News From Around the Web
> A robotic intubation prototype developed by researchers at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Israel "crawls to the lungs in difficult situations" using infrared sources to navigate through lungs. The device was successfully tested on cadavers and clinical trials will begin next year, according to an announcement in Alpha Galileo. Article
Medical Imaging News
> Five physicians who are shareholders in Radiology Imaging Consultants in Harvey, Ill., are suing the practice, claiming that they are being forced out of the business in order to increase the share value for the remaining practice shareholders when the practice is sold. The complaint was filed July 30 in Cook County Circuit Court, Crain's Chicago Business reported. The prospective buyer is Manhattan Beach, Calif.-based Radiology Partners, Inc., which is looking to purchase practices after receiving $55 million in funding from private equity firm New Enterprise Associates, Inc. Article
> Radiology residents in trauma centers--particularly those in the third or fourth year of their training--have fairly low discrepancy rates according to a study published online in Emergency Radiology. In the multi-year study--conducted by Jennifer Tomich, M.D., and colleagues at Eastern Virginia Medical School in Norfolk, Va.--the researchers found that resident miss rates ranged from 0.23 to 0.42 percent, which, they wrote, was at the lower end of discrepancies reported in previous research. Article
Health Payer News
> In an effort to woo the coveted Hispanic consumer market, WellPoint and some Blue Cross Blue Shield plans will be Univision's exclusive health insurance sponsors of the TV network's health initiative Salud Es Vida (Health is Life), reported Kaiser Health News. Roughly 10 million Hispanics could be eligible for coverage under the reform law. Since many of these consumers are young, they represent a key population for insurers--inexpensive and healthy. However, a recent survey concluded that more than 50 percent of Hispanics have little or no understanding of the law, the Los Angeles Times reported. Article
> Almost 70 percent of uninsured consumers with a pre-existing condition haven't yet decided whether they will buy coverage when the health insurance exchanges open in October, according to a survey from InsuranceQuotes.com, a Web-based insurance quote service. Article
And Finally… To be fair, he thought he was signing the museum's guest book. Article