Submit Abstracts for RSNA 2010
Now is the time to submit your abstract to be considered for presentation at RSNA 2010. The submission deadline is 12:00 p.m. Central Time on April 15, 2010. Abstracts are required for scientific presentations, applied science exhibits, educational exhibits and quality storyboards.
To submit an abstract online, go to RSNA.org/abstracts.
More information about RSNA 2010, including registration and course enrollment dates, is available at RSNA2010.RSNA.org.
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Leading the News
Gaming Tech Spurs Development of Hyperfast Medical Imaging Systems
Northeastern University and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) have been awarded a $1.3 million National Science Foundation grant to develop a parallel software platform, based on technology used in the video game industry, to improve processing time for digital medical imaging. Northeastern, which is working with several other schools, expects to deliver software to medical vendors by the end of the year. MGH has already shown that parallel technology can reduce the time needed to read a 3D-radiological breast image from hours to a few seconds, allowing patients to get the results of their tests significantly faster. The software libraries developed by the project will allow radiologists to more quickly assess tissue images, which will allow clinicians to perform image-guided biopsies earlier than can be done now. Northeastern Professor Dave Kaeli is developing the software on systems running Graphics Processing Units, which are very high-performance processors with as many as 200 cores on a single chip. The team is also using proprietary development software called CUDA, from GPU manufacturer Nvidia, and the open source language OpenCL, originally developed by Apple. MGH's Department of Radiology director of the laboratory for medical imaging and computation, Homer Pien, says the parallel processing software will allow for the use of a radiological imaging technique called iterative reconstruction, which can complete x-ray tracing in the same way computer graphics in the gaming industry use light ray tracing to generate an image by tracing the path of light. Iterative reconstruction can create a very high degree of realism, but is CPU intensive, so it requires the new parallel processing technology.
From "Gaming Tech Spurs Development of Hyperfast Medical Imaging Systems"
Computerworld (01/27/10) Mearian, Lucas
Research
CT Scans Reduce Unnecessary Appendectomies in Women
Preoperative CT may reduce unnecessary surgeries in women of reproductive age with acute appendicitis, according to a study published in the February 2010 issue of Radiology. The study's authors found that the percentage of patients who had preoperative CT increased from 18.5 percent in 1998 to 93.2 percent in 2007. Over this 10-year period, the increase in CT use was associated with a decrease in negative appendectomy rates in women age 45 years and younger, from 42.9 percent in 1998 to 7.1 percent in 2007. The transition from single-detector CT to multidetector CT and other advances in CT technology were also correlated with a reduction in false-positive diagnoses in women in this age group. Researchers believe that this reduction is likely due to improvements in diagnosis capabilities provided by CT. Prior to the availability of this technology, appendicitis diagnoses were often inconclusive, forcing surgeons to perform preventative surgical procedures.
From "Making the Diagnosis of Acute Appendicitis: Do More Preoperative CT Scans Mean Fewer Negative Appendectomies? A 10-year Study"
Radiology (02/01/10) Vol. 254, No. 2, P. 460; Coursey, Courtney A.; Nelson, Rendon C.; Patel, Mayur B.; et al.
DW MRI Shown to Be as Accurate as CE MRI in Monitoring Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy
A 398-patient study published in the February 2010 issue of Radiology showed that diffusion-weighted (DW) MRI is at least as accurate as contrast-enhanced (CE) MRI for monitoring neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Patients participating in the study underwent DW MRI and CE MRI of the breast. Seventy-two patients with 74 malignant lesions were treated using neoadjuvant chemotherapy and were then examined for residual disease. The accuracy for depicting residual tumor was 96 percent for DW MRI compared with an accuracy of 89 percent for CE MRI. There was no significant difference in prechemotherapy apparent diffusion coefficients between pathologic complete response cases and those with residual disease.
From "Identification of Residual Breast Carcinoma Following Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy..."
Radiology (02/01/10) Vol. 254, No. 2, P. 357; Woodhams, Reiko; Kakita, Satoko; Hata, Hirofumi; et al.
Sonographic Findings Show Shorter Distance Between Occipital Horn and Occipital Bone in Fetuses With MMC
Sonographic findings show that the occipital horn both appears to be and measures closer to the occipital bone in fetuses with myelomeningocele (MMC) when compared to healthy fetuses, recent research has found. Researchers searched for all cases in which fetal MMC was sonographically detected between 1999 and 2009. Random controls from normal pregnancies were also identified. A total of 91 fetuses with MMC were identified. Twenty-six fetuses had a normal ventricle size. The comparison group of 39 healthy fetuses all had normal ventricles. After adjusting for gestational age, statistical analysis showed that fetuses with MMC had significantly shorter measured distances from the posterior edge of the occipital horn to the occipital bone than healthy fetuses.
From "Supratentorial Abnormalities in the Chiari II Malformation, IV"
Journal of Ultrasound in Medicine (02/01/10) Vol. 29, No. 2, P. 243; Filly, Marcus R.; Filly, Roy A.; Barkovich, A. James; et al.
