Welcome to the next installment of this year's Road to RSNA preview of the 98th annual meeting of RSNA in Chicago. At this year's conference, look for MRI to garner increasing attention as a viable modality in clinical applications where radiation exposure is a concern.
In addition, radiologists are using MRI to discover previously hidden secrets in the brain for afflictions such as Alzheimer's disease, cognitive disorders, multiple sclerosis, and stroke.
On Sunday, November 25, nine research presentations on MRI's contribution to neurology (10:45 a.m.-12:15 p.m., SSA16, Room N228) kick off the conference with topics that include a computer-based diagnostic system to help in the diagnosis of dementia, patterns of gray matter, and the networks in the brain as seen by MRI, as well as cognitive activity within white matter in the brain.
Also on Monday, a series of presentations has an international flair. "Brazil Presents 2012: Topics in MRI" (10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m., SSC18, Room E353C) will offer an introduction to Brazilian radiology, advances in fetal 3D MRI, and the role of advanced MRI techniques in demyelinating diseases.
The spotlight is on musculoskeletal MRI applications on Tuesday, November 27 (3:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m., SSJ16, Room E451B), when six papers are presented.
Breast MRI will dominate much of the poster sessions and refresher courses. On Monday, November 26, Dr. Delia Margaret Keating from Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center will moderate a session with 11 poster presentations (LL-BRS-MO). The topics range from the economics of MR mammography in dense breast cases to screening breast MRI in women with a history of lobular carcinoma in situ.
On Wednesday, November 28, 12 poster presentations (LL-BRS-WE) are scheduled for the Lakeside Learning Center starting at 12:15 p.m. Several posters focus on MRI's ability to assess and predict response to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in advanced breast cancer cases, and how screening with breast MRI can increase the detection rate in women with a personal history of breast cancer. Dr. Donna Danielle D'Alessio from Memorial Sloan-Kettering will host this session.
If neurology is your bailiwick, plan to attend the poster session on Wednesday at 5:00 p.m. (LL-NRS-WEPM), when 16 research presentations will be on display. The topics include a comparison of MRI and PET/CT for head and neck cancer cases, MRI for viewing gray matter in multiple sclerosis cases, and how the modality can help in detailing atherosclerotic cerebral artery plaque and subsequent stroke.
Interactive refresher courses on MRI are available during the annual meeting. Clinical breast MRI will be the focus (RC315) on Tuesday, November 27, beginning at 8:30 a.m. in Room E353C.
On Sunday, there will be a hands-on workshop for MRI-guided breast biopsy (RC150) for 90 minutes beginning at 2:00 p.m. in Room E260. The session will be repeated on Thursday, November 29, at 8:30 a.m. in the same location.
An interactive session on abdominal MRI for better and safer diagnosis (RC129) also is scheduled for Sunday at 2:00 p.m. in Room S105AB.
Previews of noteworthy scientific papers involving MRI are summarized below. Be sure to follow AuntMinnie.com throughout the conference for daily news and research papers that influence radiology.
To view the RSNA's listing of abstracts for this year's scientific and educational program click here.
