Health Imaging & IT - January 2009 - (Page 14)

RSNA 2008 In Review RSNA 2008 IN-Depth @ RSNA360.HealthImaging.com Kato, MD, of the National Institute of Radiological Sciences in Chiba, Japan. Quantity of intracranial calcification is not an independent predictor of stroke Philip Homburg, MD, from Erasmus Medical Center, University Medical Center in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, said that intracranial calcification in the symptomatic artery found on a multidetector CT angiography is not independently associated with infarcts in the symptomatic hemisphere. He said that the quantity of intracranial calcification was significantly higher in the symptomatic carotid artery of patients with infarcts in the symptomatic hemisphere than in patients without infarcts in the symptomatic hemisphere. However, he noted that in a multivariate analysis after adjustment for age and sex, no independent relationship was found between the quantity of intracranial calcification in the symptomatic artery and infarcts in the symptomatic hemisphere. showed that radiologists provided a more meticulous reading of medical image results when a photo of the patient accompanied the file, Turner said. Building a proactive It support structure Bringing IT and radiology to the same page serves as the starting point for effective IT support, which can be reactive or proactive, according to Paul Nagy, PhD, from the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore. The IT department needs to build systems and processes to facilitate proactive support and system monitoring. Nagy’s department developed a web-based problem management system and uses a blog to streamline communication; all actions and resolutions are tracked and communicated to the submitter and IT staff, he added. “Proactive monitoring adds value to IT operations by extending problem management structure,” he said. CaBIG delivers federated access to imaging informatics toolkit A collection of imaging informatics tools developed by the National Cancer Institute’s caBIG (cancer Biomedical Informatics Grid) are demonstrating the potential for collecting, analyzing, integrating and disseminating information associated with cancer research and care, said Eliot L. Siegel, MD, from the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore. He reported that developers and researchers have made excellent progress over the past 12 months. The Network for Translational Research and Clinical Trial Tools Integration projects are adoption efforts that aim to show the efficacy of the tools and standards developed by the caBIG imaging workspace across the clinical continuum. “This year’s emphasis has been on practical implementations of the software for use in ongoing research projects,” Siegel said. Ü Imaging informatics Advanced viz, image transmission critical to dealing with info overload Bradley Erickson, MD, PhD, of Mayo Clinic in Rochester; Minn., Paul Chang, MD, of the University of Chicago, and Geoffrey D. Rubin, MD, of Stanford University, in Stanford, California, agree that multidetector isotropic volumetric CT and advanced MR sequences have created an explosion in the number of images to be reviewed for diagnostic interpretation. One strategy to combat image overload, Erickson suggested image alignment because it makes it easier to compare studies and sequences and reduces busy work—however, it does not reduce the amount of information. Change detection and segmentation are two other strategies. Chang detailed advanced visualization tools as well as the movement away from the hierarchical storage models for PACS toward on-demand archive. However, he noted that storage is not the problem—the fundamental problem with managing these large image data sets is the transmission to modalities and 3D workstation or to the server of the client-server environment. patient photos spur radiologist empathy, eye for detail Including a patient’s photo with imaging exam results may enable a more meticulous reading from the radiologist interpreting the images, as well as a more empathetic approach. Yehonatan N. Turner, MD, from Zedek Medical Center in Jerusalem, said it is important to counteract the anonymity that is common in radiologic exams, especially with the growth of teleradiology. He and colleagues found that after interpreting the results of CT exams, radiologists admitted feeling more empathy towards the patients after viewing their photos. Most importantly, the results Ü Breast imaging & therapy positron emission mammography could be effective in detecting breast cancer “The sensitivity of PEM [positron emission mammography] is equal to or better than breast MRI, and has fewer false-positive results,” said Kathy Schilling, MD, from the Center for Breast Care at Boca Raton Community Hospital in Florida. In the study of 208 patients, 189 malignant lesions were imaged with PEM detecting 176 for an overall sensitivity rate of 93 percent. PEM successfully detected cancer in 100 percent of fatty breasts, 93 percent of dense breasts, 85 percent of extremely dense breasts, 93 percent of women both with and without a history of hormone replacement therapy, 90 percent of pre-menopausal women and 94 percent of postmenopausal women. PEM produces just 48 images that can be correlated with a mammogram. 14 Health Imaging & IT | January 2009 HealthImaging.com http://RSNA360.HealthImaging.com http://www.HealthImaging.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Health Imaging & IT - January 2009

Health Imaging & IT - January 2009 Contents The Enterprise News Update DR Breathes New Life into Radiography Radiology in the Spotlight Educational Sessions Keynote Addresses Tech Trends on the Exhibit Floor Imaging Tools Managing Technology People & Technology Reader's Resource

Health Imaging & IT - January 2009

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