The post-processing of data with the use of advanced visualization applications from modalities such as CT, MR, PET and SPECT is changing the way in which diagnostic images are interpreted and utilized.

Users of the technology report speedy diagnoses and greater clinical certainty in their interpretations. In addition, referring clinicians are seeing advanced visualization as a powerful tool to more effectively guide both their interventions and treatment plans.

A pair of studies from Germany bolster this assertion and demonstrate that the application of advanced visualization technology can lead to higher quality patient care.

A group of researchers from Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University Frankfurt in Frankfurt am Main, Germany, have utilized advanced visualization technology to reduce both radiation dose and contrast medium use for uterine artery embolization (UAE) procedures at their institution.

By creating 3D reconstructions from MR angiographic data, the team was able to predict the best tube angle obliquity for visualization of the uterine artery origin. This allowed the interventional radiologist performing the UAE to reduce the fluoroscopy time, radiation dose and contrast medium volume by significant margins—resulting in better patient care for women undergoing this procedure.

In other news, radiologists and cardiologists at the University Hospitals of Ludwig-Maximilian University in Munich, Germany, found that the use of 3D 3T MRI can deliver faster exams and improved spatial resolution in assessment of myocardial infarction, compared with the standard 2D gradient-recalled echo (GRE) protocol.

Their prospective study demonstrated no significant difference between the 2D and 3D GRE technique in regard to infarction volume, contrast-to-noise ratio or the transmural extent of myocardial infarction. They did find that the 3D technique resulted in a greater than 50 percent reduction in acquisition time and provided higher spatial resolution.

If you or your group is interested in finding out more about the capabilities of advanced visualization technology and how it can extend and expand the reach of diagnostic imaging service lines, head over to our Healthcare TechGuide and check out the variety of systems offered there.

Lastly, if you have a comment or report to share about how the utilization of advanced visualization technology is changing your practice, please contact me at the address below. I look forward to hearing from you.

Jonathan Batchelor, Web Editor
jbatchelor@trimedmedia.com