Dear Musculoskeletal Imaging Insider,
In this installment of the MSK Insider, we're pleased to present a pictorial essay on shoulder sonography, available to Insider subscribers days before the rest of AuntMinnie members.
Sonographer Dearbhla O'Dwyer and Dr. Stefano Ciatti have put together a comprehensive review of what 3D ultrasound and multiplanar imaging can do in shoulder pathophysiology, and for diagnosing rotator cuff disorders in particular. Click here to enjoy this article from these contributors, based at the Studio Ecografico Dott. Stefano Ciatti in Prato, Italy.
In other MSK news, we're featuring an article from the recent European Congress of Radiology on the use of 7-tesla MRI to assess the ankle damage suffered by marathon runners during races. German researchers found that the superpowerful scanners can detect pathology in small anatomical structures of the ankle that might be overlooked on less powerful systems. Click here for more details.
We're also featuring a pair of articles on the economics of musculoskeletal MRI. One study posits that using ultrasound in place of MRI could save money for the U.S. healthcare system. The other study, presented at the recent American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons meeting, claims that MRI might be overused for knee osteoarthritis.
Also get the lowdown on the recent U.S. Department of Justice probe into financial relationships between orthopedic device companies and surgeons. Many nervous surgeons are waiting to see whether the DOJ will turn its sights on physicians, with indictments of doctors who may have received improper payments from vendors.
Finally, you'll want to spend time in the Musculoskeletal Imaging Digital Community for the following articles on:
- A tough-to-diagnose type of ankle fracture in snowboarders
- Extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) for promoting remodeling in healing-delayed patellar bone-tendon joint injuries
- A noninvasive MRI technique to diagnose and monitor degenerative joint disease
- The prevalence of preclinical interstitial lung disease in rheumatoid arthritis patients as seen on CT
