Dear AuntMinnie Member,
A probe by Indian municipal authorities into a fatal MRI accident in January will lay the blame for the accident on overworked hospital personnel who were so busy they weren't able to follow security procedures designed to prevent the introduction of metallic items into the scanning room, according to a new story in our MRI Community.
Rajesh Maruti Maru was killed on January 27 at Nair Hospital in Mumbai when he carried an oxygen cylinder into the MRI room while accompanying his mother-in-law for a scan. His death ignited protests over what some believe are dangerous conditions in Indian hospitals, as well as concern in the radiology community over how to prevent similar accidents in the future -- especially in the developing world.
A government committee has been investigating the accident and is set to deliver its report soon. But an Indian newspaper that spoke to an official with knowledge of the report said that it will most likely blame overworked personnel who weren't able to follow security procedures due to a crowd of patients. Read more by clicking here.
While you're in our MRI Community, also check out a new story on research into the use of antidepression medication by expecting mothers. Researchers used MRI to discover that there were structural changes in the brains of babies born to mothers who took medication compared to mothers who didn't during their pregnancies.
The researchers aren't sure about the clinical significance of the changes, but they do point to the difficulty of managing prenatal depression in pregnant women. Learn more by clicking here, or visit our MRI Community at mri.auntminnie.com.
Clara to bring AI to the masses
The artificial intelligence (AI) revolution is coming. But many imaging facilities could be left behind if they have scanners that don't have the powerful graphics processing units (GPUs) required to run computation-intensive AI algorithms.
That's where the Clara project comes in. Announced last month by GPU developer NVIDIA, Clara is designed to virtualize AI by enabling sites with legacy scanners to ship imaging data to an off-premises facility for processing rather than on board the scanner.
The project is in the early phases, but it has the potential to bring AI to the masses -- making artificial intelligence more accessible to both physicians and patients. Learn more by clicking here.
While you're in our Artificial Intelligence Community, click here to read about a talk on AI at last week's Radiology Business Management Association's Paradigm conference in San Diego. Dr. R. Kent Hutson of Radiology and Imaging Consultants in Colorado Springs, CO, believes that radiologists should know about the benefits and limitations of AI before they consider adopting it.
These stories and more news about AI are available in the community at ai.auntminnie.com.
The art of radiology
Finally, be sure to check out our Imaging Leaders Community for an article on Dr. Susan Summerton, a Pennsylvania radiologist who is winning renown for her unique works of art based on shapes, symbols, letters, and numbers she finds in medical images. Demand for her work is growing -- see for yourself by clicking here, or visit the community at leaders.auntminnie.com.
