RSNA News Survey Indicates Loyal Readership
Two out of three RSNA members read RSNA News on a regular basis.
A reader survey, conducted between January and March 2008, indicated that 41 percent of respondents read RSNA News monthly, while another 26 percent said they "almost always" read RSNA News. That compares to 29 percent and 30 percent in 2005.
Feature articles and highlights from RSNA's scholarly journals remain the most frequently read sections of the magazine, along with news about Radiology studies featured as press releases and annual meeting news. The percentage of respondents rating the appearance, readability, writing and content quality and article variety as "excellent" or "very good" increased over previous surveys in 2005 and 2001.
The RSNA News Editorial Board will use results of the survey to inform future enhancements to the magazine's print and online editions.
RadiologyInfo™ Contest Seeks Submissions
Residents, fellows and physics and medical students are invited to submit images or video clips for placement on RadiologyInfo.org, the RSNA-American College of Radiology (ACR) public information Web site. RadiologyInfo.org provides information on nearly 100 diagnostic, interventional, nuclear medicine and radiation oncology exams and procedures.
Entrants should first determine the specific page on RadiologyInfo.org where the image or video clip belongs. Members of the RSNA-ACR Public Information Web Site Committee will review submissions for acceptance and designate some as "outstanding." All contributors of accepted submissions will be recognized on RadiologyInfo.org. Each month, a randomly selected contributor of an "outstanding" submission will receive a $100 Amazon gift card.
For more details and to enter, go to RadiologyInfo.org/contest_upload.
RSNA Ranked Among Largest Trade Shows
The RSNA annual meeting was ranked the 33rd largest tradeshow of 2007 in a list released by the publication Tradeshow Week, up from number 38 in 2006 and the highest-ever ranking for RSNA.
Tradeshows were ranked by net square feet of exhibit space. RSNA boasted 535,300 net square feet (49,749 square meters) at RSNA 2007, an RSNA record. RSNA is the largest healthcare-related meeting on the Tradeshow Week list. The second largest healthcare-related meeting is that of the Healthcare Information & Management Systems Society (HIMSS), at 371,300 square feet.
Topping the list was International CES®, the consumer technology tradeshow sponsored by the Consumer Electronics Association, with 1.8 million square feet of exhibit space..
Online Buyers Guide Now Available
RSNA has launched the RSNA Buyers Guide, an online directory of hundreds of companies providing radiology-related products and
services. Access the Buyers Guide via the link on the righthand side of the RSNA.org homepage or directly at www.rsnabuyersguide.com.
The guide, envisioned as an invaluable resource for RSNA members and others in radiology, is searchable by keyword and searches can be narrowed by state, city and ZIP code.
NEMA Publishes Standards for Determining SNR in MR
The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) has published MS 1-2008, Determination of Signal-to-Noise Ratio (SNR) in Diagnostic Magnetic Resonance Imaging. The publication was produced by the MR section of the Medical Imaging and Technology Alliance (MITA), a division of NEMA.
MS 1 is part of a series of test standards developed by the medical diagnostic imaging industry to measure performance parameters governing image quality of MR imaging systems. MS 1 describes four methods to measure image SNR and is intended for use by MR imaging manufacturers, manufacturers of accessory equipment and MR imaging users. MR imaging standards pertaining to SNR and uniformity measurements have been restructured to consider coil geometry.
An electronic copy of NEMA MS 1-2008 may be downloaded at no charge, or a hard copy may be purchased for $45, at www.nema.org/stds/ms1.cfm.
Status of Structured Radiology Reporting Examined
Representatives from more than 60 radiologic institutions and societies gathered June 17–18 at RSNA headquarters in Oak Brook, Ill., to propose a standard format for structured radiology reports.
"Our goal is to create an online library of best practice report templates," Curtis P. Langlotz, M.D., Ph.D., chair of the Structured Reporting Subcommittee of the RSNA Radiology Informatics Committee, told the group. "They should be based on RadLex® and other standard terminologies and the tools for generating the reports should work with text templates as well as speech recognition.
We should always have a way for radiologists to include their own forms of expression," Dr. Langlotz added.
After discussing issues surrounding structured reporting and studying examples of standard reporting efforts by other medical specialties, attendees then divided into smaller groups to identify the essential elements of a clinical radiology report. Also addressed were the operational needs that structured reporting should meet and technical questions of how templates will store and communicate the information.
A white paper generated at the conclusion of the workshops will guide RSNA's plan to establish a universal approach to structured reporting in radiology.
