AuntMinnie.com MRI Insider

Dear MRI Insider,

Our latest issue features research from Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia that suggests that MRI may help guide orthopedic treatment plans by identifying meniscal tears that are likely to become unstable.

The study also concludes that vertically oriented medial meniscal tears in the knee involving both articular surfaces, the posterior horn, and the red zone may predispose individuals to a future medial meniscal bucket handle tear. Read more about this interesting study in this issue's Insider Exclusive by clicking here.

In other top stories, staff writer Eric Barnes reports on a Danish study that showed that dynamic contrast-enhanced MR colonography can readily distinguish benign from malignant strictures of the colon. The technique could solve a diagnostic dilemma in patients with suspected colorectal cancer lesions that prevent them from undergoing conventional colonoscopy before surgery, according to the researchers.

Also in this issue is a story tackling the question of whether unstructured reports fail to convey accurate brain MRI information. Staff writer Kate Madden Yee discusses research from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, that finds that the bulk of radiology reports today are unstructured and contain variations among radiologists, subjective descriptions and interpretations, and incidental findings, and that the reports lack important information.

And while MRI is known to detect more myocardial scarring than PET in patients with occlusive coronary artery disease, a new study from Germany suggests that contrast-enhanced MRI can make a critical difference in treatment planning for those revascularization candidates who have severely impaired left ventricular function. Click here to learn more from our coverage by Eric Barnes.

Finally, read the details of Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan's $1.2 million settlement with 14 imaging centers that allegedly paid illegal kickbacks to doctors in exchange for referrals. The successful legal action is likely to put other medical imaging centers on notice to keep their business on the right side of the law.

Stay in touch with the MRI Digital Community in the coming weeks as we detail more developments and research in the modality.