2008 November

3T MRI has found a sweet spot in musculoskeletal, neurological and breast imaging. Clinicians are reaping the benefits of high-resolution, high-quality images acquired at a higher field strengthand more referrals.

Mammography providers face intense pressure. The transition to digital imaging systems continues to gain traction, solving some issues and generating new challenges. The one constant: centers need to squeeze every ounce of productivity out of their investments.

Long-term storage can be a CIOs worst nightmare. As datasets grow, storage gobbles more and more of the IT budget. Then, there are labor issues and costs to contend with as storage management requires human resources.

Film-screen mammography and the classic light-box alternator diagnostic paradigm are rapidly giving way to full-field digital mammography (FFDM) acquisition with DR and CR technology and soft-copy interpretation, either on cathode ray tube or flat-panel liquid crystal displays (LCDs).

Computer-assisted detection (CAD) software to analyze lung imaging studies is steadily gaining ground, improving in sensitivity and specificity as a increasingly reliable second pair of trained eyes to aid radiologists in the detection of pulmonary nodules.

At first glance, it would seem that the pieces are in place for bringing digital endoscopy onto the enterprise PACS; however, according to a pair of healthcare informatics pioneers who have set themselves this task, there are still issues remaining to be resolved.

CT is making its way to the healthcare frontline as an invaluable diagnostic tool within the emergency departmentand challenging MR, particularly in stroke imaging.    

If youre attending RSNA late this month like I am, we need to get prepared. In what will seem like the constant blurr of sessions to attend, technology and people to see and buses to find, we need to focus. Our immediate survival strategy is multitaskinga combined frenzy of networking with colleagues we meet in the back of a session as we check email on our PDA, try to listen to the speaker, jot down notes, dig through a briefcase for a better pen and confirm a lunch date via text.