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Diagnostic Imaging's Weekly Scan: November 28-December 3

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Catch up on the top radiology content of the past week.

Subcategory indications for asymptomatic screening and diagnostic exams, expanded acquisition parameters, a new section for lymph node reporting and new Category 4 subdivisions are some of the proposed changes that may be coming down the pike for breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) updates to the Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS).

In a recent lecture at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) conference, Wendy DeMartini, MD, professor and chief of the Breast Imaging Division in the Department of Radiology at the Stanford University School of Medicine, discussed a variety of proposed, preliminary updates to BI-RADS for breast MRI reporting. Here are a few takeaways.

1. Reporting of new cross-modality structured clinical indications and optional subcategory indications.

 When performing asymptomatic screening, subcategory indications could include elevated breast cancer risk, dense breasts or assessment of patients who have completed breast cancer treatment, according to Dr. DeMartini. For diagnostic workup with breast MRI, subcategory indications could include clinical findings, imaging findings, Category 3 follow-up, biopsy follow-up or implant assessment.

“There are many benefits to this across modalities. … It provides much greater clarity for the reason you are doing an examination for your patients, providers, and partners. (It also) allows separate audits by these different indications which have very different performance outcomes,” noted Dr. DeMartini. “Certainly, that is important for us (in performing) breast MRI where in the United States, we have only one code for breast MRI. There is no separate screening versus diagnostic (breast) MRI code.”

2. Revised acquisition parameters include descriptions of standard full protocol contrast-enhanced breast MRI with a least two post-contrast series, and abbreviated contrast-enhanced breast MRI, which is usually performed in less than 10 minutes and includes at least one post-contrast series.

 Dr. DeMartini also noted there is discussion of “faster” hybrid techniques with early high temporal series, also referred to as “ultra-fast imaging”.

3. The expanded acquisition parameters also include discussion of diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) as a complement to dynamic contrast-enhanced (DCE) MRI for further characterization of findings seen with DCE.

 Dr. DeMartini noted there are no current plans to introduce BI-RADS reporting of DWI at this time but noted an international consensus statement from the European Society of Breast Imaging (EUSOBI) that provides some structure for reporting DWI.

4. Removal of the “focus” finding type from the BI-RADS lexicon. 

Dr. DeMartini noted these tiny marks of enhancement generally do not have clinical significance and are typically part of the background or other benign enhancement of the breast.

“With modern breast MRI techniques, we should be able to characterize findings of less than or equal to 5 mm as a small mass that meets criteria for a mass … or focal non-mass enhancement,” maintained Dr. Demartini.

5. Introduction of T2 signal intensity as a descriptor for masses.

 Dr. DeMartini noted that both benign and malignant enhancing masses can be T2 hyperintense. She added that a T2 hyperintense mass that is oval and circumscribed with dark internal septations or homogeneous internal enhancement has a very low probability of malignancy at less than 2 percent. Dr. DeMartini said radiologists should characterize T2 masses as hyperintense or not hyperintense. She said hyperintense masses are uniformly bright and as bright as a normal-appearing lymph node.

6. Addition of new section for lymph node reporting.

 Specifically, for breast MRI, one should note whether intramammary, axillary and internal mammary lymph nodes are normal or abnormal appearing, according to Dr. DeMartini. Based on the current evidence, Dr. DeMartini said abnormal-appearing axillary lymph nodes have subjectively asymmetric morphological features in comparison to ipsilateral or contralateral nodes, particularly when nodes are ipsilateral to current or prior breast cancer. She emphasized there is currently no quantitative threshold on breast MRI for asymmetric cortical thickening. Dr. DeMartini also added that asymmetric rounding or the absence of hila is not a sole criterion for abnormal axillary lymph nodes as this can be the case for many small normal lymph nodes.

7. Clarifying the use of BI-RADS Category 3 for breast MRI.

 While acknowledging multiple studies that show BI-RADS Category 3 “can be employed with malignancy rates less than or equal to 2 percent,” Dr. DeMartini said there is a lack of evidence on BI-RADS Category 3 for breast MRI in comparison to the evidence for mammography and ultrasound. Suggesting that Category 3 may be overutilized for breast MRI findings, Dr. DeMartini noted a goal of reserving Category 3 for less than 5 percent of examinations and urged caution in regard to the use of Category 3 for non-baseline examinations.

“There are some data indicating that frequencies of malignancies are higher for things assessed as Category 3 if breast MRI is not the baseline examination,” explained Dr. Demartini.

