used PET/CT to confirm the presence of brown adipose tissue, also know as brown fat, in adults. The surprising discovery could lead to new treatments both for obesity and type 2 diabetes.

The study also found defined regions of functionally active brown fat more frequently in women than in men, and noted that the amount in adults is inversely correlated with body mass index, especially in older people, suggesting a potential role of brown fat in adult human metabolism.

The Joslin study contradicts previous research indicating that brown fat exists in humans only during childhood and disappears, for the most part, with age. The Joslin researchers also showed that brown fat is metabolically active.

The findings are published in the April 9, 2009, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine (Vol. 360:15, pp. 1509-1517). Lead author Dr. Aaron Cypess, Ph.D., an endocrinologist and research associate at Joslin, credits the brown fat discoveries to the combination of functional imaging with PET and the structural anatomical information from CT.

"PET/CT gives you the first chance to see brown fat throughout the entire body," Cypess said. "Before, you would have to do a biopsy or autopsy to see the whole body that way."

Agents from the criminal investigations arm of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) have raided the Pennsylvania offices of Siemens Healthcare, according to federal officials. A Siemens representative said the search was related to the investigation of a contract the company has with the DoD.

Investigators from the Defense Criminal Investigative Service (DCIS) arrived at the company's Malvern offices on the morning of April 22 to execute a search warrant, according to Ed Bradley, special agent in charge with the agency's northeast field office in Philadelphia, in comments to AuntMinnie.com.

Siemens Healthcare director of public relations Lance Longwell confirmed that DCIS investigators conducted a "limited search" of one floor of the Malvern building. Siemens asked employees who work near the area subject to the search to leave for the remainder of the day and to return tomorrow for a regular workday, Longwell said.

"Siemens has fully cooperated with the investigation and will continue to do so," he added.

The DCIS is the criminal investigative arm of the Department of Defense's Office of the Inspector General, Bradley said. The unit has authority to investigate issues related to defense contracts, weapons programs, and any other funds spent by the DoD.

Local news coverage of the raid cited unnamed sources as stating that investigators "are seeking documents and records involving several contracts between the military and the company," according WPVI-TV television in Philadelphia. The investigation appears to be focusing on medical contracts, the report said.

Siemens several years ago ran afoul of government authorities for issues related to corruption in the procurement of medical equipment contracts. In 2007, German investigators discovered a secret fund through which bribes were paid to obtain contracts internationally.

The Healthcare group acknowledged the existence of a fund worth approximately $2.1 billion and agreed to pay a fine of $317 million. The disclosures may have led to the departures of Klaus Kleinfeld, CEO of Siemens AG, as well as Erich Reinhardt, CEO of Siemens Healthcare. Neither Kleinfeld nor Reinhardt were ever linked personally to the fund.

In 2007, Siemens agreed to a plea deal that included a $2.5 million fine related to charges of procurement fraud in trying to obtain a radiology equipment contract at an Illinois hospital that required minority participation. Federal prosecutors charged Siemens, two Siemens employees, and a joint-venture business partner with setting up a "sham" joint venture in order to win a $49 million contract at Stroger Hospital in Cook County, IL.

wow!! a $2.1 billion slush fund!!
it must be good to be a huge healthcare conglomerate!!

Satre Stuelke, artist, medical student & wannabe radiologist: "i don't see it as a diversion from the true purpose of a ct machine to put a barbie in it, or a tv dinner in it, or a mixer in it"

i agree. it is important to experiment. however zany the experiment may seem, the possibility, howsoever remote, of finding something useful makes most experiments worth pursuing.

"Don't be too timid and squeamish about your actions. All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better." - Ralph Waldo Emerson