Diagnostic Reading #7: Five “Must Read” Articles on Medical Imaging
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Belgian initiative supports radiologists in assessment of CT images of COVID-19 patients.
This week’s articles in Diagnostic Reading include: COVID vaccine side effect mimics cancer on MRI; ultrasound method improves prostate cancer treatment; free COVID analysis project helps radiologists across Europe; MRI findings may improve patient care for glioblastoma; and radiology productivity may be better analyzed via time-based metric.
Managing COVID-19 vaccine side effects spotted on breast MRI exams – Health Imaging
Radiologists have reported seeing swollen lymph nodes on breast imaging exams in patients who have received a COVID-19 vaccine. Some experts have warned this side effect mimics cancer and may fool some doctors into diagnosing patients with the deadly disease. To help eliminate confusion, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania providers shared their experiences and offered guidance to appropriately manage these patients and avoid unnecessary procedures. The providers underscored the importance of having patients’ COVID-19 vaccine documentation history within the medical record.
Ultrasound technique treats prostate cancer with minimal side effects – Axis Imaging News
A technique that delivers high-intensity focused ultrasound to targeted tissue under MRI guidance effectively treats intermediate-risk prostate cancer with minimal side effects, according to a study published in Radiology. High-intensity focused ultrasound is an example of focal therapy in which an ultrasound transducer focuses sound waves to generate heat at a single point within the body and destroy the target tissue. Since this treatment is targeted to a small area within the prostate, side effects are generally less significant than those associated with surgery and radiation therapy.
AI lung scan analysis rolled out across Europe – Healthcare-in-Europe
The Belgian initiative icovid, which supports radiologists in the assessment of CT images of the lungs of COVID-19 patients, has grown into a multicenter European project. Launched in March 2020, the icovid project team investigated how to deploy lung scans during the COVID pandemic and what AI software would be needed to do so, resulting in the AI tool icolung. Due to financial support, icolung can be offered free of charge to hospitals across Europe and has analyzed over 35,000 lung CT scans.
MRI profiles genomic characteristics of glioblastoma – AuntMinnie
Using MRI, a team of more than 40 investigators has created a profile of the genes, proteins, infiltrating cells and signaling pathways of the deadly brain cancer glioblastoma, according to a study published in Cancer Cell. In this study, the researchers used MRI to create a “map” of glioblastoma that included data from 99 tumors. This research could lead to better clinical trial design that could translate into more tailored treatment for patients.
Radiology should consider ditching RVUs – Radiology Business
Relative value units (RVUs) do not accurately capture radiologists’ productivity and the specialty should consider adopting a time-based alternative, according to an investigation published in Clinical Imaging. Harnessing data from one institution’s electronic health record, an expert aimed to assess whether the current RVU system allows for a fair comparison between radiologists. He discovered that one physician could work as little as 41% of the time as a peer in the same subspecialty but record the same number of such value units.
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