Dr. DeMartini noted there is sufficient data to use Category 3 to describe masses that are oval, circumscribed, have homogeneous internal enhancement or dark internal septations, are T2 hyperintense, and not new or increasing in size.

8. Addition of BI-RADS Category 4 subdivisions 4A-4C.

 The proposed preliminary changes would include: Category 4A lesions with a 2.5 percent likelihood of malignancy; Category 4B lesions with a 27.6 percent likelihood of malignancy, and Category 4C lesions with an 83.3 percent likelihood of malignancy. Dr. DeMartini added that this risk stratification falls in line with similar BI-RADS Category 4 subcategories for mammography and ultrasound imaging. She noted the subcategories offer "potential benefits for more meaningful practice audits for rad-path correlation and for the setting of patient/provider expectations."

1. Baltzer P, Mann RM, Iima M, et al. Diffusion-weighted imaging of the breast - a consensus and mission statement from the EUSOBI International Breast Diffusion-Weighted Imaging working group. 

2. Edmonds CE, Lamb LR, Mercaldo SF, Sippo DA, Burk KS, Lehman CD. Frequency and cancer yield of BI-RADS Category 3 lesions detected at high-risk screening breast MRI. 

Articles

In a recent lecture at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) conference, Wendy DeMartini, MD, discussed a variety of preliminary proposed changes to the Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System (BI-RADS) for breast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examinations.

What BI-RADS Changes Are on the Way for Breast MRI Reporting?

Compared with prostate-specific antigen (PSA)-based screening for prostate cancer, the use of biparametric prostate magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) could potentially reduce unnecessary biopsies without increasing the risk of underdiagnosis, according to a study presented at the 

Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) 2022 Annual Meeting

“MRI-based screening showed lower proportions of screening-positive cases, lower false positive rates, and higher PPVs [positive predictive values] than those of PSA-based screening,” noted Taek Min Kim, M.D., an assistant professor in the Department of Radiology at Seoul National University Hospital in Seoul, Korea, and colleagues.

While the PSA test is utilized for prostate cancer screening, Kim and colleagues maintained that questions linger about the evidence of the test’s benefits and risks. Accordingly, the researchers compared the performance of biparametric prostate MRI and PSA testing in a large paired-cohort study.

In their retrospective review, the study authors reviewed data from 1,793 men (mean age 59.7) who had biparametric prostate MRI and PSA testing for prostate cancer screening from January 2018 to June 2021. A urology consultation at a tertiary medical center was requested if the PSA level was 3 ng/mL or greater, or if prostate cancer was suspected based on MRI. The urologist in each center determined whether the patient needed follow-up or biopsy. 

The researchers compared the proportion of men with a positive MRI, based on a Prostate Imaging Reporting & Data System [PI-RADS] score of 3-5 or 4-5, with those with a PSA level of 3 ng/mL or greater. The cancer detection rates, false positive rates, and PPVs were compared between the two screening tests. The PPVs were calculated from all screening-positive cases (PPV1) or biopsied cases (PPV2).

Overall, 150 men (8.4 percent) had a positive PSA test, a finding that was significantly greater than the proportion of men with a positive MRI result with 62 men (3.5 percent) with PI-RADS 3-5 and 41 men (2.3 percent) with PI-RADS 4-5.

The cancer detection rates were similar at 1.1 percent for PSA, PI-RADS 3-5, and PI-RADS 4-5. The false positive rate was significantly higher with the PSA test (7.4 percent) in comparison with that of MRI PI-RADS 3-5 scores (2.4 percent) and MRI PI-RADS 4-5 scores (1.2 percent). The PPVs were significantly lower with the PSA test (PPV1, 12.7 percent; PPV2, 36.5 percent) than that for PI-RADS 3-5 (PPV1 32.3 percent, PPV2 58.8 percent) or PI-RADS 4-5 (PPV1, 46.3 percent; PPV2, 87.5 percent).

For patients who underwent a biopsy, the sensitivity for detecting castration-sensitive prostate cancer was 95.2 percent for PI-RADS 3-5 and 90.4 percent for PI-RADS 4-5, according to the study. However, the researchers noted that a low proportion of the patients underwent a biopsy after positive screening results, at 54.8 percent to 58.5 percent with MRI and 35.3 percent with PSA, a factor that may contribute to overestimation of false positive rates for both tests.

