The challenge before radiology is clear: boost the value provided by the specialty (and don’t be shy about it). 3D printing offers just one such way of boosting value beyond interpretations.
That’s the argument from Nadim Michel Daher of the consulting firm Frost & Sullivan. Writing for 3Dprint.com, he advocated for radiology to expand service lines beyond reading images, saying the specialty could take the lead in combining imaging and 3D printing to create “customized surgical guides and positioners, patient-specific prostheses, biocompatible implants for regenerative medicine, or deformable models for surgical training.”
Another value-boosting technology for radiology, computer-aided diagnosis (CAD), was in the news this month as well. A recent study published in Radiology saw Canadian researchers using a two-stage classifier to improve differentiation between malignant or benign mass and non-mass lesions using CAD.
Stay tuned for more news as these technologies continue to come of age.
Evan joined TriMed in 2011, writing primarily for Health Imaging. Prior to diving into medical journalism, Evan worked for the Nine Network of Public Media in St. Louis. He also has worked in public relations and education. Evan studied journalism at the University of Missouri, with an emphasis on broadcast media.