Dear AuntMinnie Member,
A new study on radiologist mortality has some intriguing findings regarding the impact of medical radiation on radiologist death rates.
Researchers from the U.S. National Cancer Institute (NCI) tracked mortality for diagnostic radiologists dating back to before 1940 and compared their mortality rates to psychiatrists, who aren't exposed to radiation on the job. The NCI researchers wanted to see if radiologists had higher rates of mortality due to their occupational exposure to radiation.
They found that mortality rates for radiologists have been lower than those of psychiatrists since 1940, when efforts to control occupation-based exposure began. Radiologists even had lower rates of mortality from various types of cancers that could have been radiation-induced.
The take-home message? Efforts to reduce occupational-based radiation exposure have been a huge success. Read more by clicking here.
While you're in our CT Community, check out this article on how radiologists are using the CT Colonography Reporting and Data System (C-RADS) to report CT colonography studies with more consistency.
DBT finds more cancers
Meanwhile, in our Women's Imaging Community, we're reporting on results from the Screening with Tomosynthesis or Standard Mammography-2 (STORM-2) study, a screening study of nearly 10,000 women that combined digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) with 2D mammography and compared the combination to conventional 2D mammography alone.
Researchers found that adding DBT to a 2D mammography study improved cancer detection rates and found invasive cancers that were smaller. What's more, the use of a synthetic 2D mammogram derived from DBT data worked just as well as a conventional 2D mammogram -- meaning women can avoid the radiation dose of an additional study.
On the down side, recall rates were higher, the STORM-2 researchers noted. Get the rest of the story by clicking here, or visit the community at women.auntminnie.com.
New compact MRI
Finally, visit our MRI Community to learn about a new compact MRI scanner about to hit the U.S. market for clinical use. Aspect Imaging recently received U.S. Food and Drug Administration clearance for its WristView scanner, which generates 3D images of the hand. Learn more by clicking here or go to mri.auntminnie.com.
