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.

Radiofrequency ablation is as effective as resection for treatment of both hepatocellular carcinoma and metastatic colorectal tumors in the liver, according to two studies presented Monday at the joint RSNA/SIR Foundation Interventional Oncology Symposium. The key factor in both cases was RFA’s ability to easily repeat treatment on recurring tumors in a much less destructive fashion than surgery.

Scanning pediatric patients with 64-slice CT results in high-quality images and lower radiation dose compared to other multislice machines, particularly when automatic exposure control tools are used, according to research presented Monday.

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.

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.

As computer-aided detection continues to make inroads into virtual colonoscopy territory, studies presented Tuesday at the RSNA meeting highlighted its potential for spotting polyps.

GE Healthcare joined the ranks of believers in mega-slice PET/CT with the formal release of its Discovery VCT on the RSNA exhibit floor. The 64-slice hybrid, shown as a work in progress at the 2004 meeting, will compete with the Siemens biograph 64 and Philips Gemini GXL, both 64-slice PET/CT scanners launched one year ago.

Philips and Schering are collaborating in breast imaging, using a fluorescent dye developed by Schering and an experimental optical scanner under construction by Philips. The two technologies will be merged as part of a phase I clinical trial that could begin some time next year.

Once again, I spent much of the day in a case-based review course, this one on interventional radiology. In my practice, we have one real interventional radiologist and two pseudo-interventionalists. The prime difference being that a real interventional radiologist knows what he’s doing. The other big difference is an IR enjoys what he is doing.

Myelination, the development of a protective sheath for nerve fibers, may dramatically increase when adults enter their forties before beginning to decline in old age, according to a study presented Sunday at the RSNA meeting. The finding contradicts long-held beliefs that myelination is a normal process of brain maturation that is largely complete by early adulthood.

Toshiba is introducing the latest improvements to its Aplio and Xario ultrasound systems at the 2005 RSNA meeting. The Aplio system has been enhanced with the company’s exclusive expanded Differential Tissue Harmonic Imaging (DTHI), while the Xario features 4D imaging.

Continuing medical education is a must for radiologists planning to perform CT colonography, according to two studies presented by U.K. researchers at the RSNA meeting on Sunday.

Medweb’s Advanced 3D Web PACS widens access to many 3D imaging functions and features previously available only on dedicated 3D workstations. With Medweb’s new product, introduced today at the RSNA meeting, users working on a standard PC can employ 3D templating and autosegmenting of image data from spiral CT scanners.

Agfa HealthCare designed its next-generation PACS, the IMPAX 6.0, to meet the specific workflow requirements of multiple users. Introduced at the RSNA meeting, the IMPAX 6.0 is a Web-deployable application that improves the planning, capture, interpretation, distribution, and archiving of images throughout an enterprise, according to the company.

New productivity tools have been added to 3D diagnostic colon, lung, and vascular software products from Viatronix. Upgrades to the V3D-system, shown at the RSNA meeting on Sunday, improve PACS functionality and unify user interfaces across the company’s product line to create a more user-friendly workflow.

Myelination, the development of a protective sheath for nerve fibers, may dramatically increase when adults enter their forties before beginning to decline in old age, according to a study presented Sunday. The finding contradicts long-held beliefs that myelination is a normal process of brain maturation that is largely complete by early adulthood.

Siemens’ new Axiom Luminos TF, introduced today at the RSNA meeting, incorporates tableside fluoroscopy system enhancements suggested by company luminaries, who were an integral part of the engineering team.

Siemens is radically changing the direction of its CT program with the introduction of its Somatom Definition. The new scanner, publicly announced Nov. 17 and featured Sunday at the RSNA meeting, packs two imaging chains in a single unit, generating 128 slices per rotation. But Siemens is downplaying the number of slices in favor of the speed of the scanner and how its use might change the clinical application of CT.

GE Healthcare is introducing a new line of CT scanners at the RSNA, reflecting a major trend in the marketplace--miniaturization.