A simplified cost-effectiveness analysis found that “despite the high cost, MRI was expected to reduce unnecessary costs for prostate cancer diagnosis,” according to the study authors.

In what may be the first study to assess the effectiveness of biparametric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) for prostate cancer screening in a large cohort, researchers found that MRI screening had a significantly lower false positive rate and significantly higher positive predictive values (PPVs) than prostate-specific antigen (PSA)-based screening.

Can MRI-Based Prostate Cancer Screening be a Viable Alternative to PSA Testing?

For Raymond Y. Kwong, MD, MPH, FACC, FSCMR, long scan times with cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can have a significant downstream effect on patient access to this technology. He noted the increased demand for cardiac MRI has led to wait times of three to five weeks for outpatients and four to five days for in-patients to be scheduled for a cardiac MRI.

“These numbers are really unacceptable for patient care from our standpoint,” noted Dr. Kwong, the director of Cardiac Magnetic Resonance Imaging in the Cardiovascular Division of the Department of Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, and a professor medicine at Harvard Medical School.

With this in mind, Dr. Kwong recently started using Vista.ai (formerly HeartVista) One-Click MRI, an artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled software that helps improve image quality as well as the efficiency of cardiac MRI procedures. At the recent Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) conference, Dr. Kwong shared his six-month experience with Vista.ai’s One-Click MRI and noted a 31 percent reduction in scan times based on 1,100 consecutive cardiac MRI studies performed between April 2022 and September 2022 for patients with cardiomyopathy or structural heart disease.

When employing full use of the Vista.ai One-Click MRI software, Dr. Kwong found that 90 percent of cardiac MRI studies could be completed in less than 45 minutes in comparison to 25 percent of non-AI-aided studies.

(Editor’s note: This interview was recorded prior to HeartVista’s announcement about the company name change to Vista.ai.)

For more insights from Dr. Kwong, watch the video below.

Videos

In a recent video interview, Raymond Y. Kwong, MD, discussed his clinical experience with the Vista.ai (formerly HeartVista) One Click MRI software and recent research, presented at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) conference, that revealed a 31 percent decrease in cardiac MRI scan times for patients with cardiomyopathy or structural heart disease.

Can Emerging AI-Guided Software Rein in Scan Times for Cardiac MRI?

New research with ultrasound shear wave elastography (SWE) suggests that liver stiffness, a marker of fibrosis, increases in patients with a history of COVID-19 infection, according to a study presented at the 

“Our study is part of emerging evidence that COVID-19 infection may lead to liver injury that lasts well after the acute illness,” said Firouzeh Heidari, M.D., a post-doctorate research fellow at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

Elevated transaminases in patients with COVID-19 suggest the presence of liver injury during acute infection, but whether this liver injury leads to lasting liver damage remains unknown. To identify lasting hepatic injury, Dr. Heidari and colleagues compared liver stiffness on ultrasound SWE in patients with a history of COVID-19 infection to that of healthy controls.

The retrospective cohort study included 131 patients (67 women) who underwent ultrasound SWE exams between January 2019 and January 2022 at Massachusetts General Hospital. Researchers assessed three groups of patients based on when they had an ultrasound SWE exam and whether they tested positive for COVID-19 on a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test.

The COVID-19 positive group included 31 patients (mean age 53.1) who had a positive PCR test result at least 12 weeks prior to having ultrasound SWE. Elastography was performed at an average of 44 weeks (12 to 81 weeks) after a positive PCR test result. The pandemic control group was comprised of 50 patients (mean age 55.2) who had ultrasound SWE during the COVID-19 pandemic and had a history of only negative PCR test results. The pre-pandemic control group included 50 patients (mean age 58.2) who had ultrasound SWE before the pandemic. The primary endpoint was the average difference in median Young’s modulus between post-COVID-19 patients and controls after accounting for age, sex and time period.

COVID-19 infection was associated with an average increase in the median Young’s modulus of 1.71 kPa. The COVID-19 positive group had a higher median liver stiffness (7.68 kPa) in comparison to the pandemic control group (5.99 kPa). The pre-pandemic control group had a median liver stiffness of 7.01 kPa.

“The trend of declining liver stiffness among controls is not completely understood but it may be a consequence of changing referral patterns” during the COVID-19 pandemic, said Heidari and colleagues. They also noted that patients referred for ultrasound SWE before the pandemic were older than those referred after the start of the pandemic.

