IT products ready for market and ones nearing commercial release punctuated the Merge Healthcare booth at the RSNA meeting.

Unbridled joy took hold in the normally subdued poster hall on Wednesday afternoon when the first purple summa cum laude rosette given by the RSNA since 1998 was bestowed upon an elated team of IT specialists.

Results of a study by Greek researchers suggest that percutaneous disc decompression, a newly developed outpatient procedure for herniated vertebral discs, has better long-term effects than conservative therapy. They released findings Wednesday at the 2009 RSNA meeting.

The brains of 16 retired National Football League players with known cognitive impairment show signs of damaging atrophy, according to advanced MRI studies described Wednesday at the 2009 RSNA annual meeting.

McKesson is showcasing its latest image management technology on the RSNA exhibit floor, a workflow enhancement called Variable Thickness Regional Intensity Projection (VTRIP), which promises more efficient reading of CT and MR studies.

Increasing CT scanning speeds and image resolution combined with automated injection and optimized protocols tailored to specific patient features could reduce iodinated contrast media needed for coronary CT angiography by at least half, according to several papers presented at the 2009 RSNA meeting.

Targeted breast ultrasound is a safe and effective alternative to biopsies, and it can be used by radiologists to alleviate anxiety that patients may have about breast cancer screening, according to two studies presented Wednesday at the 2009 RSNA meeting.

An MR contrast agent for blood pool imaging once known as Vasovist reappeared at RSNA 2009 under the new moniker Ablavar.

Thinking Systems is showcasing its upgraded ThinkingPACS and ThinkingRIS at RSNA 2009, focusing on enhancements that support multimodality processing, especially for molecular imaging.

At RSNA 2009, Agfa HealthCare executives highlighted opportunities that could come from a pending deal to acquire a German developer and producer of generic contrast media.

Experts continue to lambast recent recommendations from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force to cut breast cancer screening from annual to biennial exams and to limit the test to women ages 50 to 74. The experts are primarily concerned with the task force’s ability to influence policy, and thus they continue to assert there are no data to support the recommendations.

A high-field, wide-bore MR scanner from GE Healthcare is making its first appearance at an RSNA meeting. The system, called Optima MR450w, was officially unveiled some three months ago, but RSNA 2009 is its first major trade show.

A preliminary study suggests that CTA can play the role cardiac MRI has been playing for detecting and quantifying myocardial infarction to estimate the potential success of coronary bypass graft surgery.

In an ironic twist for radiology, effective imaging of skin cancers has just been accomplished by none other than the imaging modality in closest contact with the skin: ultrasound.