Dear AuntMinnie Member,
At least one hospital staff member was using the phone and apparently not paying attention just before a man carrying an oxygen cylinder walked into an MRI suite at a hospital in Mumbai, India, causing a fatal accident.
That's according to an official report released last week by Mumbai municipal authorities investigating the January accident. The report reveals important details about the moments leading up to Rajesh Maruti Maru being pulled into the magnet bore and killed.
Mr. Maru was apparently aware that he should not bring metallic items into the scanning suite, as he is seen on closed-circuit TV giving metal belongings to relatives. But he then carried the oxygen cylinder into the suite, with tragic consequences.
The report states that hospital personnel should have prevented Mr. Maru from carrying the cylinder into the scanning room, but one of two attendants on duty was on her phone and not paying attention at the time.
This inquiry focused on hospital personnel; a second investigation is underway into whether doctors and nurses on duty at the time of the incident also bear responsibility. For more details click here, or visit our MRI Community at mri.auntminnie.com.
Radiologist pay tops $400K
The average annual salary of U.S. radiologists topped $400,000 in a Medscape survey of physician compensation, putting imaging specialists among the top five highest-compensated specialties.
Medscape found that radiologists in general were pleased with their decision to enter the field, with 96% saying they would pick imaging again -- compared with 62% of physicians overall.
But not everything is rosy in radiology. The field was one of the lowest in terms of the number of female specialists, and physicians overall reported that they are drowning in paperwork. Read more by clicking here, or visit our Imaging Leaders Community at leaders.auntminnie.com.
AI and ultrasound
Finally, visit our Artificial Intelligence Community for a new story that poses an intriguing question: Could the combination of artificial intelligence (AI) and point-of-care ultrasound produce the holy grail of healthcare -- the tricorder, a handheld device capable of comprehensive diagnosis at the push of a button? Learn more about this possibility by clicking here, or visit the community at ai.auntminnie.com.
