CHICAGO - From MRI and mad cow disease to the imaging of arthritic ballerinas, the scientific sessions at this week's RSNA conference offer something for everyone. AuntMinnie diligently poured over the weighty 1999 Scientific Program to pick a list of presentations we think are especially interesting. We also checked in with some RSNA insiders, who shared their thoughts on this year's program.
For the first time, international practitioners will open each cardiac imaging session with a nine-minute update on that subspecialty. The speakers, who hail from such countries as Germany, Japan, and Norway, will set the tone for the meeting and summarize some of its major themes, said Dr. Kerry Link, chairman of the RSNA's cardiovascular radiology program committee. Link also is an associate professor of thoracic and cardiac MRI and mammography at Wake Forest University Medical School in Winston-Salem, NC.
The cardiac and cardiovascular presentations will be divided into three sections: interventional, non-invasive imaging of the heart, and non-invasive imaging of the vascular system. The sessions highlight recent technological advances that could result in turf issues over control of cardiac imaging, according to Link.
"This really is the age of non-invasive imaging of the heart. It raises questions about who is going to do this, radiologists or cardiologists? There's interest on the part of both private practitioners as well as academicians," Link said.
Myocardial function, myocardial perfusion, and coronary artery calcification are just some of the topics that fall under the non-invasive imaging umbrella. A Wednesday morning session on coronary artery calcification (1092, 10:30 am, Room E541A) will be a particular stand out, Link said.
"The session will be moderated by one of the experts, Dr. William Stanford of Iowa City, IA. We're trying to compare the ability of multi-row-detector spiral CT to electron-beam CT, which is the gold standard," he added.
With regard to non-invasive vascular imaging, two sessions will be devoted to peripheral vascular disease (1082-1091, Wednesday, 10:30 am, Room 353C; 1636-1645, Friday, 10:30 am, Room E451B).
"There's enough clinical research being done in this arena, so we could do separate sections," Link said. "In terms of the non-invasive vascular system, we've tried to highlight the practical use of CT and MR for evaluating the vascular system."
The physics programIn the RSNA's physics program, the Monday plenary session will serve as a road map for the various lectures throughout the week, said Dr. Anthony Seibert, an associate professor of radiology, physics at the University of California at Davis Medical Center. Seibert serves as the chairman for the physics program committee (211-215, 10:30 am, Room S402AB).
"This session is devoted to looking at the cutting-edge research and recent introductions of technology, in several pertinent areas: MR, CT, digital radiography, and computer-aided diagnosis," Seibert said.
There are six major physics tracks, Seibert said: MR, CT, image processing (CAD and PACS), diagnostic (digital detectors, mammography), and radiation therapy. One of the hot topics this year will MR pulse sequences, presented at the end of sessions on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday (420-425, Monday, 2:30 pm; 801-815, Tuesday, 2:30 pm; 1158-1163, Wednesday, 2:30 pm, all in Room S401CD).
"In addition to the scientific sessions, there are several ongoing parallel clinical sessions that illustrate the physics principles behind these imaging modalities," Seibert added.
The following presentations are AuntMinnie.com's picks as among the most interesting taking place during the week.
Breast432, Monday, 2:30 pm, Room S402AB
Predicting malignancy of breast masses with ultrasound findings
608, Tuesday, 11:06 am, Room S406A
The value of consensus reading in screening mammography
609, Tuesday, 11:15 am, Room S406A
Mammographic characteristics of 111 missed cancers later detected by screening mammography
1626-1635, Friday, 10:30 am, Room E451A
Hemodynamics and myocardial function
Cardiovascular
1086, Wednesday, 11:06 am, room E353C
The effect of balloon angioplasty on progression of renal insufficiency in patients with hemodynamically significant atherosclerotic renal artery stenosis
1636-1645, Friday, 10:30 am, Room E451B
Peripheral vasculature II
Chest
1058, Wednesday, 11:24 am, Room E352
CT and severe diffusion impairment among HIV-positive individuals without AIDS
1239, Wednesday, 2:30 pm, room E352
Diagnostic yield of lung biopsies in the era of hospital cost reduction: Are on-site cytopathologists necessary?
1421, Thursday, 11:15 am, Room E352
The first 12 months' clinical experience of chest radiography using a direct-to-digital detector
Gastrointestinal
871, Tuesday, 2:39 pm, E351
CT Fluoroscopy: CT intervention reinvented
General, contrast media
1215, Wednesday, 2:57 pm, Room S503AB
Selective use of low osmolality contrast media in CT
Health Services Policy and Research
1250, Wednesday, 2:48 pm, Room E353C
The value of teleradiology and radiology resident interpretation of ER radiographs: A comparison of ER physicians and radiologists, residents and faculty, and film and digital display
Integrating the Healthcare Enterprise (IHE)
Thursday, 10:30 am, Room E253AB
Strategies for integration
Musculoskeletal
245, Monday, 11:51 am, Room S405AB
Angled axial MR images in the lumbar spine: A potential source of diagnostic error
246, Monday, 10:30 am, Room S406B
Plain radiography in the evaluation of atraumatic shoulder pain: Is it useful in the age of MRI?
838, Tuesday, 3:06 pm, Room S405AB
MRI versus sonography correlations in rotator cuff tears
Neuroradiology
183, Sunday, 11:03 am, Room N227
Gd-BOPTA MRA vs Gd-DPTA enhanced MRA in assessment of carotid artery stenosis
197, Sunday, 11:39 am, N228
Artifacts in the basal cisterns: The downfall of FLAIR
1675, 11:51 am, Room N228
Carotid stenting follow-up: Comparison of angiography, CT-angiography, and duplex sonography
Nuclear medicine
268, Monday, 10:57 am, Room S502AB
A proposed new diagnostic algorithm for the pre-operative evaluation of solitary pulmonary nodules
1017, Wednesday, 11:15 am, Room S502AB
Value of early gallium-67 SPECT images in patients with head and neck malignant tumors
Pediatric
257, Monday, 10:48 am, Room S501ABC
Imaging evaluation of suspected appendicitis in a pediatric population: Sonography versus CT
1557, 10:39 am, Room S501ABC
Imaging features in pulmonary cytolytic thrombi: A newly recognized complication of bone marrow transplantation
Physics
211-215, Monday 10:30 am, Room S402AB
State of the art in diagnostic imaging
420-425, Monday, 2:30 pm, Room S401CD
Magnetic resonance: Pulse sequences
804-815, Tuesday, 2:30 pm, Room S401CD
Computed tomography: Dosimetry
1158-1163, Wednesday, 2:30 pm, Room S401CD
Magnetic resonance: Interventional
Radiation oncology
617, Tuesday, 10:57 am, Room S403B
3-D conformal radiotherapy for pancreatic carcinoma
981, Wednesday, 11:51 am, Room S403B
Fullerenes as a new class of radioprotectors
1528, Friday, 10:48 am, Room S403B
3-D conformal radiation therapy for lung cancer: Comparison of two treatment techniques
Ultrasound
201, Sunday, 10:45 am, Room N230
Ultrasonographic detection of hepatocellular carcinoma in cirrhotic patients before liver transplants
By Shalmali Pal
AuntMinnie.com staff writer
November 28, 1999
