Dear AuntMinnie Member,
The rising popularity of vaping has led to questions about whether the practice is actually safer than smoking conventional cigarettes. A new study this past week added some fuel to the debate by using MRI to show how vaping immediately affects vascular function.
Researchers from the University of Pennsylvania performed MRI scans on 31 healthy nonsmoking adults before and after they vaped with an e-cigarette that did not contain nicotine. They found that a single vaping episode cut blood flow and weakened vascular reactivity in the femoral artery -- even without nicotine.
In other MRI news this week, a new review of more than 1,500 adverse events that occurred over 10 years at U.S. MRI centers found that most of the incidents were preventable. The review also categorized incidents by type, with thermal injuries by far the most common.
And researchers from Switzerland confirmed that a key visual sign that denotes the presence of multiple sclerosis on images from 7-tesla MRI scanners can also be seen with 3-tesla magnets -- which are much more prevalent at clinical sites.
Get these stories and more in our MRI Community.
Radiology corporatization
There's no denying that the face of radiology is changing rapidly. Small groups are getting swallowed up by larger firms, mirroring consolidation that's going on in the broader healthcare industry.
But is the corporatization of radiology a positive or negative trend? It could have major implications for access to medical imaging and utilization, but how things will pan out over the long term remains to be seen, according to a new analysis.
Get the rest of the details in our Imaging Leaders Community.
Ready for a new job?
Has your radiology group gone corporate? Or are you stuck in a rut with your existing group and looking for a new challenge?
If so, this is a great time to start looking for a new job. Fortunately, AuntMinnie's Job Boards are here to help. You can view jobs by role or state, and you can save your searches and have email alerts sent to you when new opportunities arise.
Get started at jobs.auntminnie.com.
