Improving informed consent is a $4.3 billion challenge that could be met if more facilities used their digital systems to automate the process, a pair of presenters said Tuesday at the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society meeting in San Diego.

Quantitative data and new radiotracers developed for PET/CT boost detection of lung cancer while reducing false positives, according to research presented at the RSNA meeting.

When it comes to spotting suspicious lesions on a screening mammogram, computer-aided detection is no match for a dedicated breast imaging specialist, according a large study by researchers at Yale, presented Thursday at the RSNA meeting.

Although neurosurgeons depend on preoperative functional MRI to map eloquent brain areas, technique standards need strengthening and reimbursement is nonexistent. The recent formation of a dedicated fMRI society is serving to galvanize interest and search for solutions to these and other issues, according to a Wednesday panel discussion.

Philips Medical Solutions wants operators of its MR scanners to work smarter, not harder. To help, the company developed SmartExam.

National societies and individual institutions need to firm up guidelines governing the imaging of pregnant women, according to several presenters at a special focus session Wednesday.

Although the debate regarding MR colonography screening lives on, European radiologists agree dark lumen MRC is ready for prime time, according to studies presented Tuesday.

With a mix of social engineering and Web-based dashboard management, the radiology department at the University of Maryland Medical System has reduced overall report verification times for its radiologists.

While women choose radiology for intellectual stimulation and job satisfaction, they consistently have to overcome the stereotype of the nurturing caregiver, according to survey results presented Monday.

Siemens demonstrated hands-off imaging at the RSNA with a work in progress that turns control of an MR scanner over to remote operators. The goal behind Expert-I, which is pending FDA clearance, is to allow expert collaboration on challenging examinations regardless of how far away the expert may be.

Digital mammography images acquired in a 64-foot van serving Washington residents are as good as mobile film-based images, according to a study from a Seattle breast center.

For radiology to move into the digital arena in underserved areas around the world, financial, cultural, and technological stumbling blocks have to be removed, according to a case study presented Tuesday at the RSNA meeting.

Academic radiologists usually cut to the chase in describing how imaging increasingly factors into drug discovery and research. They display cellular metabolism FDG-PET images or dynamic-contrast MR images quantifying changes in tumor vascularity. These glamor children of radiological research reflect the potential of medical imaging in measuring therapeutic response.

Budget-strapped healthcare providers can bootstrap their way into digital imaging with a new low-cost CR system from Radlink.

Three months after Hurricane Katrina devastated its city, the radiology department at the Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, School of Medicine at New Orleans passed along valuable lessons about PACS disaster recovery during a Hot Topic presentation Tuesday at the RSNA meeting.

Hyperpolarized helium-3 diffusion MR can detect alveolar changes due to lung disease in children and provide quantitative data on airflow to the peripheral lobes, according to research presented Tuesday.

Trainee radiologists can benefit by studying the mistakes of their predecessors and focusing on clinical situations and radiographic findings that are often misdiagnosed.

Digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) promises to dramatically reduce the rate of false-positive mammograms, potentially sparing women from unnecessary follow-up tests and biopsies, according to a study presented Tuesday.

GE Healthcare launched a new digital radiography line at the RSNA meeting Monday. The first two members of the Definium line are a portable and a fixed digital radiography system.

The computer-aided detection firm R2 Technology has teamed with Swedish workstation leader Sectra to produce a “CAD-intelligent” system that optimizes the presentation of CAD information on mammographic images. The companies jointly launched the Citra mammography applications suite at the RSNA meeting.