Dear Orthopedic Imaging Insider,
Rotator cuff disease is reportedly the most common cause of shoulder pain. But when the precise cause of the problem is a partial thickness tear, diagnostic imaging techniques have a harder time making an accurate diagnosis.
Indeed, one orthopedic surgeon who looked at MRI reports of partial tears in his community practice found only 22% of them were confirmed at arthroscopy. Academic radiologists using ultrasound fared better, but still found inherent limitations in visualizing partial tears.
For more details on both of these studies, see this month's Orthopedic Imaging Insider Exclusive, made available in advance to recipients of this newsletter.
Notable among the orthopedic imaging coverage we've recently posted on AuntMinnie.com is a report on the digital imaging conversion by a large Midwestern orthopedics group. That story, which first ran as an exclusive in our X-Ray Insider newsletter, generated some interesting e-mail responses.
Several vendor representatives opined that their digital radiography offerings avoided the issues that caused this group to pull their DR system. An administrator at another facility suggested that the Midwest group simply hadn't done its homework.
But others had had similar experiences, or were simply unnerved by the cautionary tale. They were also looking to commiserate or get guidance on how to avoid an installation disappointment.
AuntMinnie.com offers several options to help in such situations:
- Search our site for news from vendors about their offerings or other information.
- Visit our Buyer's Guide to look at equipment listings and vendor contact information.
- Post a query in one of our Discussion Groups to find out what others may know.
And as always, if you have feedback or story suggestions for me, please write away!