“We don’t yet know if elevated liver stiffness observed after COVID-19 infection will lead to adverse patient outcomes,” said Dr. Heidari. “We are currently investigating whether the severity of acute COVID-related symptoms is predictive of long-term liver injury severity. We hope to enrich our existing database with additional patient data and a broader scope of covariates to better understand the post-acute effects of COVID-19 within the liver.”

The retrospective study involving the use of ultrasound shear wave elastography showed a significant increase in liver stiffness 44 weeks after the diagnosis of COVID-19 in comparison to pre-pandemic and pandemic controls. 

New Ultrasound Study Shows Increased Liver Stiffness 10 Months After COVID-19 Infection

In patients with fibrosing interstitial lung disease (ILD), the presence of associated pulmonary hypertension has a significant impact on the appearance of thorax computed tomography (CT). In a recently presented study at the 

, researchers found that main pulmonary artery and right ventricular diameter findings were predictors of pulmonary hypertension.

“In patients with fibrosing ILD, a combination of radiologic parameters may be used to predict the presence and severity of pulmonary hypertension,” and to guide clinical decisions on right heart catheterization, lung transplant assessment and prognosis, said Lubna Siddiqi, M.D. a resident at the Department of Diagnostic Radiology at the Schulich School of Medicine & Dentistry at Western University in London, Ontario, Canada, and colleagues.

The development of pulmonary hypertension in patients with fibrosing ILD is associated with considerably shorter survival. While earlier detection is desirable, the current gold standard for diagnosis is right heart catheterization with risk stratification being based on clinical and echocardiographic findings. However, pulmonary hypertension can occur in asymptomatic patients and echocardiography may not detect mild or early pulmonary hypertension. Dr. Siddiqi and colleagues aimed to use objective values from CT imaging to predict the presence of pulmonary hypertension in patients with fibrosing ILD.

An initial 128 patients with fibrosing ILD followed at the London Health Sciences Centre in Ontario underwent right heart catheterization. Of these patients, 94 patients (average age 66.2; 66 male) with thorax CT within six months of right heart catheterization were assessed for main pulmonary artery to aorta ratio, right to left ventricular ratio, caliber of the right and left pulmonary arteries, interventricular septal thickness, and right ventricular wall thickness, presence of pulmonary thromboembolic disease and degree of mosaic attenuation. 

Pulmonary hypertension was defined as a mean pulmonary arterial pressure of 25 mmHg or greater. Radiologic data were analyzed to determine the best predictors of associated pulmonary hypertension, with the results adjusted for sex, body mass index and age.

Of the patients, 38 (40 percent) underwent right heart catheterization electively and 56 (60 percent) as part of a lung transplant assessment. The average mean pulmonary arterial pressure was 25 mmHg, wedge pressure was 9 mmHg, cardiac output was 5 L/min and pulmonary vascular resistance was 3.3 Wood units. Overall, 66 patients (70 percent) had pulmonary hypertension with an average mean pulmonary arterial pressure of 38 mmHg and a pulmonary vascular resistance of 5.7 Wood units.

Main pulmonary artery and right ventricular diameters were independent and significant predictors of pulmonary vascular resistance (F ratio 6.64, 6.32; respectively). However, the correlation between main pulmonary artery and right ventricular diameters was weak and not significant. The main pulmonary artery diameter was also a significant predictor of mean pulmonary arterial pressure (F ratio 11.5).

While the authors noted the small sample size and said they “will seek validation of these data in a separate cohort of patients,” they suggested that “these parameters could be especially helpful in populations for whom right heart catheterization is not readily available or is a contraindication.”

Main pulmonary artery and right ventricular diameters on computed tomography (CT) scans of the thorax were predictors of pulmonary hypertension.

Radiologic Parameters of Pulmonary Hypertension on Thorax CT May Help Risk Stratify Patients with Fibrosing Interstitial Lung Disease

An artificial intelligence (AI) algorithm developed to estimate volumetric breast density (VBD) from three-dimensional (3D)-reconstructed digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) images showed potential in a study presented at the 

. Moreover, researchers found that the algorithm’s VBD estimation (which does not require raw image data) and body mass index (BMI) were associated with breast cancer risk.

“Such a tool can enable large retrospective epidemiological and personalized risk assessments of breast density with DBT,” said Vinayak Ahluwalia, B.S.E., an M.D. candidate at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, and colleagues.

While the use of DBT is increasing in breast cancer screening, current methods estimate VBD from two-dimensional (2D) images and often require raw DBT data, which is rarely stored by clinical centers. In this study, Ahluwalia and colleagues developed a computational tool based on deep learning for the assessment of VBD using only 3D-reconstructed DBT images. They also analyzed the ability of the tool to perform individualized breast cancer risk assessment.

