Strategy and tactics distinguish Philips in CT. Not long ago, the company was a nonplayer in this modality, reliant on suppliers to obtain scanners to sell under the Philips label. That changed in 2002 with the acquisition of Marconi Medical Systems, which transformed Philips into a CT powerhouse. At last year's RSNA meeting, the company leaped beyond the expected 32-slice configuration to offer a 40-slice array rotating at 0.42 second and covering most body organs without motion artifact.

Toshiba's strength in CT is an outgrowth of its development of sensor technologies in key modalities. Efforts in CT have produced a 64-slice detector, which will be showcased at the RSNA meeting as part of a continuum of engineering that already extends to a 256-slice detector prototype. The company will display the prototype as evidence of its technological prowess.

A vendor-neutral method for integrating case input from any PACS workstation into a teaching file system was presented at the RSNA conference."This method requires no vendor cooperation, effort, or software modification," said Dr. David Avrin, of the

No longer separate entities, the technologies of imaging and informatics are irreversibly linked. It is impossible for even the most modality-focused attendee who enters the technical exhibitions in McCormick Place not to recognize this. "Integrated

Taiwanese researchers have found that contrasted-enhanced multidetector CT angiography is a perfect match for conventional angiography in differentiating between total and near-total occlusive disease and mapping the architectural landmarks of the

Volumetric visualization with multidetector-row CT helps find and characterize gastric cancer. It should also be used for the preoperative staging of these malignancies, according to studies presented Monday morning.

A 10-year study has determined that annual CT scans could prevent as many as half of lung cancer deaths. Annual screening detects early-stage lung cancers, which have a curability rate of 80% to 90%.

A new standard proposed by a consortium of researchers and manufacturers at the RSNA meeting would make coronary artery calcium (CAC) screening with CT safer and more useful in assessing early heart disease.

Buoyed by the completion of the historic effort to decode the human genome, Dr. Elias Zerhouni, the first radiologist director of the National Institutes of Health, has laid out an ambitious plan to revolutionize medicine.

MR imaging of children can reveal risk factors for lower back pain before puberty, according to Scottish researchers.

Deus Technologies has adapted its RapidScreen computer-aided detection system to find early signs of severe acute respiratory syndrome. Keying off its film-based CAD system for detecting lung lesions, Deus developed an automated method for identifying subtle initial SARS abnormalities that can be easily overlooked on chest x-rays.

Diagnosing nasal lesions on the basis of CT and MR appearance alone can be difficult because many such lesions have nonspecific imaging characteristics. To resolve this problem, a group of radiologists led by Dr. Alla Godelman of Long Island College Hospital in Brooklyn, NY, have devised 10 principles of nasal imaging.

Computer-aided detection, initially restricted to mammography, is entering the functional imaging arena. CTI Molecular Imaging is showcasing CAD technology during the RSNA meeting on its Reveal PET/CT scanners, as well as the Reveal MVS PET/CT workstation. Under a recently inked exclusive agreement with R2 Technology, CTI has begun offering the first commercially available CAD system for multidetector CT examinations of the chest.

As Medicare passes through the congressional mill, the focus often turns to radiologists and the increasing cost of medical imaging. A recent report by Blue Cross/Blue Shield stated that radiologists are driving up healthcare costs. But Philadelphia researchers on Monday concluded that it is cardiologists -- not radiologists -- who are responsible for sharp hikes in dollars spent for medical imaging.

The first day of the RSNA meeting is always the best, perhaps because I have the most energy and enthusiasm. Ten years ago I didn't get tired until Thursday. Now I'm tired on Monday. I would like to blame it on changes in the meeting, but I have the same problem during a normal work week at home.

The Biliary Wallstent from Boston Scientific has been used for a decade for palliation of malignant obstructive jaundice. Although the newer Luminexx from German vendor Angiomed offers several theoretical advantages, researchers in the U.K. have found that those advantages do not hold up under close scrutiny.

Virtual colonoscopy is gaining in clinical stature as a viable screening tool for colon cancer, with high sensitivity and specificity in detecting colonic polyps. But proper technique and good patient preparation are key to success, according to research presented Monday.

A vendor-neutral method for integrating case input from any PACS workstation into a teaching file system was presented during a scientific session on Monday."This method requires no vendor cooperation, effort, or software modification," said Dr. David Avrin, of the department of radiology informatics at the University of Utah.

Radiologists who are most experienced at reading virtual colonoscopy studies may not deliver the most accurate results, according to a pilot study presented Monday.

Running the numbers on clinical- and cost-effectiveness may appear to drain the excitement out of emergency room imaging. But simple, valid protocols that define how to apply diagnostic imaging to trauma cases are essential to obtaining the biggest clinical benefit from expensive CT technology, Dr. C. Craige Blackmore and Dr. M.G. Myriam Hunink said in their opening-session lectures on Sunday.