CRL docs talk the latest in health innovations

MINNEAPOLIS, October 10, 2014 – Consulting Radiologists, Ltd.’s Yasha Kadkhodayan, MD, and Trudi Parker, MD played key roles at the Abbott Northwestern Hospital Innovation Summit: Sharing Excellence on Friday, September 26th.

The Summit, held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in downtown Minneapolis, offered healthcare providers the opportunity to learn about the excellence and innovation in patient care provided at Abbott Northwestern Hospital.

The CRL physicians presented on two areas of innovation in radiology: digital breast tomosynthesis and neurointerventional therapy for brain aneurysms and acute stroke.

Trudi Parker, MD kicked off the Summit early presenting the latest innovation for detecting breast cancer. Tomosynthesis is a three-dimensional (3D) mammography breast exam system, now offered at Virginia Piper Cancer Institute at both Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis and WestHealth in Plymouth, Minn.

Dr. Parker shared that the 3-D mammogram has a higher cancer detection rate compared to the traditional mammogram. There are fewer false positives and patient callbacks with 3-D mammography. The system takes low dose images of the breast tissue in very thin layers and takes about 15-20 seconds.

Digital breast tomosynthesis benefits all women, regardless of their breast density.It is believed to be the next big thing in breast health – just in time for Breast Cancer Awareness month.

 Although digital breast tomosynthesis is not the standard of care yet, it is recommended along with an annual mammogram. It is believed to be the next big thing in breast health – just in time for Breast Cancer Awareness month. 

Later in the afternoon, Yasha Kadkhodayan, MD spoke on neurointerventional therapy for brain aneurysms and acute stroke.

Dr. Kadkhodayan, an neurointerventional radiologist for CRL at Abbott Northwestern Hospital, stated that CRL’s neurointerventional radiology (NIR) team treats more than 120 brain aneurysm patients a year at the hospital, making it one of the highest volume centers in the country.

Dr. Kadkhodayan detailed how their endovascular approach to treating aneurysms results in a lower mortality rate than the traditional approach. He also stated that by using this approach, more patients are able to return to their normal daily activities within a year of treatment.

The NIR team follows up with their patients for life; 6months, 1year, 5 years, 10 years, and every 10 years after that.

Dr. Kadkhodayan touched base on older studies as well, stating that they may have led some to believe that small aneurysms are not a cause for concern, but in our team’s experience, aneurysms as small as 5mm can and have ruptured.

In 2012, CRL’s NIR team treated close to 200 aneurysms, with 67 percent of them being smaller than 7mm in size.

The NIR team would like to encourage more physicians to seek neuroradiology consults even for the smaller aneurysms.

Dr. Kadkhodayan also spoke on how the latest in acute stroke treatment has improved at Abbott.

The rule is that the faster treatment can be initiated, the better the outcome. For every thirty minutes that pass, the chance for a good outcome is lowered by 10 percent.

Current FDA-approved therapies include clot-busting medications (t-PA) that can be administered intravenously up to 4.5 hrs, of symptom onset to break up a clot.

For patients with large clots that do not respond to IV t-PA, or for whom IV t-PA is contraindicated, there is the option of using catheter-based techniques to physically remove the clot from the brain. This involves either direct aspiration of the clot, or newer devices known as “stent-retrievers”.

Our neurointerventionalist research has shown that timing and treatment using these advanced catheter-based techniques have improved within the past few years resulting in a higher percentage of good patient outcome for those that enter in our care.

CRL is committed to quality care for every patient that is in our care. This mission continues to drive us to become better physicians and providers for the future of healthcare.