The study included data from 1,080 negative DBT screening exams obtained between September 2011 and November 2016 from the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Both 2D raw and 3D-reconstructed DBT images were available in craniocaudal and mediolateral oblique views, with 7,850 views in total. The mean age of the participants was 57 years, the mean BMI was 28.7 kg/m2 and the racial makeup of the cohort was 41.2 percent White, 54.2 percent Black and 4.6 percent other individuals. The researchers generated corresponding 3D reference-standard tissue segmentations from previously validated software that employed both 3D reconstructed slices and raw 2D DBT data.

Ahluwalia and colleagues trained a 3D deep learning model that used U-Net architecture to create a three-label image segmentation task for background, dense tissue, and fatty tissue. The dataset was randomly divided into training (70 percent), validation (15 percent) and test (15 percent) sets. The labels were evaluated overall and separately with the weighted Dice score (DSC), with 0 signifying no overlap and 1 signifying perfect overlap.

When the AI algorithm was evaluated on an independent testing set, it achieved unweighted DSC of 78 percent and weighted DSC of 56 percent. The algorithm accurately segmented the three labels of background, fatty tissue, and dense tissue with respective DSCs of 94 percent, 89 percent, and 49 percent. The AI algorithm performed similarly among racial groups, according to the study.

The researchers also evaluated whether the VBD estimated from the algorithm and BMI were associated with breast cancer risk in an independent case-control set of 193 patients who developed breast cancer and 714 control patients from the same hospital system. The results showed that VBD (odds ratio of 1.27) and BMI (odds ratio of 1.37) were statistically significant factors in individualized breast cancer prediction.

“We have created an AI algorithm for estimating VBD from 3D-reconstructed DBT images that does not require the use of raw image data and could aid in predicting an individual’s risk of breast cancer,” noted the study authors.

An emerging artificial intelligence algorithm, developed to estimate volumetric breast density from 3D-reconstructed digital breast tomosynthesis images, could potentially facilitate individual risk assessments for breast cancer.

AI Assessment of 3D Digital Breast Tomosynthesis Images May Help Predict Breast Cancer

Ultrasound-guided hydrodissection of the median nerve with normal saline provided complete relief for patients with carpal tunnel syndrome (CTS), a condition that affects about 3 percent of the population in the United States. The minimally invasive treatment may provide a promising treatment alternative to corticosteroids, according to a study presented at the 

“Previously, the studies that have been done on ultrasound-guided hydrodissection for carpal tunnel syndrome have used corticosteroids either alone or as a part of the injection, making it difficult to assess whether hydrodissection alone was beneficial, or if it was due to the effect of the steroids,” explained lead author Anindita Bose, M.B.B.S., M.D., a senior resident at the University College of Medical Sciences and Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital in Delhi, India.

The procedure uses ultrasound-guided fluid injection to separate nerves from the surrounding structures, aiming to release soft tissue adhesions that cause nerve entrapment while restoring nerve function. Dr. Bose said the procedure takes only 10 to 15 minutes and is very cost-effective as it does not require any high-end equipment.

The randomized controlled trial included 63 patients with refractory CTS. There were three treatment groups with group one having ultrasound-guided hydrodissection with normal saline alone, group two having ultrasound-guided hydrodissection with a mixture of normal saline and corticosteroid, and group three receiving guided perineural corticosteroid injection without hydrodissection. 

To evaluate patient pain and symptoms before and after the procedure, the researchers utilized the Boston Carpal Tunnel Questionnaire (BCTQ; symptom and functional) and the visual analog scale (VAS), and reviewed findings from the cross-sectional area of the median nerve on ultrasound. Follow-up was completed at four weeks, 12 weeks, and six months.

At four weeks, significant improvement was seen in the mean BCTQ score (symptom and functional) and VAS score in groups one, two and three at 61.9 percent, 85.7 percent, and 100 percent respectively. At week 12 and six months, both hydrodissection groups had further improvement at 95.2 percent for group one and 96 percent for group two, while 14.7 percent of group three reported a recurrence of symptoms with an increase in BCTQ and VAS scores.

Researchers also found significant reductions of median nerve cross-sectional area on ultrasound in both hydrodissection groups, noting a 43 percent reduction for group one and a 46 percent reduction for group two in comparison to an 11 percent reduction for group three. No significant adverse effects were reported.