Technology
IBM, Mayo Partner on Aneurysm Diagnostics
IBM and the Mayo Clinic are helping radiologists detect potentially deadly or paralyzing brain aneurysms in patients faster and more accurately through advanced medical imaging, workflow software, and private cloud computing. The new brain aneurysm detection system combines advanced imaging scans with analytics technology developed by Mayo and IBM. The analytics use computer algorithms to transform what would normally be 2D images into slices of 3D images that can be analyzed for indications of widening blood vessels, according to Bill Rapp, IBM's chief technology officer of healthcare and life sciences and co-director of the IBM medical imaging informatics innovation center at Mayo's Rochester, Minn., campus. The Mayo Clinic estimates that about one in 50 Americans has an unruptured brain aneurysm, and 40 percent of patients with aneurysms that rupture die. Using computer analytics and images from non-invasive magnetic resonance angiography tests can help Mayo doctors detect aneurysms without relying on invasive procedures, like injecting dye into patients' brains, which increases neurological risks. By scanning images from hundreds of patients, algorithms were "trained" to detect possible aneurysms, according to Rapp. Suspected aneurysms are highlighted by a box that appears in the brain scan, allowing radiologists to inspect suspicious areas more closely.
From "IBM, Mayo Partner on Aneurysm Diagnostics"
InformationWeek (01/25/10) McGee, Marianne Kolbasuk
Medical-Legal Issues
NIH Policy Urges CT Makers to Track Radiation Dose
The National Institutes of Health plans to require that all makers of CT and other radiation-producing scanners used at its clinics have software that tracks patients' radiation doses and logs them into an electronic medical record. The new policy arises from patient concerns that repeated exposure to radiation from diagnostic tests may raise the risk of cancer. The policy was announced in the February issue of the Journal of the American College of Radiology. It will only affect makers of scanners that provide equipment to NIH.
From "NIH Policy Urges CT Makers to Track Radiation Dose"
Reuters (02/01/10) Zargham, Mohammad
CMS Approves Organizations to Accredit Suppliers of the Technical Component of Advanced Diagnostic Imaging Services
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has approved three national accreditation organizations to accredit suppliers seeking to furnish the technical component (TC) of advanced diagnostic imaging services. Approved organizations include the Joint Commission, the American College of Radiology, and the Intersocietal Accreditation Commission. Under the Medicare Improvements for Patients and Providers Act of 2008, the Secretary of Health and Human Services is required to designate organizations to accredit suppliers of the TC component of advanced diagnostic imaging services. Suppliers, including physicians, non-physician practitioners, and physician and non-physician organizations, of the TC of advanced diagnostic imaging services receiving payment under CMS programs must become accredited by one of the aforementioned approved organizations by Jan. 1, 2012.
From "Medicare Program: Approval of Independent Accrediting Organizations to Participate in the Advanced Diagnostic Imaging Supplier Accreditation Program"
Federal Register (01/26/10) Vol. 75, No. 16, P. 4088
Experts See Big Implications for Radiology in Federal Clinical Decision Support Efforts
Most of the talk surrounding changes in healthcare regarding radiology focuses on Medicare reimbursement levels, while little discussion has taken place on clinical decision support. Computer physician order entry/clinical decision support (CPOE DS) helps primary care physicians determine what tests to order for patients, and circumvents the need for radiology benefit managers, according to Diagnostic Imaging. Prior authorization for an exam can be given in real time through CPOE DS, because the tool is based on appropriateness criteria through an electronic rating instrument. Physicians are guided to the proper tests through a series of questions they answer electronically. The healthcare bill being discussed by Congress does not mention radiology benefit managers, despite their inclusion in the president's budget recommendations. CPOE DS matches President Obama's health information technology goals, promotes safety and quality, and documents appropriateness of care, according to Liz Quam, the executive director of the Quality Institute at the Center for Diagnostic Imaging.
From "Experts See Big Implications for Radiology in Federal Clinical Decision Support Efforts"
Diagnostic Imaging (01/25/10) Moan, Rebekah
Clinical Practice
Computer-assisted Detection of Pulmonary Emboli Can Enhance Severity Assessment and Risk Stratification in Acute Pulmonary Embolism
Radiologists may benefit from consensus with computer-assisted detection (CAD) data that improves acute pulmonary embolism (PE) scores, new research suggests. Four observers obtained CT angiographic scans of 58 PE-positive patients. These scans were analyzed for PE severity using the Mastora index, and by CAD. A total of 343 out of 1,118 emboli within given arterial segments were detected by CAD, as well as a total of 155 out of 218 polysegmental emboli.
From "Does Computer-assisted Detection of Pulmonary Emboli Enhance Severity Assessment and Risk Stratification in Acute Pulmonary Embolism?"
Clinical Radiology (02/10) Vol. 65, No. 2, P. 137; Engelke, C.; Schmidt, S.; Auer, F.
Industry News
U.S. Picks GE to Develop Medical Isotopes
The U.S. Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration has awarded General Electric's Hitachi Nuclear Energy unit $4.5 million to develop radioisotopes using a new technology that does not need highly enriched uranium. A global shortage of isotopes, caused by the unplanned temporary shutdown of a nuclear reactor in Canada last May, has highlighted the need for a domestic supply of medical isotopes. The Canadian reactor is one of only six worldwide to produce molybdenum-99 (MO-99), the most commonly used medical isotope. None of the reactors that produce MO-99 are located in the United States. GE notes that its new technology does not require the fissioning on highly enriched uranium (HEU), and can be used with existing nuclear reactors. The technology could meet at least half of the projected demand for MO-99, according to GE. Technetium-99, a radioactive byproduct of MO-99, is used in more than 14 million nuclear medicine procedures in the United States every year.
From "U.S. Picks GE to Develop Medical Isotopes"
Reuters (01/25/10) Steenhuysen, Julie; Dickson, Gunna
RSNA Weekly is a briefing of the latest radiology-related news selected from hundreds of sources by the editors of Information, Inc. While care is taken to use good sources, inaccuracies in source material are not the responsibility of RSNA or Information, Inc.
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