With years of slice wars behind them, vendors will argue that image quality and dose reduction are this year’s dominant issues in CT. Most of their arguments will be rooted in past developments.

Medication errors may arise less often in a busy hospital radiology department than in other inpatient services, but they can cause more serious damage when they do happen. Radiologists at Boston-based Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center came to these conclusions after evaluating 27 months of high-tech medical imaging experience. They used their data to identify the causes of errors and devise strategies to address them.

Dose reduction will be among Siemens’ key messages at the RSNA meeting this year. Driving home this message will be IRIS (iterative reconstruction in image space), a proprietary algorithm that processes raw data acquired by CTs, according to André Hartung, Siemens vice president, CT Marketing and Sales.

Imaging experts are cautioning physicians not to rush to CT scanning for H1N1 flu patients, despite studies suggesting that chest CT is better than general radiography.

A Boston University-led research team has come up with a breed of contrast agents that might open the door to the use of CT to noninvasively diagnose osteoarthritis. These agents visualize the distribution of glycosaminoglycans, the anionic sugars that account for the strength of joint cartilage.

Imaging advocates, including the American College of Cardiology, cautioned against giving too much credence to a study in the New England Journal of Medicine concluding that adults are exposed to excessive doses of radiation from medical imaging procedures that are not supported by the clinical data.

Partners Healthcare System in Boston has boosted CT contrast safety and saved money through a unique program that integrates contrast policies into the six-hospital system’s electronic medical records system, according to a new report.

Developers of CT scanners have been trying to adapt their technology to breast imaging for decades. They have drawn a step closer, thanks to the efforts of researchers at the University of California, Davis. Their efforts may lead to the ability to not only visualize but treat breast cancer.