The authors concluded that ultrasound-guided hydrodissection of the median nerve with normal saline alone provided a significant and persistent clinical and morphological improvement for patients with CTS. They added that as the addition of corticosteroid to the saline did not offer any significant benefit as “the therapeutic effect was primarily due to hydrodissection.”

“It came as a pleasant surprise when this simple procedure of ultrasound-guided hydrodissection provided patients with long-term relief,” said co-author Anupama Tandon, M.B.B.S, M.D., a professor at the University College of Medical Sciences and Guru Teg Bahadur Hospital. “The patients were highly satisfied as the cost was low, no anesthesia or hospitalization was needed, and they could go back in an hour’s time and resume their routine work.”

A randomized controlled trial shows that the minimally invasive treatment provided long-term relief of carpal tunnel syndrome.

Can Ultrasound-Guided Hydrodissection be a Viable Alternative for Carpal Tunnel Syndrome?

In a recent poster presentation at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) conference, researchers shared preliminary findings from a prospective trial that compared the use of ultra-low-dose computed tomography (ULDCT) to low-dose CT (LDCT) in current smokers and those with a previous smoking history.

For the study, researchers examined the use of LDCT dosing (mean effective radiation dose of 1.40 mSv) versus ULDCT dosing (mean effective radiation dose of 0.39 mSv) in consecutive patients referred for lung cancer screening over a one-month period. The study cohort included current and previous smokers with a 20 pack-year history, according to the study. The researchers noted that 58 of the 265 enrolled patients had abnormal CT scans. The CT scans were reviewed by two senior thoracic radiologists.

The study authors found a 92 percent agreement between ULDCT and LDCT for emphysema and a 91 percent agreement for pulmonary nodules. Agreement for findings such as bronchial wall thickening, atelectasis and bronchiectasis ranged between 80 to 90 percent, according to the study.

However, the researchers noted that agreement between ULDCT and LDCT ranged between 60 to 80 percent for septal thickening, pleural effusion, and consolidation. They also noted poor agreement (37 percent) for ground glass opacification (GGO) lesions.

While the researchers noted the use of ULDCT could reduce effective radiation dosing to a third of that used for LDCT, they said the significant potential for missing other lung cancers such as lepidic adenocarcinoma outweigh the benefits of reduced radiation dosing.

“Despite the exciting agreement for some pulmonary findings, these results question whether using an ULDCT protocol for (lung cancer screening) would be adequate as many subsolid or GGO lesions could be missed,” wrote Matheus Zanon, MD, MSc, who is affiliated with the Department of Radiology at Pontificia Universidade Catolica do Rio Grande do Sul in Porto Alegre, Brazil, and colleagues.

Ultra-low-dose computed tomography (ULDCT) may have similar efficacy as low-dose CT (LDCT) for detecting a variety of pulmonary conditions in people with current or past smoking histories, but had poor detection of ground glass opacification lesions, according to a recent prospective study presented at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) conference.

Can Ultra-Low-Dose CT be Effective for Lung Cancer Screening in Current or Past Smokers?

Offering the potential benefits of streamlined scanning and intelligent automation in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), GE Healthcare recently launched the SIGNA Experience, which combines imaging software, artificial intelligence (AI) applications and automated workflow technologies into one platform.

GE Healthcare said the four primary components of the 

 include enhanced image quality through the next-generation imaging software SIGNA One (available on SIGNA Prime); deep learning AI applications (including 

) that facilitate shorter scan times and improved signal-to-noise (SNR) ratios; flexible, lightweight AIR Coils; and automated workflow technologies, such as AIRTouch, that simplify scan set-up.

The SIGNA Experience also offers visually highlighted fields for step-by-step guidance, minimal clicks to complete the MRI exam and an intuitive workflow that accommodates a variety of experience levels, according to GE Healthcare.

“SIGNA Experience was designed in response to today’s industry pressures to help achieve operational efficiency and simplicity as clinicians face a significant volume of non-urgent backlog scans caused largely by the impact of COVID-19, radiologist shortages and staff burnout,” explained Jie Xue, the president, and CEO of Magnetic Resonance for GE Healthcare. “These technologies enable scanner operators of all skill levels to get the job done without compromising quality and output.”

Recently launched at the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) conference, the SIGNA Experience reportedly features synergistic technologies and artificial intelligence (AI) advances that help improve the efficiency and quality of magnetic resonance imaging.