Dear AuntMinnie Member,
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration yesterday released its final guidance on the regulation of mobile apps used in healthcare. But as with many new FDA policies, the guidance created almost as many questions as it answered for developers of radiology software.
That's according to an article by senior editor Erik L. Ridley in our Advanced Visualization Digital Community. The story describes how the new FDA policy includes radiology apps within its purview, such as those used by radiologists to render a diagnosis or synchronize with CT or x-ray systems.
At the same time, the FDA said it wouldn't regulate health-related apps used by consumers to manage their weight or track their personal fitness programs.
What's less clear is how the agency intends to handle apps used by clinicians to view medical images for reference purposes, but not to diagnose. This is a burgeoning area for mobile apps, with many software developers targeting clinicians for their app offerings.
Read about yesterday's policy announcement by clicking here, and visit the community in the days to come at av.auntminnie.com for more analysis of this important policy decision.
Mary's latest Musing
Do radiologists really have x-ray vision? That's the question posed by Dr. Mary Morrison Saltz in her latest Mary's Musings column.
The question came to Mary after a relatively prosaic occurrence: her husband lost his cellphone. Who better to find a misplaced item than a radiologist? After all, is locating a small black object in an asphalt parking lot really that different than finding hidden pathology on an imaging scan?
The episode prompted Mary to ponder the visual strategies that radiologists use every day in the course of their work -- as well as the factors that may lead to errors in interpretation. Give it a read (and find out whether she found the cellphone) by clicking here.
ASTRO news
Also be sure to visit our Radiation Oncology Digital Community for coverage of this week's American Society for Radiation Oncology (ASTRO) meeting, currently underway in Atlanta. Just visit radiation.auntminnie.com for all the news from the show, including this article on five radiation therapy procedures you should question before ordering.
