Dear AuntMinnie Member,
The economics of musculoskeletal imaging are the focus of a pair of new articles in our Musculoskeletal Imaging Digital Community this week.
In our first story, a research team that included utilization watchdogs Dr. David C. Levin and Dr. Vijay Rao took at look at how much the U.S. healthcare system would save if ultrasound were used in place of MRI for certain musculoskeletal exams (when backed up by clinical evidence, of course).
They found that by 2020, the U.S. could save as much as $736 million per year if ultrasound were added as a first-line imaging modality for many musculoskeletal applications, with more complex cases sent on to MRI when the diagnosis was in doubt. Take a closer look at the numbers by clicking here.
In another article, new research presented at this week's American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) meeting in San Francisco also examines the issue of MRI utilization for musculoskeletal imaging. A researcher from Illinois believes that MRI is often used as a first-line imaging modality for knee osteoarthritis when radiography might suffice. Make up your own mind by clicking here.
Get both articles, as well as other coverage from the AAOS show, in the Musculoskeletal Imaging Digital Community, at msk.auntminnie.com.
DSCT in the heart
In other news, we're featuring an article on a new study by U.S. researchers who used dual-energy dual-source CT (DSCT) to tackle functional cardiac imaging, an area traditionally within the purview of cardiac SPECT.
Their hope is that by adding functional imaging data to the anatomical information already collected by coronary CT angiography, DSCT users could eliminate the need for multiple procedures by different imaging modalities. The study is due to be presented at this week's European Congress of Radiology (ECR) in Vienna, but you can get a sneak preview by clicking here.
ECR RADCast
Finally, make sure to log on starting this Friday for our RADCast @ ECR, featuring daily updates from the premier pan-European conference for radiology. Daily reports from the meeting start on Friday, but you can see our preshow coverage by going to ecr.auntminnie.com.
