Dear AuntMinnie Member,
The votes are in for the first round of the Minnies, our annual contest recognizing excellence in radiology.
Our expert panel has selected two finalists in each of 14 categories who will vie for the big prize. Winners will be selected in a second round of voting by the panel that will take place over the next several weeks.
Who will get the nod as Most Influential Radiology Researcher: Dr. Richard Duszak of Emory University or Dr. Geraldine McGinty of Weill Cornell Medical College? Who will prevail in a clash of two previous Minnies winners -- Dr. Eliot Siegel and Dr. Elliott Fishman -- in the race for Most Effective Radiology Educator? See the list of contenders at minnies.auntminnie.com.
Also be sure to check out our Facebook page, where you can vote on one of the two remaining images in our Best Radiology Image contest. Just click here to get started.
Congratulations to the Minnies finalists, and good luck in the next round of voting!
Big spectral CT project
In other news, researchers in New Zealand recently received a shot of funding to pursue a fascinating new project: a spectral CT scanner capable of imaging eight separate energies at once.
Spectral CT is an intriguing technique that enables users to determine the composition of tissue based on how it absorbs x-ray photons at different energy levels. But commercially available systems are typically limited to assessing two different energies per scan.
The New Zealand group hopes to develop a system that's far more versatile, analyzing eight separate energy spectra simultaneously. They believe the scanner could finally make CT a functional modality, similar to MRI and PET.
Read all about it -- and check out some cool images -- by clicking here, or visit our CT Digital Community at ct.auntminnie.com.
Sandy's silver lining
Finally, Hurricane Sandy delivered a devastating blow to the northeastern U.S. when it made landfall in October 2012. However, researchers from a New York City hospital that bore the brunt of the superstorm found it had a silver lining.
Dr. Michael Recht from NYU Langone Medical Center shared their experiences at last week's New York Medical Imaging Informatics Symposium, in particular the impact Sandy had on their information technology infrastructure.
The hospital lost connectivity to its main data center, and a half-dozen scanners were written off as total losses, irreparably damaged by the storm. But as the radiology department struggled to continue providing service, they found that the hurricane brought staff together in new and important ways.
Learn more about their experiences by clicking here, or visit our Imaging Informatics Community at informatics.auntminnie.com.
