Diagnostic Imaging's Blog

When the RSNA throws the book at us, we read it all

January 1, 2009 Diagnostic Imaging. Vol. 31 No. 1 When the RSNA throws the book at us, we read it all At 1186 pages, much of it in agate (very small) type, the RSNA 2008 program book is a pretty imposing document. Few people or organizations can claim to have reviewed most of it. But the Diagnostic Imaging news team did. Every year, for 11 years running, we've divided the program book by topics and conducted a comprehensive review that is summarized and shared as part of our RSNA coverage… Continue

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Ultrasound predicts stroke from carotid morphology

January 1, 2009 Diagnostic Imaging. Vol. 31 No. 1 Ultrasound predicts stroke from carotid morphology A large Italian study suggests that ultrasound can predict the risk of stroke in mostly asymptomatic patients based on the assessment of carotid artery plaque morphology, not just the degree of stenosis. Sonographic surveillance of plaque evolution could boost stroke prevention. Based on a prospective cohort of 1655 patients who underwent ultrasound-based assessments of carotid plaque… Continue

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True value comes to digital imaging via mining of medical databases

January 1, 2009 Diagnostic Imaging. Vol. 31 No. 1 True value comes to digital imaging via mining of medical databases BY JOHN C. HAYES, EDITOR For most of the past 15 years or so, radiologists joining the digital revolution have focused on getting their images into the PACS—and out again, properly annotated with a report. For many today, that's still the primary function of a RIS and PACS. That's changing rapidly. Though still largely the province of large academic institutions, data mining… Continue

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Targeted therapies gain ground on hard-to-treat liver tumors

January 1, 2009 Diagnostic Imaging. Vol. 31 No. 1 Targeted therapies gain ground on hard-to-treat liver tumors Radioactive microspheres treat lesions but spare healthy surrounding tissue, improving patients' odds against some of the deadliest cancers BY ANDREW KENNEDY, M.D., FACRO Dr. Kennedy is co-medical director of Wake Radiology Oncology in Cary, NC. Not long ago, our approach to treating difficult metastatic tumors was to "spray and pray." We knew that chemotherapy and other traditional… Continue

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SPECT trial helps solve mystery of fibromyalgia

January 1, 2009 Diagnostic Imaging. Vol. 31 No. 1 SPECT trial helps solve mystery of fibromyalgia By Rebekah Moan Millions of adults who suffer from chronic pain may no longer need to bear the added burden of wondering if their discomfort originates from a condition called fibromyalgia rather than depression or anxiety. French researchers have used SPECT to identify brain abnormalities that present physiological evidence of fibromyalgia. …

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South Carolina radiologist stands against 'Rad Scare'

January 1, 2009 Diagnostic Imaging. Vol. 31 No. 1 South Carolina radiologist stands against 'Rad Scare' He encourages cardiac imagers to balance clinical risks and benefits of ionizing radiation By H.A. Abella Radiologists were urged at the RSNA meeting to combat distorted reports about cardiac CT radiation exposure that raise unreasonable public anxiety about the risk of medical imaging. Dr. Joseph Schoepf, a professor of radiology at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston,… Continue

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Some breast cancers may regress spontaneously

January 1, 2009 Diagnostic Imaging. Vol. 31 No. 1 Some breast cancers may regress spontaneously Unexpected findings from a study of Norwegian women who have and have not received routine biennial screening mammography suggest some breast cancers may spontaneously regress. Dr. Per-Henrik Zahl, a senior statistician at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health in Oslo, and colleagues compared cumulative breast cancer incidence in agematched cohorts of women before and after the initiation of… Continue

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Real-time elasticity findings improve breast specificity

January 1, 2009 Diagnostic Imaging. Vol. 31 No. 1 Real-time elasticity findings improve breast specificity User-friendly elastography emerges as valuable adjunct technique to B-mode imaging for better differentiation of solid masses BY ANNE TARDIVON, M.D. Dr. Tardivon is a radiologist in the breast imaging section at the Institut Curie in Paris. Ultrasound has long been an efficient and useful adjunct technique for breast imaging. It is the first modality to be proposed in some situations: if a… Continue

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Radiation dose reduction themes color RSNA 2008

January 1, 2009 Diagnostic Imaging. Vol. 31 No. 1 Radiation dose reduction themes color RSNA 2008 Improved imaging capabilities and radiologist awareness promise to reduce patient exposure By H.A. Abella Radiation dose reduction was a dominant theme at the 2008 RSNA scientific assembly. If one point was clear to the nearly 60,000 people attending the meeting, it was that radiology has reasserted its authority over the use of ionizing radiation in diagnostic imaging. …

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Rads lose procedure volume to cardiologists, surgeons

January 1, 2009 Diagnostic Imaging. Vol. 31 No. 1 Rads lose procedure volume to cardiologists, surgeons By Donna Domino Editor's note: In the original version of this article there were some errors in the reporting of information made during a presentation at the 2008 RSNA meeting by Dr. David Levin, professor and chair emeritus of the radiology department at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia. A corrected version follows. As percutaneous transluminal angioplasty and stent… Continue

Added by Diagnostic Imaging on January 1, 2009 at 11:00am — No Comments

Radiation dose reduction themes color RSNA 2008

January 1, 2009 Diagnostic Imaging. Vol. 31 No. 1 Radiation dose reduction themes color RSNA 2008 Improved imaging capabilities and radiologist awareness promise to reduce patient exposure By H.A. Abella Radiation dose reduction was a dominant theme at the 2008 RSNA scientific assembly. If one point was clear to the nearly 60,000 people attending the meeting, it was that radiology has reasserted its authority over the use of ionizing radiation in diagnostic imaging. …

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Added by Diagnostic Imaging on January 1, 2009 at 11:00am — No Comments

Occult infarction presages major event

January 1, 2009 Diagnostic Imaging. Vol. 31 No. 1 Occult infarction presages major event Enhanced MR protocol helps stratify patients By James Brice Dr. Stephan Miller and colleagues at the University of Tübingen in Germany have discovered that silent myocardial infarction raises the likelihood of a future major cardiac event for 14% of patients with symptomatic peripheral vascular disease evaluated with MRA. They made the finding after developing a new MR protocol that combined… Continue