Dear AuntMinnie Member,
One of the reasons behind the skyrocketing utilization of CT in recent years is the modality's superiority over traditional radiography. But could new advanced digital technologies make radiography more competitive?
Canadian researchers examine that question in an article we're featuring this week in our Digital X-Ray Community. The group compared digital radiography (DR) with a dual-energy technique to conventional DR, and asked a panel of radiologists to rate their preferences.
Dual-energy DR collects two separate images, with the system's x-ray tube set to different energy levels for each acquisition. Users can then postprocess images to highlight either bone or soft tissue.
The radiologists in the study said they preferred the dual-energy images -- find out why by clicking here, or visit the Digital X-Ray Community at xray.auntminnie.com.
Automating CT orders
In other news, we examine the case of M. D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, which was looking for a way to make the process of ordering CT scans more efficient. After years of relying on handwritten forms sent by fax and courier, the radiology department realized there had to be a better way.
The department developed an automated, software-based CT order entry system that integrated with its existing clinical information system. Find out how the software has improved efficiency by clicking here, or visit our Healthcare IT Digital Community.
