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RSNA replaced its previous daily news briefing with RSNA Weekly after receiving feedback that members valued the information but wanted to reduce the number of e-mails they receive.

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2008 International Young Academics Named

The RSNA Committee on International Relations and Education (CIRE) received more than 80 applications for the 2008 Introduction to Research for International Young Academics (IRIYA) program. Selected participants attend a specially designed four-day program, held during the RSNA annual meeting, that encourages them to pursue careers in academic radiology. At its June meeting, the RSNA Board of Directors approved recommendations from CIRE to invite the following 17 candidates to participate in this year's IRIYA program:

For more information and nomination forms, go to RSNA.org/IRIYA or contact Fiona Miller at 1-630-590-7741 or CIRE@rsna.org. The deadline for nominations each year is April 15.

SNM Selects Images of the Year

An image revealing a relapse of neuroendocrine cancer including nodal involvement and another illustrating the exact extent and location of an infection in the foot have been jointly selected as the 2008 SNM Images of the Year.

The two images were selected jointly not only to demonstrate the breadth and depth of molecular imaging but also to show that imaging techniques are increasingly being used in combination to provide precise snapshots of both the molecular function and the anatomy of disease in various parts of the human body, according to SNM. The Images of the Year were announced during the SNM annual meeting in New Orleans.

"Using positron emission tomography (PET) and CT, one group of physicians was able to see that a suspicious lesion in the left ear was not confined just to that area, but also involved a lymph node—this helped them plan the subsequent treatment," said Henry N. Wagner Jr., SNM past-president and a professor at The Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, who annually selects the SNM Image of the Year from thousands presented at the annual meeting. "The image of the foot shows that single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) with MR imaging is being used just as successfully as PET/CT. In this one, the fused image shows clearly that the patient has not only a soft tissue infection but also osteomyelitis."

Vendor Summit Spurs Manufacturers to Act on Radiation Safety

Medical imaging equipment manufacturers have agreed to collaborate with radiologists, medical physicists and radiologic technologists to create standardized radiation dose estimates and vendor-sponsored technologist education opportunities.

Representatives from GE Healthcare, Philips Healthcare, Siemens Healthcare and Toshiba America Medical Systems met with radiology leaders at a vendor summit, arranged by the Alliance for Radiation Safety in Pediatric Imaging, on Aug. 20 at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. The more than 50 vendor summit participants, including the vendor representatives as well as radiologists, medical physicists, radiologic technologists and others representing the alliance, developed recommendations to:

• Encourage application specialists to teach the key messages of the alliance's Image Gently™ campaign to "child-size" radiation exposure

• Provide training for all technologists, not just managers

• Provide online materials for technologists who can't attend in-person training

• Develop uniform language to discuss technological concepts

• Provide e-mail listservs or discussion boards for additional help

• Involve medical physicists with applications trainers to help with dose reduction techniques

For more information regarding the Image Gently campaign, go to imagegently.org.

Clinical Trials Article on RadiologyInfo™ Lauded

A new article on RadiologyInfo.org describing the need for clinical trials and what they entail has drawn the praise of National Cancer Institute Director John E. Niederhuber, M.D., who has directed his media office to use the article as a model for explaining complex scientific concepts to the public.

A joint venture of RSNA and the American College of Radiology, RadiologyInfo.org is designed to answer patient questions related to many radiologic procedures and therapies. The article details the differences between observational studies and randomized, controlled trials and also describes treatment trials. Also addressed are screening trials and the questions surrounding the use of imaging tests in screening.

"The piece is exceptional in its content, clarity and common sense explanation about how to use the best science to evaluate screening tests," said Dr. Niederhuber.

Go to the homepage of RadiologyInfo.org to access the article. Click Clinical Trials and Screening on the right-hand side.

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