MRI

A novel use of MR has set the stage for neuroscientists to unravel the trillions of neural connections in the human brain and with them a fundamental understanding of brain function and dysfunction.

The RSNA is without doubt the big Kahuna of radiology medical meetings. With 60,000+ attendees and a program book that spans nearly 1000 pages in small type, the fall RSNA meeting sets the agenda for much of what goes on in radiology.

From a pivotal study that may broaden Medicare's acceptance of FDG-PET to Raman spectroscopic techniques that promise a 1000-fold improvement in sensitivity compared with fluorescence imaging, the first half of 2008 will be remembered for fruitful molecular imaging research.

Now that computer-aided detection has become part of routine clinical work for cancer screening in mammograms and is being applied in the differential diagnosis of cancer in the lung and colon, it's only a matter of time before it rates as the standard of care for diagnostic examinations in daily clinical work.

Later this year, Carestream Health will release for testing a PACS algorithm that automatically registers several data sets, synchronizing slices to allow comparison of present and prior CT and MR exams. By early next year, this capability is expected to be at the fingertips of Carestream PACS owners.

Women with uterine fibroids remain in the dark about the potential benefits of uterine artery embolization more than a decade after the development of the nonsurgical treatment. Specialists contend that both ob/gyn providers and interventional radiologists should intensify efforts to educate women with the condition about their treatment options.

Screening ultrasound paired with mammography improved breast cancer detection in high-risk women, but the combination also caused a spike in the number of false positives, according to an update to the American College of Radiology Imaging Network 6666 trial. These results may render ultrasound less attractive than MRI in this patient population.

Dr. Henry J. Wagner Jr. has selected two images, a PET/CT scan showing the early metastatic spread of tumor in a patient’s ear and a SPECT/MRI study of osteomyelitis in another patient’s foot, to exemplify the diagnostic capabilities of nuclear medicine as the 2008 Society of Nuclear Medicine Image of the Year.

One of the most intriguingly named scientific sessions at this year's ECR was Fat radiology You might think this consisted of a series of preaching-type lectures about how and why the profession has never had it so good. In fact, speakers from the Irish Republic and the U.S. focused on the implications of the growing number of obese patients for radiologists and clinicians and discussed whether more could be done to optimize imaging of this group.

Primary malignant musculoskeletal tumors are an inhomogeneous group of lesions originating from mesenchymal tissues.

A status report on nephrogenic systemic fibrosis suggests that new cases of the rare but devastating skin disease associated with exposure to gadolinium-based MRI contrast media have slowed to a trickle since the introduction of regulatory restrictions in the U.S. and Europe in 2007.

Teleradiology is playing a significant role in a major three-year international trial focused on sickle cell disease.

A little diffusion imaging goes a long way toward boosting the accuracy of whole-body MRI and matching the performance of whole-body FDG-PET/CT for M-staging of non-small cell lung cancer.

Diastematomyelia case study: A 40-year-old man with upper and lower back pain. He denied any bowel or bladder dysfunction, radiating symptoms, or motor deficits.

Interventional radiologists, like their diagnostic counterparts, remain under pressure as payers ratchet back reimbursements. But they continue to fight on the reimbursement front and see some silver linings in new government programs designed to improve the quality of care.

Necessity is not always the mother of invention. If you are Dr. Roderic Pettigrew, director of the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering, invention can germinate from any number of sources. The likelihood of its ultimate adoption increases with the help of federal funds and the guidance that comes from an interdisciplinary approach to medical research and development.

Posterior fossa anomalies detected on fetal MR imaging should be confirmed with postnatal imaging, according to a study in the June American Journal of Roentgenology. Investigators from the U.S. and Canada found significant discrepancies between fetal and postnatal posterior fossa findings on MRI.

Advanced gradients and parallel imaging, along with ergonomic features, combine to boost productivity A new 3T scanner unveiled last month by GE Healthcare delivers unprecedented speed and resolution in some of the toughest areas of the body to image. Combining advanced parallel imaging software with powerful gradients and an optical radiofrequency transmit system, the MR750 can complete high-resolution liver exams in 15 minutes, according to the company.

A casual attitude toward keeping track of gadolinium-enhanced studies may come back to haunt radiology departments that become involved in several federal lawsuits alleging a connection between cases of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis and gadolinium-based MR contrast agents.

With piles of accumulated evidence demonstrating the ability of multislice CT to diagnose coronary artery disease, researchers are expanding clinical application of the modality to the measurement of myocardial viability following infarction.

News of Sen. Edward Kennedy’s diagnosis with a malignant glioma shocked the nation. It has also raised awareness about the grim prognosis associated with this type of brain tumor. A new study conducted by the American College of Radiology’s Radiation Therapy Oncology Group could bring hope to glioma patients.

When it comes to getting respect, radiologists are apparently the Rodney Dangerfield of the medical profession.

Just as Old Faithful will gush like clockwork every hour on the hour, CT procedure volumes will grow year after year-or so I thought.

When physicist and inventor Herman Yaggi Carr, Ph.D., died, his survivors remembered him in two ways: First and foremost, as a staunch pacifist and humanist. Second, as the unsung hero of MRI.

Liver imaging is benefiting considerably from the improvement of ultrasound systems and sequences dedicated to contrast-enhanced examinations. The use of ultrasound contrast to detect and characterize focal liver lesions is now routine.

The main objective of imaging patients with symptoms suggestive of ovarian lesions is to distinguish benign findings from malignant disease. Masses can be characterized with a variety of noninvasive imaging techniques, including transabdominal and transvaginal ultrasound, CT, and MRI. Each of these modalities has its advantages and limitations.

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.

The controversial topic of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis featured prominently in this year’s European Congress of Radiology program. This scleroderma-like disorder has been linked to the administration of gadolinium-containing contrast media. Despite the growing wealth of data on incidence of the disorder, however, researchers remain unable to pin down the causal trigger.

An epileptic seizure is the external manifestation of a functional cerebral disorder that can affect 10% of the world's population. Virtually any brain abnormality can irritate vulnerable neurons and produce epileptic seizures. The nature and characteristics of the seizure depend on the part of the brain involved in the disturbance.

Perfusion-weighted MR imaging can anticipate the transformation of low-grade gliomas into malignant tumors up to a year earlier than other imaging tests, according to British researchers. MRI could help determine which patients may benefit more from aggressive treatment.