With all of the attention being paid to reducing radiation dose to patients, ultrasound is getting a renewed look in many clinical indications. That new emphasis will be evident at the RSNA 2011 meeting, where a number of presentations will evaluate the utility of ultrasound versus CT, particularly in the bowel.
Ultrasound elastography also is an active research area. A number of talks will report on performance improvements gleaned from the use of in vivo compression in thyroid elastography. Other hot ultrasound topics this year include contrast-enhanced ultrasound and ultrasound guidance.
Ultrasound practitioners will have a full slate of refresher courses to choose from this year, including a Sunday, November 27, session that takes a new look at an old topic: ultrasound of the bowel (2:00 p.m-3:30 p.m., RC110, Room N226).
On Monday, November 28, an interactive session will provide RSNA 2011 attendees with great abdominal ultrasound cases seen by presenters in the liver, kidney, biliary tract, and pancreas (8:30 a.m.-10:00 a.m., RC210, Room E450B). Lower extremity venous imaging and intervention is the topic of another Monday morning refresher course (8:30 a.m.-10:00 a.m., RC212, Room S404CD).
Those interested in an update on cutting-edge ultrasound technology won't want to miss a Tuesday, November 29, refresher course on the frontiers of ultrasound (8:30 a.m.-10:00 a.m., RC310, Room S503AB). Also on Tuesday, a hands-on workshop will feature small-parts interventional ultrasound (8:30 a.m.-10:00 a.m., RC352, Room E264).
Tuesday afternoon brings a refresher course on mistakes to avoid in obstetric ultrasound (4:30 p.m.-6:00 p.m., RC410, Room N226).
Bariatric imaging is always a difficult task in ultrasound, but a refresher course on obesity and ultrasound on Wednesday, November 30, should provide attendees with some helpful tips (8:30 a.m.-10:00 a.m., RC510, Room S103CD). A breast ultrasound refresher course is also on tap for Wednesday morning (8:30 a.m.-10:00 a.m., RC521, Room N230).
A how-to workshop on ultrasound for thyroid cancer also is scheduled for Wednesday (8:30 a.m.-10:00 a.m., RC531, Room N227), while a hands-on workshop on musculoskeletal ultrasound will focus on peripheral nerves (8:30 a.m.-10:00 a.m., RC552, Room E264).
Ultrasound will be included in a pair of special interest/controversies/hot topics sessions on Wednesday afternoon, including the diagnosis and management controversies of multiple sclerosis (4:30 p.m.-6:00 p.m., SPSC43, Room E352) and ultrasound versus MRI for musculoskeletal radiology (4:30 p.m.-6:00 p.m., SPSC44, Room S404CD).
Early risers on Thursday, December 1, will be able to compare ultrasound and CT for thyroid carcinoma (7:15 a.m.-8:15 a.m., SPSC50, Room E351). Ultrasound will also be covered in a Thursday pediatric emergency imaging course (8:30 a.m.-10:00 a.m., RC608, Room N226), as well as for pediatric musculoskeletal imaging (8:30 a.m.-10:00 a.m., RC613, Room S102AB).
An ultrasound in oncology interactive session is scheduled for Thursday morning (8:30 a.m.-10:00 a.m., RC618, Room S405AB), as is a small-parts interventional ultrasound workshop (8:30 a.m.-10:00 a.m., RC631, Room E263) and a Doppler ultrasound interactive session (8:30 a.m.-10:00 a.m., RC610, Room E353C). Thursday afternoon topics range from MR elastography and quantitative ultrasound elastography (3:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m., SPSH51, Room E351) to Doppler ultrasound (4:30 p.m.-6:00 p.m., RC710, Room E450B), breast ultrasound (4:30 p.m.-6:00 p.m., RC715, Room E451B), and visceral and carotid applications of Doppler ultrasound (4:30 p.m.-6:00 p.m., RC752, Room E264).
Courses to choose from on Friday, December 2, include ultrasound diagnosis of adnexal cystic masses (8:30 a.m.-10:00 a.m., RC810, Room E350), pediatric gastrointestinal imaging (8:30 a.m.-10:00 a.m., RC813, Room S102AB), and a real-time interventional ultrasound workshop (8:30 a.m.-10:00 a.m., RC852, Room E264).
