Whole-body MRI is more sensitive but less specific than FDG-PET/CT for cancer detection, according to researchers from China and Europe. Findings suggest a complementary rather than exclusive role in oncologic imaging for both modalities and validate recent studies suggesting close follow-up since either test can miss metastases.

Computer-aided detection may lend an extra punch to the diagnosis of pulmonary embolism with multislice and dual-energy CT scanners. Studies by French and German researchers have shown it helps detect small, hard-to-spot clots lodged in the lungs’ periphery.

Radiologists are playing a central role in the aftermath of terror attacks in Israel, delegates heard on Sunday. CT is now regarded as the primary diagnostic tool in incidents involving multiple casualties, Dr. Ahuva Engel told attendees at the “ESR meets Israel” session.

Delegates caught a glimpse of the future of radiological technology at Sunday’s “ESR meets Israel” session.Israel may be relatively a small nation, with a population of just seven million, but it is making important contributions to innovation. About 900 companies are developing new pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and healthcare IT products. The majority of these businesses are relatively young and are supported by venture capital funding.

Interest in multimodality imaging shows no sign of abating. New tracers are opening up the range of clinical applications, while novel technological solutions are paving the way for yet more modality marriages, according to speakers at Sunday’s special focus session on hybrid imaging.

Days spent sitting in lecture theatres and seminar rooms, long hikes from scientific sessions to the exhibition hall with a briefcase under one arm and a weighty conference bag on the other shoulder, evenings hunched over a laptop putting the final touches to the next day’s presentation… It could be argued that attending ECR is a recipe for backache.

The number of CT scans performed in the pediatric abdomen in the U.S. is high compared with Europe, possibly because doctors fear legal action in the case of a missed pathology or disease. Rather than using CT for appendicitis, many doctors in the Netherlands still prefer to use ultrasound to visualize the swollen, fluid-filled, or normal appendix.

The controversial topic of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis drew a large crowd to a special focus session at the ECR. Delegates queued to quiz speakers about their recommendations for avoidance of the condition, ensuring a lively panel discussion.

The enhanced spatial resolution and speed afforded by 64-slice CT scanning could enable the accurate assessment of right ventricular function in patients with cardiovascular disease, according to researchers in China and the U.S.

Novel concepts and approaches are essential to speed up MRI examinations. Furthermore, pushing speed limits does not just mean doing the same things quicker -- new application areas must also be found.

Computer-aided detection and diagnosis tools were showcased at Saturday’s “ESR meets Germany” session. Speakers highlighted four key clinical areas where advances could make a real difference to diagnostic decision making.

Cardiac imaging is at a crossroads, according to next year’s ECR president. He’s not alone in holding such an opinion.

Marathon runners 50 years or older may face a higher than expected risk of sudden cardiovascular accidents. MR imaging with late gadolinium enhancement may help identify these athletes in time to keep them from potentially deadly episodes, according to German researchers.

Imaging is poised to play a key role in the advancement of 21st century science and healthcare. This will happen only if the radiology community changes its view of imaging sciences, according to Dr. Elias Zerhouni, a radiologist and director of the National Institutes of Health. And if that means researchers adopting unconventional or innovative approaches, so be it.

Correct diagnosis of tumor character and stage is fundamental to lung-cancer therapy planning, but evaluating indeterminate solitary pulmonary nodules (SPNs) continues to challenge radiologists. In addition, it is vital to determine as soon as possible whether patients are likely to respond to treatment.

Technological advances to CT and MRI allow radiologists to perform whole-body examinations in mere seconds. This has changed the way radiologists use whole-body imaging in diagnostics, according to Dr. Maximilian Reiser, director of the Institute for Clinical Radiology at the Ludwig-Maximilian University in Munich and incoming 2008 president of the European Congress of Radiology.

Technical advances in MRI have paved the way for functional imaging of the abdomen, moving beyond simple morphological evaluation of disease and in some cases proving superior to multislice CT. With quantitative imaging tools at their disposal, radiologists are rethinking what they need to visualize with MR to answer new clinical questions.

ECR attendees tested their skills at diagnosing breast disease and learned how to create clear, concise breast imaging reports at Tuesday morning’s BI-RADS training in breast imaging session.

The combined functional and morphological approach to imaging afforded by PET/CT and SPECT/CT has far-reaching technical, diagnostic, and economic advantages, according to Dr. Gerald Antoch of the department of diagnostic and interventional radiology and neuroradiology at the University Hospital Essen in Germany. He moderated Monday’s state-of-the art symposium on the use of PET/CT and SPECT/CT for cardiac and oncologic purposes.

At last year’s European Congress of Radiology, research regarding 64-slice CT angiography was focused on its feasibility. This year, feasibility is no longer an issue. Rather, a wealth of evidence is being presented attesting to the fact that coronary CTA is a powerful and useful tool to evaluate patients suspected of coronary artery disease who are at intermediate risk. It is within this niche patient group -- those who would otherwise undergo invasive catheter angiography -- that coronary CTA is finding an affordalbe home.