Meet Susan Potter: Immortal Corpse
At the age of 72, German immigrant Susan Potter was adamant about donating her body to science. Her body would be turned inside out and created into a 3D digital landscape of 6,900 photos for medical students to learn from. In 2015, her wish finally came true. In a storyforNational Geographic, journalist Cathy Newman details Potter ’s journey from living human to “immortal corpse.”Potter ’s body was donated to the National Library of Medicine’s Visible Human Project, a program started by Vic Spitzer and David Whitlock at the University of Colorado in 1991. At the time, they received a government contract grant ...
Source: radRounds - December 28, 2018 Category: Radiology Authors: Julie Morse Source Type: blogs
MRI Can Predict Likelihood of Developing Dementia
MRI might soon be able to predict if a patient will develop dementia up to three years before they start presenting symptoms, according to a research recently presented at the Radiological Society of North American annual meeting in Chicago.Researchers from theWashington University School of Medicine in St. Louis and the University of California San Francisco found that MRI scans had an accuracy rate of 89 percent at predicting a person ’s chances of developing dementia.Dementia is a condition that impairs memory, language skills, and basic comprehension. Patients with dementia symptoms have “differences on diffusion M...
Source: radRounds - December 23, 2018 Category: Radiology Authors: Julie Morse Source Type: blogs
Deep Learning Helps Accelerate MRI Knee Exam Interpretation
The knee is the most commonly imaged body part by MRI, and a new studyhas found that deep learning model can accelerate MRI knee exams while also improving their accuracy.A team of researchers from the department of computer science at Stanford University set out to find if deep learning model could improve diagnostic accuracy for radiologists and orthopedic surgeons evaluating anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears, meniscal tears, and general abnormalities.The model ’s analysis was presented to seven general radiologists and two orthopedic surgeons who were asked to measure the “specificity, sensitivity, and accura...
Source: radRounds - December 23, 2018 Category: Radiology Authors: Julie Morse Source Type: blogs
Getting Rid of Annoying MRI Acoustics With Music
Researchers at Case Western University are turning the noisy and distressing magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine acoustics into a lulling music box that plays Yo Yo Ma.MRI ’s continuous switching patterns create jolting vibrations, which cause anxiety, annoyance, and even hearing loss for patients inside of the machine. Instead of attempting to mask the sounds, the group of researches invented Magnetic Resonance Fingerprinting (MRF), a method that converts mp3 music files to arbitrary encoding gradients.For their phantom study published recent inMagnetic Resonance in Medicine, the researchers used Yo Yo Ma ’s vers...
Source: radRounds - December 23, 2018 Category: Radiology Authors: Julie Morse Source Type: blogs
New Technology at University of Missouri School of Medicine Makes MRI Faster and Easier for Patients
At the University of Missouri School of Medicine, patients can now undergo MRIs while being able to breathe normally thanks to the institution ’s new program Heart Speed.An MRI takes around 90 minutes to conduct and can be difficult, tiring, and tedious for patients. In order to capture a clear, single image, patients need to hold their breath consistently. For patients with lung conditions that means undergoing an MRI can be especially challenging.Created by Robert Thomen, PhD, assistant professor of radiology and bioengineering, and pediatric radiologist Talissa Altes, MD,Heart Speed is a data analysis software that di...
Source: radRounds - December 14, 2018 Category: Radiology Authors: Julie Morse Source Type: blogs
AI Collaboration Being Tested at University of Rochester Medicine
The radiology department at the University of Rochester Medicine has fully embraced artificial intelligence (AI) with their recent announcement that they ’re testing Aidoc, an artificial intelligence-based software that analyzes medical images to detect abnormalities.The testing program is part of the American College of Radiology ’sDSI ASSESS-AI registry, an initiative to determine how AI solutions impact radiology practices. With careful evaluation of various AI programs, healthcare institutions can decide on the most effective AI protocol.The Aidoc solution is being used in conjunction with Nuance ’s PowerScribe...
Source: radRounds - December 14, 2018 Category: Radiology Authors: Julie Morse Source Type: blogs
What ’s in Store for the New ABR MOC Exam?
The American Board of Radiology (ABR) is replacingits age-old 10-year Maintenance of Certification (MOC) exam with a new Online Longitudinal Assessment (OLA) program. Here ’s what you should expect with the new testing protocol:The new test means that radiologists will no longer have to fly to Tucson or Chicago to take the traditional exam. The ABR took a cue from the American Board of Anesthesiology (ABA), which recently introduced an online version of their Maintenance of Certification in Anesthesiology (MOCA) called MOCA Minute. The new exam begins on January 7, 2019.Every year, radiologists will need to answer a to...
Source: radRounds - December 14, 2018 Category: Radiology Authors: Julie Morse Source Type: blogs
Facebook and NYU Collaborate to Release the Largest Open-Source MRI Dataset
The objective of the project is to expand AI resources for the medical imag ing field and create opportunities for research reproducibility.The knee images were generated from 10,000 scans and 1,600 scans with “raw measurement data.” Researchers are calling this the “largest public release of raw MRI data to date. ” The knee data is a part of the first phase of the project, but sequential phases will feature data from liver and brain scans. The dataset is fully compliant with HIPAA standards. No personal Facebook information was used, and all data is anonymized and there are no markers of individual patient s’ id...
