Dear AuntMinnie Member,
As the year draws to a close, the headlines are still coming fast and furious in the world of medical imaging.
First up is an article on the use of a 3D fast spin-echo (FSE) MRI protocol for diagnosing knee osteoarthritis. An international research team wanted to investigate the technique due to its shorter image acquisition time -- up to 30% faster compared with 2D FSE sequences. Learn more about what they discovered by clicking here.
In other news in our MRI Digital Community, researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital used MRI to detect cortical thickening in the brain, which they said can indicate that individuals are more likely to develop early symptoms of Alzheimer's disease. That story is available by clicking here, or visit the community at mri.auntminnie.com.
CR for black lung disease
In other news, computed radiography (CR) is a familiar technology to anyone in radiology, but it's a relatively new technique to epidemiologists, including those who manage long-term clinical studies of black lung disease in miners.
In a study published this month in Chest, epidemiologists using CR in a federal study tracking black lung disease found the digital technology to be the equal of film-screen radiography for recognizing the pulmonary opacities that are early signs of pneumoconiosis. And not surprisingly, readers using CR reported that it had better image quality than analog x-ray.
Read more by clicking here, or visit the Digital X-Ray Community at xray.auntminnie.com.
Cloud-based image sharing
Finally, cloud-based image sharing has been generating buzz as an alternative to CDs and other techniques for sharing images. At the recent RSNA 2011 meeting, radiologists from a California hospital described their experiences with a commercially available cloud platform, in an article you can read in our PACS Digital Community.
Cloud-based image sharing requires no hardware or software to install, and doesn't rely on patients or hospital personnel for transportation. Images are available almost instantly, and everyone accesses image data through a single, unified portal.
Find out more of cloud computing's advantages by clicking here, or visit our PACS Digital Community at pacs.auntminnie.com.
Finally, we'd like to send holiday wishes to all of our readers. We hope you spend the coming days in the company of cherished friends and family.
