RSNA 2015: Important Presentations and Studies from Day 3

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We continue to chug along at RSNA 2015, and with us was another day full of worthwhile presentations and studies that continue to move medical imaging forward.

Imaging Innovations are Paving Way Toward Healthcare Reform – RSNA Daily Bulletin

James H. Thrall, M.D. explained how medical imaging innovations are paving a substantial part of the pathway toward achieving healthcare reform. Dr. Thrall covered four trends throughout his talk: relentless further development of existing methods, which are transforming the practice of radiology and medicine; further development of special purpose devices, such as a portable MR imaging device that is currently under development; the development of more complex devices for multi-purpose use, such as hybrid imaging devices; and, the development of more complex devices for multi-purpose use, such as hybrid imaging devices.

Explaining, Discussing Medical Imaging is Key to Patient Understanding – RSNA Daily Bulletin

Leila Mostafavi, M.D., of the University of California, Los Angeles, presented on how given the overall lack of awareness many people have about the risks versus benefits of imaging exams, physicians should make deliberate efforts to hold discussions with their patients about their viewpoints of imaging procedures. In her study, Dr. Mostafavi explained that less than half the patients knew that MR does not involve ionizing radiation, and CT patients were more likely to know that CT utilized radiation (85 percent) as compared to those receiving other imaging procedures (43 percent). Most patients (84 percent) correctly identified X-ray imaging as a technique that required radiation. Dr. Mostafavi explained that to improve patient education, doctors should start by making time to initiate discussions with patients about their perceptions of medical imaging.

Imaging Takes on Predictive Role in Gynecological Cancer – RSNA Daily Bulletin

Susanna Lee, M.D., Ph.D., chief of Women’s Imaging at Massachusetts General Hospital presented about how when it comes to gynecological cancers, imaging is transitioning from a position in which it is descriptive and morphologic, to one in which it is predictive and molecular. In another session, Jung Jae Park, M.D., Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine in Seoul, Republic of Korea, described a study in which he and his colleagues compared the prognostic value of diffusion weighted MRI (DWI) and PET/CT during concurrent chemotherapy (CCRT) of cervical cancer for predicting disease progression.

Breast Density Alone Not a Cancer Risk Factor – AuntMinnie

High breast tissue density alone is not a strong independent risk factor for cancer, according to a study presented by by Dr. Natasa Katavic from Health Center Osijek in Osijek, Croatia. The study, led by Dr. Natasa Katavic from Health Center Osijek in Osijek, Croatia, included nearly 53,000 mammography exams that had been performed at the center in women ages 50 to 69 over five years. Croatian women are invited for mammography screening every two years by the country’s Institute of Public Health.

MRI Shows How Heart Changes During Deep Dives – AuntMinnie

Cardiac MRI has uncovered the unusual ability of free divers — who descend hundreds of feet into the ocean while holding their breath — to develop “compensatory mechanisms” to recover heart function within minutes of breathing again. The researchers from Germany, who presented the study at RSNA 2015 on Tuesday, likened the changes in the divers’ systolic heart function during the breath-holds to patients with systolic heart failure. The temporary suspension of breathing is known as apnea.