Dear AuntMinnie Member,
A new study being featured in Radiology points to the utility of MRI for predicting whether seemingly normal patients might be at risk for cardiovascular events such as stroke.
As reported in our MRI Digital Community, researchers from the U.S. and Canada used MRI to analyze the lipid core in the internal carotid artery of a subset of nearly 1,000 patients from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA). They measured the thickness of the artery and examined other factors such as carotid plaque composition, and then compared these features with the outcomes of patients in the group.
The researchers found that individuals with arterial remodeling and a lipid core on MRI were more likely to experience cardiovascular events in the future. Learn about more findings by clicking here.
In other MRI news, check out this paper by Austrian researchers who analyzed the likelihood that lesions classified as BI-RADS 3 would progress to become malignant. Get these studies and more by visiting the MRI Digital Community at mri.auntminnie.com.
ECR coverage on tap
Just a few days remain before the opening of the European Congress of Radiology (ECR), the pre-eminent radiology conference in Europe. If you can't make it to Vienna this year, don't worry -- we'll have editors on the scene reporting for our RADCast @ ECR special section.
This year's meeting looks to be another successful conference, with special focus sessions on interventional radiology, social media for radiologists, and imaging of the brain; the meeting will also see the launch of a new European initiative to better control radiation dose.
You can read preview articles now in our RADCast @ ECR special section, at radcast.auntminnie.com. And if you want up-to-the-minute updates from Vienna, be sure to follow us on Twitter by clicking here.
Q1 MICI numbers
Finally, radiology administrators continue to have a pessimistic view of their upcoming business prospects, according to the latest data in the Medical Imaging Confidence Index (MICI).
MICI numbers for the first quarter of 2014 indicate that administrators have hit rock bottom in terms of their confidence that they will receive adequate reimbursement from Medicare -- it's the lowest number yet in the history of the MICI survey. They were also less confident about their facilities growing as profit centers in the current quarter.
See the numbers for yourself by clicking here, and let us know if they match your experience by starting a thread in our Forums.
