Dear CT Insider,
Researchers have come up with a number of conditions that are difficult to appreciate on conventional CT, but might be diagnosed more accurately using a combination of dynamic wide-area CT, and usually 3D reconstructions.
The latest such application, which we're highlighting in this edition of the CT Insider, is diagnosing central airway stenosis. CT is already the gold standard for evaluating the central airways, but it has a hard time distinguishing tracheomalacia from central airway stenosis that is often caused by intubation, according to Chinese researchers who presented at the European Congress of Radiology.
However, 620-detector-row dynamic CT could readily distinguish between the different but similar-appearing types of central airway narrowing, even at low doses, the group reported. Find out how they did it in this newsletter's Insider Exclusive, available to you before other AuntMinnie.com members can access it.
Meanwhile, in Texas, health officials are getting ready to implement important new rules on radiation exposure in CT and interventional fluoroscopy. By May 1, imaging centers in the Lone Star State will have to establish protocol committees responsible for setting radiation exposure threshold levels and archiving radiation dose output readings. Almost everybody will need to attend dose awareness sessions, too. Get the rest of the story by clicking here.
The protocol committees are likely to have a lot in common with the dose optimization committee that a Connecticut group used to establish a process for CT protocol improvement and measure their success. Read about the community hospital's experience by clicking here.
In cardiac CT, the multicenter CORE 320 trial results are in, and they show that 320-detector-row CT is more sensitive than myocardial perfusion SPECT for diagnosing coronary artery disease. However, SPECT is still an important referee for determining which cases require intervention, the researchers cautioned.
In other news from the recent American College of Cardiology meeting, another study affirmed coronary CT angiography's role in ruling out myocardial infarction. You'll find the details here.
CT lung cancer screening programs remain few and far between almost two years after results of the National Lung Screening Trial showed a solid mortality benefit associated with the screening of long-term smokers.
One center that didn't hesitate to jump into the fray is MD Anderson Cancer Center Orlando, which has lined up considerable resources to support its low-cost screening program. For more on the center's bold foray into lung cancer screening, click here.
Last but not least, be sure to scroll down through the links below for more news about radiology's most powerful modality -- right here in your CT Digital Community.
