Themes emerging from breast imaging abstracts at the upcoming RSNA include the increased use of breast MRI, full-field digital mammography versus film-screen mammography, and more.

You can tell by the titles of special focus sessions planned for the 2008 RSNA that program committee chair Dr. Robert M. Quencer sees an opportunity to use the sessions to examine tough issues affecting clinical imaging practice.

Highlights of the 2008 RSNA meeting include discussions about the use of CT angiography as a noninvasive technique for diagnosing coronary artery disease and the replacement of standard optical colonoscopy with CT colonography to screen for colon cancer.

There is nothing like a little momentum to help the RSNA organizers present the latest developments in imaging research in the meeting’s scientific sessions. Everyone associated with imaging sciences from Beijing to New York City understands that presenting research in Chicago is an essential requirement for membership in this unique community.

RSNA presentations on prostate cancer staging and treatment, along with talks on radiation therapy for thoracic malignancies, have piqued the interest of cancer care specialists. But in general, oncologists and radiation oncologists conveyed some reservations about this year’s offerings in oncologic imaging and therapies.

Computer-aided detection significantly improves the sensitivity of pulmonary embolism imaging, according to a study that will be presented at the 2008 RSNA meeting. Other studies show that specially developed CAD schemes can detect flat lesions that are often missed in CT colonography.

Highlights of the 2008 RSNA meeting suggest the field of musculoskeletal radiology is moving away from purely descriptive imaging studies and more into quantitative ones. Research is advancing the understanding of tissue function and underlying anomalies as well as image-guided treatment options.

Unfettered by wires or workstations, radiologists stroll through the hospital, viewing medical images and signing off on reports. But physical limitations and security issues still pose hurdles to large-scale implementation of wireless solutions.

Medison America spotlights the Accuvix V10 this week at the RSNA meeting. The ultrasound scanner, which appeared last year as a work-in-progress, cleared the FDA in spring. It supports 3D/4D imaging, as well as spectral, color, and power Doppler.

The lack of an effective, detailed workup algorithm for positive results in multicenter lung cancer screening trials results in a lower cancer yield from invasive procedures and later diagnoses for participants, according to a new study presented at the RSNA meeting.

The palm-sized Acuson P10 ultrasound scanner appears this week as a commercial product from Siemens Medical Solutions along with the laptop-based Acuson P50. The P50 is designed for mobile environments but is outfitted with diagnostic-level capabilities, including high-quality gray-scale as well as color and Doppler imaging. Its primary applications will be in cardiology and vascular imaging.

Radiologists who wonder why diagnostic imaging has been targeted for utilization constraints need only examine the Medicare B experience from 2000 to 2005. Medicare payments for outpatient medical imaging rose 93% during that period from $6 billion to more than $11 billion. The increase reflected a shift in preference to high-cost, high-tech modalities, especially CT and MR. Utilization among cardiologists exploded.

In what is possibly the largest study in its kind, Harvard University researchers have shown that PET/CT can reliably tell whether unsuspected adrenal lesions discovered while managing oncologic patients are benign or malignant.

Vantage Titan, a wide-bore 1.5T scanner, highlights MR offerings from Toshiba America Medical Systems at the RSNA meeting this week. The work-in-progress features a bore 18% wider than any 1.5T scanner currently on the market, according to the company. A specially designed gradient system offers an amplitude of 30 and a slew rate of 130 to expand the field-of-view.

Toshiba America Medical Systems upgraded its Xario XG and Aplio ultrasound sytems with three transducers, each capable of volumetric scanning. The additions expand the range of these systems, which previously had depended on only one transducer for 4D imaging. The transducers can be applied to transvaginal/obstetric, prostate, small parts including breast, testes, and thyroid, and abdominal scanning.

Professional attendance at the 2007 RSNA meeting saw a 3% increase compared with last year. Society officers credit a large contingent of international attendees for the rising figures.

An overwhelming majority of the audience at an RSNA special focus session Thursday voted in favor of keeping up the efforts to get FDA approval for the use of contrast ultrasound for general radiology applications.

Radiologists must become more alert to the extensive range of health problems faced by patients who swallow fish bones, according to a thought-provoking poster from Spain that was one of eight international exhibits to scoop a prestigious Magna Cum Laude award in the vast RSNA 2007 poster hall on Wednesday afternoon.

A New England Journal of Medicine review article published Thursday targets the cancer risks of CT at the same time that hundreds of scientific presentations and new products at the 2007 RSNA meeting are fueling multislice CT’s continued growth.

Inspired by vertebroplasty's success, Greek researchers have shown that percutaneous cement injections can also successfully stabilize arthritic and neoplastic lesions affecting the femoral head. The technique offers pain relief and an alternative to surgery in selected patients.