Source: radRounds - December 8, 2018 Category: Radiology Authors: Julie Morse Source Type: blogs
The VA is Using Imaging Scans to Create 3D Printed Anatomical Models
Veterans Affairs Puget Sound Health Care System and GE Healthcare are collaborating to create 3D printing applications using radiological scans and converting them into printable files.Last week, the VA and GE officially announced a partnership that will help radiologists who specialize in cardiology, oncology, and orthopaedics, among other specialties to create 3D models for clinical settings. The project involves taking radiological scans and using fast, automated techniques to create normal and pathological anatomy models, such as plastic organs, bones, and tumors — a process that once took hours and will now only t...
Source: radRounds - December 8, 2018 Category: Radiology Authors: Julie Morse Source Type: blogs
Innovative Ultrasound Trial Goes off Without a Hitch and Successfully Treats Early Stage Alzheimer ’s
At West Virginia University ’s Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, a group of researchers led by neurosurgeon Ali R. Rezai, MD, are successfully using ultrasound waves to treat early stage Alzheimer ’s.The groundbreaking procedure uses microscopic bubbles and a specialized helmet with over 1,000 probes to emit ultrasound waves focused on an exact spot in the brain. In turn, the blood-brain barrier is disrupted, a region in between the brain ’s blood vessels and cells that’s considered practically impenetrable. “It’s protected on one end for us to function but also prevents larger molecules or chemotherapy or m...
Source: radRounds - December 8, 2018 Category: Radiology Authors: Julie Morse Source Type: blogs
AI-Based Scans Could Eliminate the Need for Using Gadolinium in MRI
According to areportrecently presented at the Radiological Society of North America ’s annual meeting, important clinical data demonstrated low-dose gadolinium MRI exams can now be effectively conveyed through algorithm-enhanced MR images, possibly providing a safer alternative to using contrast elements when performing MRI.The use ofgadolinium-based contrast agents in imaging practices has recently come under federal scrutiny, andaccording to the Food and Drug Administration, it can remain in the brain for months or years after being administered. The National Institutes of Health have alsowarnedthat patients who have s...
Source: radRounds - November 29, 2018 Category: Radiology Authors: Julie Morse Source Type: blogs
NVIDIA Broadens Clara Platform
NVIDIA remains at the forefront of developing key artificial intelligence systems for radiology with their latest launch of the Clara Software Development Kit (SDK), which will enable third-party developers to build enhanced imaging applications with a series of accelerated libraries.The SDK is an expansion of NVIDIA ’sClara Platform, a GPU-based system comprised of both computing architecture and software development, which was introduced back in September as a part of its Project Clara initiative. Project Clara ’s objective is to help computing devices to operate in synchrony by expediting image quality and speed in ...
Source: radRounds - November 29, 2018 Category: Radiology Authors: Julie Morse Source Type: blogs
Say Hello to Explorer, Your New Favorite Full-Body Scanner
TheEXPLORER, the new full-body scanner created in partnership between University of California Davis and United Imaging Healthcare in Shanghai has officially started producing images.A hybrid of positron emission tomography (PET) and x-ray computed tomography (CT), EXPLORER delivers whole-body scans in under 20 to 30 seconds. Most PET imaging systems are slow to develop each single slice of image, and once all the pieces of the images are generated then it takes around 30 to 40 minutes to be compiled into a principal three-dimensional image. This lag time makes it very challenging for physicians to assess the body in real ...
Source: radRounds - November 29, 2018 Category: Radiology Authors: Julie Morse Source Type: blogs
Medical Students are Kind of Afraid of AI ’s Influence on Radiology
The majority of medical students believe that artificial intelligence (AI) will soon diminish the need for radiologists, and some are deterred from pursuing the specialty because of the constant insurgence of AI advancements.The use of AI in medical imaging is growing rapidly. It has become anormalized facetin the specialty, so much so that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the American College of Radiology areworking togetherto develop interoperable regulations for the future safety of AI medical imaging algorithms. Although AI makes image reading a more efficient and possibly more accurate process, these qualiti...
Source: radRounds - November 27, 2018 Category: Radiology Authors: Julie Morse Source Type: blogs
MEDNAX Acquires its 8th Radiology Practice
This month, Mednax addedAssociates in Diagnostic Radiology, P.C in Chattanooga, Tennessee to its growing roster of acquired imaging practices. It was a cash transaction and no other details about the deal were disclosed.Associates in Diagnostic Radiology is an expansive and versatile practice that was founded in 1974 and specializes in diagnostic imaging, interventional radiology, neurology, pediatric radiology, neurology-interventional radiology, body imaging, musculoskeletal imaging, and nuclear medicine. They have a number of locations in the Chattanooga area, including facilities in Rast, Hixson, and Ooltewah. They col...
Source: radRounds - November 27, 2018 Category: Radiology Authors: Julie Morse Source Type: blogs
