The news summaries appearing in SNM SmartBrief are based on original information from multiple internet sources and are produced by SmartBrief, Inc., an independent e-mail newsletter publisher. The items below are not selected or reviewed by SNM prior to publication. Questions and comments may be directed to SmartBrief at snm@smartbrief.com.

Top Story

• Chemists win Nobel prize for finding use for jellyfish protein in biology
  Three chemists were honored with the 2008 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for discovering and developing the green fluorescent protein, an imaging agent derived from the Aequorea victoria jellyfish. GFP has enabled scientists to visualize subcellular processes and gain a better understanding of various diseases. GFP is "one of the most important tools used in contemporary bioscience," the Nobel Foundation said in its announcement, adding, "with the aid of GFP, researchers have developed ways to watch processes that were previously invisible, such as the development of nerve cells in the brain or how cancer cells spread." MIT Technology Review (10/8)

Clinical Atlas of Imaging Applications Covidien has developed an educational website that provides an engaging and informative presentation containing 26 neuroendocrine tumor case studies.

Clinical News & Research

• PET shows patients in minimally conscious state may feel pain
  Belgian scientists using oxygen-15-radiolabeled water PET and the application of noxious stimuli found that patients in a minimally conscious state exhibited more activity in the thalamus and other brain structures that make up the cortical pain matrix than patients in a persistent vegetative state. The findings are "strong evidence in favor of preserved perception of pain and hence should prompt clinicians to use painkillers even if patients cannot tell us they feel pain," a researcher said. AuntMinnie.com (free registration)/Reuters (10/8) , Medscape (free registration) (10/8)

Industry Report

• Yakima Valley Radiology licenses Zotec's management, billing suite
  Yakima Valley Radiology has licensed Zotec Partners' Electronic Billing Center software to help optimize its billing process, enhance its workflow management, improve its productivity and receive payments in a timely fashion. EBC is capable of handling the billing requirements for different imaging modalities, including MR, CT, PET/CT, US/VL and nuclear medicine. MarketWatch/Business Wire/News release (10/8)

International Developments

• British campaigner calls for better NHS services in North Wales
  Wrexham campaigner Roy Duggan is urging political leaders to put more effort into ensuring that NHS services, particularly PET scans, extend to North Wales. A health official has written Duggan, informing him of a plan to roll out PET scanners across Wales. Duggan, however, says he remains unconvinced that enough resources are being appropriated to North Wales. Evening Leader (Wrexham, Wales, U.K.) (10/8)

• IT firm iSOFT set to unveil RadCentre in the Netherlands
  Health IT specialist iSOFT will this fall introduce its RadCentre radiology information system in the Netherlands. The system, which is designed to be used in hospitals and private practices, facilitates speedy online communication with referring physicians and features specialist modules for nuclear medicine and radiotherapy. E-Health Europe (10/9)

• European group aims for e-health interoperability
  Twelve European nations are creating European Patient Smart Open Services, a pilot program similar to NHIN in the U.S., that will try to ensure interoperability of national e-health systems. The team will attempt to make health care records accessible across Europe. Healthcare IT News (10/6)

Health Policy

• Foreign firms could benefit from India's improved clinical-trial rules
  The Indian government has eliminated a rule that requires all multinational trials in the country to be one phase behind studies conducted at other sites, said Munish Mehra, managing director at Global Drug Development Experts. The move could make it easier for international drugmakers and device firms to enlist Indian sites for clinical studies. FDAnews (10/9)

Advancing Health Care

• Physicians, researchers get their own networking application
  U.S. researchers have developed a prototype networking application called Digital/Vita to help physicians and scientists locate and connect with qualified collaborators. The computer-based expertise-locator system addresses an important need in the science community for a more efficient alternative to traditional methods of finding collaborators. Diagnostic Imaging (10/8)

From SNM

• Purchase the CT Case Review from the 2008 Annual Meeting today!
  If you missed this valuable learning experience, SNM captured the individual cases online and is making them available to you now. The case review contains 100 CT cases -- 25 cases in each of four sections: head and neck, chest, abdomen and pelvis -- for review and interpretation. More information.

• View SNM's newly released Fact Sheet on Breast Cancer and Molecular Imaging
  Coinciding with the observance of Nuclear Medicine Week, Oct. 5 to 11, and National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, SNM released a new fact sheet highlighting recent developments in molecular imaging technologies that are dramatically improving the ways in which breast cancer is diagnosed and treated. More information.

SmartQuote

A man grows most tired when standing still." --Chinese proverb