Week in Review: Radiologist attrition | What’s best for screening dense breasts? | 2024 Minnies nominations

Dear AuntMinnie Member,

The ongoing shortage of radiologists in the U.S. remains a significant concern, especially as imaging volumes continue to increase. But what’s the key driver for the shortage?

It doesn’t appear to be attrition. New research found radiologists had a lower rate of switching careers or retiring early than other healthcare specialties. Our coverage of the study was our most highly viewed article on AuntMinnie.com this week.

Although AI can aid radiologists in interpreting screening mammograms, it may not help enough to obviate the need for supplemental ultrasound in breast cancer screening of women with dense breasts, according to our second-most popular article this week.

Meanwhile, continuing coverage from the annual meeting of the Society of Cardiovascular Computed Tomography (SCCT) meeting also generated significant page views. If you aren’t among our many members who’ve already done so, check out our podcast with Tessa Cook, MD, PhD on the ethics of AI for cardiac CT, as well as articles on how gadolinium-based contrast agents can be useful in planning transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) procedures, the risk of atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease from air pollution, and how cardiac CT angiography (CCTA) showed plaque burden progression in firefighters.

The Summer Olympics are now underway in Paris, but we’re also excited to announce the opening of another elite competition: the 2024 Minnies, our annual award program recognizing excellence in radiology. New for this year, we’re requiring all nominations to include justification for why the nominee deserves to win a Minnies award.

Nominations are now being accepted here for 15 Minnies categories, including Most Influential Radiology Researcher, Best New Radiology Vendor, Scientific Paper of the Year, and more. After the nomination period ends at the end of August, we’ll announce our semifinalists in early September.

1. Attrition isn’t to blame for radiologist shortage in U.S.
2. Mammo AI falls short to ultrasound in screening dense breasts
3. SCCT podcast: Tessa Cook on ethics and AI for CCT
4. SCCT: Gadolinium-based contrast agents work for TAVR planning
5. Tau PET identifies grey matter atrophy in retired athletes
6. SCCT: CT-derived CAD metrics raise concern about air pollution
7. SCCT: CCTA shows plaque burden progression in firefighters
8. SCCT: PCCT poised to boost cardiac CT performance
9. Podcast: Moving from a role in academic medicine to leading a company
10. How imaging AI developers can avoid pitfalls when testing algorithms
11. PET/MRI rules out tau protein in late-life depression
12. Cardiac CECT localizes fatty tissue in heart
13. Olympic challenge approaches for Paris MSK team
14. GPT-4 can assist in management of glioblastoma patients