Effective immediately, the Society for Computer Applications in Radiology (SCAR) is changing its name to the Society for Imaging Informatics in Medicine (SIIM). The society also announced today that it will relocate to a new headquarters in Leesburg, VA, this summer.

The typical CT exam exposes patients to the equivalent of between 100 and 250 chest x-rays. This fact escapes most physicians, including radiologists, according to Dianna D. Cody, Ph.D., chief of radiologic physics at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center.

Radiology is no neophyte when it comes to information technology. Viewing, managing, and storing digital images has made IT a necessity for the specialty, one of the earliest adopters of data management tools. But lately, radiology has lost ground to other specialties that have successfully implemented image management techniques pioneered by radiology PACS. On a parallel track, the electronic health record has also picked up speed.

The theme of the Society for Computer Applications in Radiology 2006 meeting is "Imaging Informatics in Focus." The meeting promises to highlight a broad range of imaging topics of interest to physicians, scientists, technologists, IT specialists, and administrators representing radiology as well as other clinical specialties.