Dear AuntMinnie Member,
ORLANDO, FL - This year's edition of the Society for Computer Applications in Radiology meeting blasted off with an inspiring opening address from physician-astronaut Dr. Bernard Harris Jr., who drew parallels between space exploration and the ongoing digitization of healthcare.
Harris, the first African American to conduct a space walk, discussed his inspiration for becoming an astronaut, which included watching early television shows like "Star Trek," in which Bones McCoy practiced a fanciful but in some ways prescient version of space medicine.
Harris also leads a venture capital firm, Vesalius Ventures, that is exploring the market for telemedicine technology. Harris sees the relentless progress of technology bringing changes to healthcare that will help it achieve the vision found in early programs like "Star Trek."
From Internet-connected robots that enable doctors to make rounds without being physically present to microprocessors embedded in humans via pacemakers, the future of healthcare is happening now, Harris said. Technology can help medical imaging become more efficient and evolve into a service that's available in real time for referring physicians, he said.
Speaking of efficiency, researchers from Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN, are taking on one of the most time-consuming and error-prone jobs in radiology: the comparison of new images with older studies in order to track disease progression.
A featured article by staff writer Jonathan S. Batchelor describes the Mayo group's use of an automated image alignment program on 40 sets of CT and MRI exams. The application reduced report generation time by a healthy 25% overall, the group reported at this week's meeting.
However, automated alignment worked better in body CT than body MR images, and better in neurological than non-neurological exams. You'll find more details on this promising open-source application by clicking here.
We'll be bringing you more coverage from the SCAR show over the next several days, so be sure to check back as we feature daily reports in our PACS, RIS, and Advanced Visualization Digital Communities.
