MRI

The American College of Radiology has seen regional victories related to its campaign to have insurers enact methods to guarantee quality and appropriateness. In January, the UnitedHealth Group, which serves 70 million individuals nationwide, announced it wants outpatient imaging facilities in all 50 states to be accredited by next March.

Orthopedic surgeons who must operate in a 3D world have been wrestling long enough with 2D data. By midsummer, Orthocrat expects to take them beyond the x and y planes with a new development, TraumaCad 3D.

Much of our reporting in Diagnostic Imaging focuses on existing clinical practice or on new developments that advance practice. Now and then, however, we'll write articles covering research that is far from clinical practice but does point to new directions that could lead to significant advancements.

Researchers may agree that cardiac MR is the modality of choice for predicting left ventricular remodeling, but they remain split on which contrast-enhanced CMR technique produces the most accurate prediction.

At a recent symposium on multislice CT, a physicist kicked off her lecture by presenting a big-screen image of a fetus inside a pregnant woman. Then she asked her audience a provocative question, "Is this a bad thing?"

Physician Rudolf Virchow introduced microscopic examination to classic pathology about midway through the 19th century. This helped to establish modern pathology. Although autopsies are now recognized as valuable medical procedures, the core methodology has not changed for many years.

The presence of common structural abnormalities identified by MRI in chronic nonspecific low back pain patients has no bearing on their responses to conservative treatment, according to a signficant study published in the journal Spine.

In October 2006 the Society of Radiologists in Ultrasound brought diagnostic ultrasound's leadership together in San Francisco. Two days of lectures and debate led to a strategy statement defining a plan to maintain radiology's leadership over the modality.

Scottish researchers have opened a way to an accurate predictive test that might help prevent the onset of schizophrenia.

The first focused meeting on the use of 3T MR for cardiovascular applications convened under National Institutes of Health sponsorship last September. Luminaries in MR technology and applications met in Washington, DC, for two days under the leadership of National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering director Dr. Roderic Pettigrew.

Three U.S. sites in January began recruiting patients to test the safety and efficacy of an intravascular MRI catheter that preclinically differentiates the lipid-rich core of vulnerable plaque from other components.

Diagnostic ultrasound is ideal for many patients. No other imaging option gives them a real-time look at their own anatomy or so openly encourages discussion with the radiologist about their symptoms and the evidence of disease on the monitor.

MRI can be daunting enough for claustrophobic patients. But now arachnophobia may be a good reason to fear entering the tube. Researchers have begun studying large eight-legged creatures with clinical MR systems (Magn Reson Imaging 2007;25:129-135).

The risk that some patients have for developing a debilitating, life-threatening skin disease linked to the administration of gadolinium calls for close scrutiny of kidney function or even a higher threshold of glomular filtration rate.

The shock of a surprise party or the loss of a loved one may not be the trigger of chest pain that sends grandma off to the hospital for emergency cardiac catheterization.

Keeping it simple is the cornerstone of IES Patient Comfort Systems, whose products quiet patient movement with the squishable innards found in Tempur-Pedic beds.

Dr. Harald Østensen, a radiologist from Norway whose reach extends all over the world, has received the European Magnetic Resonance Forum Foundation’s inaugural Humanitarian Award.

Historically, hope has been scant for catching any chronic occlusive pulmonary disease, including asthma and emphysema, early enough to treat and reverse, or at least stabilize, the condition.

Early 2007 has been a robust period for the publication of meaningful cardiac imaging research. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke’s landmark comparison of noncontrast CT and MRI for stroke confirmed what many neuroradiologists suspected: MRI is the new gold standard for the initial diagnosis and subsequent evaluations of acute stroke. In another compelling study, Swedish researchers found that heart patients equipped with drug-eluting stents are more like to die in the three years following installation than patients who received bare metal stents.

GE Healthcare warned European providers Feb. 7 to discontinue the use of gadodiamide (Omniscan) for patients who may be at risk for a rare and life-threatening skin disease.

The European Medicines Agency has warned providers not to use gadodiamide (Omniscan) in patients with poor renal function, due to the risk of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis, a rare and life-threatening skin disease.

Dobutamine stress perfusion MRI predicts myocardial infarction and death in patients with reduced heart function, according to a study presented at the 2007 Society for Cardiac Magnetic Resonance meeting in Rome last week.

A multicenter prospective trial involving 1210 patients in Europe has found that the odds of a favorable clinical outcome were one-third higher for acute stroke patients who received diffusion-perfusion MRI to determine the appropriateness of tPA thrombolysis than patients assessed with conventional noncontrast CT.

Using cardiac MR imaging to discover the underlying processes of cardiovascular diseases is helping researchers learn how to diagnose and treat heart disease more quickly and effectively. Scientific abstracts presented over the weekend at the 2007 Society for Cardiac Magnetic Resonance meeting in Rome demonstrated the value of preclinical research.

Cardiac MR imaging with delayed gadolinium enhancement can detect silent myocardial infarction in diabetic patients and predict the chances these patients will suffer a future cardiac event, according to a study presented at the 2007 Society for Cardiac Magnetic Resonance meeting in Rome. Findings suggest the technique could play a role in screening diabetic patients.

Efforts to advance cardiac MR applications that have immediate clinical uses appear in scientific papers highlighted at the 10th annual Society for Cardiac Magnetic Resonance meeting in Rome.

One sunny day in late spring 1982, I stood on the public observatory deck at the top of the Empire State Building in New York City with a visitor from Germany. I recall being on crutches, my foot and ankle encased in a plaster cast, having stumbled awkwardly while walking on a Long Island beach.

Teaching hospitals need to do a better job of informing patients about CT's potential benefits and risks, according to Yale researchers.

Using positional MRI, researchers found that sitting upright in a 90 degrees posture is not the optimal seating position to reduce chronic back pain.

Although MR colonography is proving to be an effective method of colorectal screening, patients are no more likely to accept it than optical colonoscopy. In addition, limited bowel prep protocols for CT colonography are proving comparable to full cathartic prep.