SPECIAL EDITION
Clinical Skills
Checklist offers suggestions for keeping up to date
Take five steps to learn about emerging technologies
By Merlina Trevino
Radiologists wishing to keep up with the latest discoveries can follow a simple checklist:
1. Read the review literature. Recent articles on functional and/or molecular imaging in the specialty journals are a good start, along with the most current and frequently updated Web sites available (see below).
2. Brush up on the fundamentals of cellular and molecular biology. Radiologists just coming out of residency may simply need to retain the information that they've already learned. More experienced radiologists who completed their training before information on molecular imaging was readily available need to self-educate themselves on these techniques, according to Dr. David Piwnica-Worms, director of the molecular imaging center at Washington University.
3. Attend national symposia such as the annual RSNA conference. More specific to molecular imaging are the annual meetings of the Society for Molecular Imaging, the Academy of Molecular Imaging, and the Society of Nuclear Medicine.
4. Read the latest articles on small animal imaging and assay development. Because few human trials have been conducted, small animal clinical studies will be especially important for understanding these techniques as they develop.
5. Look beyond radiology. By reading journals such as Nature Neuroscience or attending meetings such as the special conferences sponsored by the American Association of Cancer Research, radiologists can gain a greater understanding of the pathophysiolgic processes that serve as the basis for molecular imaging.
Web sites:
Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Molecular Imaging Research
www.mgh-cmir.org
Society for Molecular Imaging
http://molecularimaging.org
Academy of Molecular Imaging
www.ami-imaging.org
Crump Institute at the UCLA Medical Center
www.mi-central.org
American Society of Neuroradiology
www.asnr.org
Annual Meetings:
- Society for Molecular Imaging
- Society of Nuclear Medicine
- Academy of Molecular Imaging
- American Society of Neuroradiology (ASNR) Advanced Imaging Symposium
- RSNA
