Dear AuntMinnie Member,
It's no secret that mammography advocates weren't pleased in 2009 when the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) rescinded its recommendation that women ages 40 to 49 receive regular breast screening. A number of arguments have been levied against the task force's decision, but this week a new one surfaced claiming that the change was based on faulty science.
That's according to a new article in our Women's Imaging Digital Community, which analyzes a study appearing in the March issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology that dissects the science behind the USPSTF decision. The authors of the study claim that the task force made a fundamental error in calculating the effectiveness of mammography screening in reducing the death rate from breast cancer. This led to an overestimation of mammography's "harms" relative to the benefits in reducing deaths.
What was the error that led to the alleged miscalculation? Find out by clicking here, or visit the Women's Imaging Digital Community at women.auntminnie.com.
iPhone for knee MRI
Meanwhile, the list of imaging applications for the iPhone continues to grow. Canadian researchers have found that Apple's diminutive wonder device works well in a pinch for interpreting knee MRI exams.
In a presentation from the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons (AAOS) meeting earlier this month, researchers compared image interpretation on an iPhone to results from arthroscopy. They found that experts reading off the mobile device actually had high diagnostic accuracy for several types of knee pathology.
The study marks one of the first examples of using an iPhone for musculoskeletal conditions, the authors said, and it opens up a range of possibilities for collaboration between radiologists and orthopedic surgeons. Read more in our Advanced Visualization Digital Community by clicking here, or go to av.auntminnie.com.
