Dear AuntMinnie Member,
Controversies continue to swirl over the myriad variables involved with breast cancer screening. But what if a personalized screening strategy could be developed for each woman based on her individual risk factors?
A research team led by the University of California's Athena Breast Health Network is exploring that possibility in a new five-year study that will get underway this spring. The trial, called Women Informed to Screen Depending on Measures of Risk (WISDOM), will investigate whether a tailored approach to breast cancer screening would be as effective as annual mammograms.
You can access Associate Editor Kate Madden Yee's preview of the WISDOM trial by clicking here, or visit our Women's Imaging Community at women.auntminnie.com.
CCTA in patients with stable chest pain
Coronary CT angiography (CCTA) isn't often used for initial evaluation of patients with stable chest pain, but perhaps it should be. Researchers from Duke University and the University of Edinburgh recently analyzed the results of two large studies and concluded that CCTA was a reasonable first option.
The team noted that CCTA yielded several benefits, particularly when performed concurrently with exercise treadmill testing. Indeed, clinicians should consider both functional and anatomical imaging in patients who lack contraindications to specific exams, according to the group.
Delve further into the results -- and learn how CCTA can best fit into the diagnostic armamentarium for patients with stable angina -- by clicking here for our report by International Editor Eric Barnes. You can also access the article by visiting our CT Community at ct.auntminnie.com.
How to build a better PACS workstation
Faced with having to interpret up to 100,000 images per day, radiologists are under ever-increasing stress. A few tweaks to PACS workstation software could make a big difference in helping radiologists cope with the data deluge, according to Dr. Murray Reicher of Merge Healthcare and Jeremy Wolfe, PhD, of Brigham and Women's Hospital.
Applying lessons from the field of perceptual design, PACS software developers could develop low-cost innovations such as image toggling and eye tracking that take advantage of the strengths of human perception and also compensate for its weaknesses, according to the researchers.
Learn more by accessing Editor-in-Chief Brian Casey's report here, or visit our Imaging Informatics Community at informatics.auntminnie.com.
