Cardiac MRI

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Typically when someone presents to the emergency department with acute chest pain, the patient is admitted for further workup.

Experts have long suggested that the clinical promise of 3T, with its improved signal-to-noise ratio compared with 1.5T, might eventually be expressed in cardiac imaging, one of the least approachable clinical areas of MR.

A new SPECT cardiac imaging system that uses a cadmium zinc telluride-based high-speed, high-resolution camera dramatically reduces imaging time for patients while also reducing radiation exposure.

Computer-aided detection software developed especially for coronary CT angiography could boost imagers' ability to rule out clinically relevant stenosis in patients at low to moderate risk of coronary artery disease, according to researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina.

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.

Findings from a Washington, DC, study suggest that cardiac CT performed before repeat cardiac surgical revascularization may lead to safer and more cost-effective operations. Preoperative CT was also linked to a higher likelihood of improved peri- and postoperative outcomes in these patients.

Radiologists and cardiologists who meet image interpretation requirements for cardiac CT competence certification do equally well on the test, according to results of the first Cardiac CT Board Examination. Board exam results also hint that actual clinical experience counts more toward passing scores than does medical education.