Dear Digital X-Ray Insider,
In this edition's Insider Exclusive article, we hear from Swedish researchers who have found a new application for digital radiography tomosynthesis: examining suspected scaphoid fractures in the wrist.
Existing conventional radiography can miss up to one-third of scaphoid fractures; a Swedish team pondered whether digital tomo could improve this performance through its use of a panning tube head that acquires multiple projection images.
Although their study was small, they reported encouraging results, and theorize that tomo units could be particularly valuable if sited in or close to emergency rooms. Learn more by clicking here for a story you're getting before the rest of the AuntMinnie.com membership.
In other news, ways to reduce radiation dose that children receive during fluoroscopy procedures was the subject of a presentation from this week's American Heart Association meeting in Chicago. You might be surprised at just how easy it is to reduce dose: Read the story by clicking here.
Fluoroscopy radiation is also the subject of this article on cumulative radiation dose to the crystalline lens from fluoroscopy during intra-arterial chemotherapy for retinoblastoma. In addition, another study by California researchers found that children who received medical imaging studies had higher rates of leukemia later in life -- although the authors didn't distinguish between modalities with a relatively low radiation dose like x-ray and those with higher radiation burdens like CT.
And finally, learn about what some hospitals have done to reduce the anxiousness that many children experience during imaging procedures by creating adventure-themed imaging suites -- including a digital radiography room with soothing lights and sounds.
Get these stories and more in your Digital X-Ray Community, and see you next week at the RSNA show in Chicago!
