Dear Digital X-Ray Insider,
Could a reference standard widely used to classify cases of dust-related lung disease (pneumoconiosis) be outdated due to the imaging industry's shift to digital radiography?
That's the question posed by a new clinical study we're featuring as this edition's Insider Exclusive. In the study, researchers from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor took the historical gold standard for pneumoconiosis detection and classification, film-screen radiography with the International Labour Organization (ILO) classification scheme, and compared it to digital radiography (DR) images read both on a workstation and printed to film.
They found that while film-screen had good agreement with DR in some areas, in other areas the technologies produced divergent results when interpreted with ILO criteria. Learn more by clicking here for a story you get access to days before the rest of the AuntMinnie.com readership.
In other news, researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge found that radiation dose being delivered to obese patients during radiography and fluoroscopy procedures may be underestimated. Find out why by clicking here.
We're also highlighting stories on making the transition to digital mammography and the use of computer-aided detection software for analyzing chest DR images. Finally, read about how chest x-rays used for pre-employment tuberculosis screening can omit the lateral view, sparing patients the additional radiation dose and saving time for imaging facilities.
If you have tips or ideas on topics you'd like to see covered in the Digital X-Ray Community, drop me a line at [email protected].
