Radiology, pathology, medical genetics and laboratory medicine under one roof: many hospitals are toying with the idea of ‘integrated diagnostics’ but it was the medical management at Geneva’s University Hospital that dared to take the first step and consolidate all these diagnostic disciplines in a single organisational unit: The Diagnostic Department. ‘Our long-term vision is a…
Examining the safety of AI integration into clinical workflow during at the British Institute of Radiology (BIR) annual congress in London, this November, Professor Nicola Strickland focused on issues of data quantity and quality, regulation, validation and testing of algorithms. She also urged radiologists and computer scientists to work more closely together to develop safe, effective and…
Blockchain is a concept that could have significant benefits for healthcare – particularly in radiology – but several challenges remain. Although an effective conduit through which to share data and medical images, particularly across health systems, one drawback is speed, given the amount of data that can be involved. However, Professor Morgan McBee, paediatric radiologist and imaging…
Imaging biomarkers (IB) have advanced tremendously since first described 25 years ago, but many challenges still block their widespread use. During the EuSoMII’s annual meeting in Valencia, Dr Ángel Alberich-Bayarri gave pragmatic solutions to tackle current bottlenecks and explained why close surveillance is mandatory for further development of IB. However, these need close surveillance with…
A new strategy to transform imaging in the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) has been unveiled after a major data-gathering project to assess the present state of the service. The process will see the creation of a national strategy for imaging networks designed to deliver improved care and better value services for patients. Key to this has been ‘The Model Hospital’ concept – a digital…
Errors in breast imaging: the subject is vexing. How to avoid or address errors are also concerning. These subjects lay at the core of a presentation to radiologists during the recent annual congress of the British Institute of Radiology, when consultant radiologist Dr Rosalind Given-Wilson described the how, where, and what of errors or near misses, along with their impact on patients and…
As a highly innovative medical specialisation, radiology increasingly takes advantage of the possibilities offered by artificial intelligence (AI). Yet, there is no risk for the future of the specialty. Demands on this discipline are too complex, too communicative. Thus, machines will not replace a radiologist any time soon – of that Uwe Joseph Schöpf, professor of radiology, cardiology and…
The British Institute of Radiology (BIR) and a working party of UK radiological professional bodies and agencies have published evidence-based guidance which shows that patient contact shielding (such as aprons, thyroid or gonad shields) provides minimal or no benefit. It concludes that there are other areas of radiation protection which are more effective in optimising radiation exposure such as…
The 2020 edition of the European Congress of Radiology (ECR) in Vienna, which had been postponed due to safety concerns regarding COVID-19, will not take place on site this year. Instead, the congress organisers at the European Society of Radiology (ESR) opt for an online-only event: "It is with a heavy heart and much regret that the Board of Directors of the European Society of Radiology…
In a study of more than 1,000 patients published in Radiology, chest CT outperformed lab testing in the diagnosis of 2019 novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Researchers at Tongji Hospital in Wuhan, China, concluded that CT should be used as the primary screening tool for COVID-19. In the absence of specific therapeutic drugs or vaccines for COVID-19, it is essential to detect the disease at an…
The publication of the results of the Dutch-Belgian lung cancer screening trial (NELSON) supports recent calls to introduce lung cancer screening programmes throughout Europe. In light of the scientific evidence, lung cancer screening should be firmly embedded in any initiative launched by the European Commission and the Member States in the fight against cancer. As the leading cause of death…
It’s time to cut through the hype surrounding artificial intelligence and begin to understand the reality in terms of application in radiology. With many different algorithms available that cover a growing array of diagnostic and interpretational areas, Dr Anjum Ahmed believes hospitals and care providers now need to ask the right questions when weighing up AI implementation in their clinical…
Computed tomography (CT) plays an increasingly important role in assessing pelvic disease, particularly when patients present with acute abdominal pain. In addition, radiomic approaches on CT are being developed to increase the characterisation of ovarian cancer for optimising treatment planning.
Cystic lesions of the pancreas can occur in many forms, not all of which pose a serious threat to the patient. A thorough diagnosis using multi-modality imaging is therefore indispensable to differentiate between benign and malignant lesions.
A deep learning method with a convolutional neural network (CNN) can support the evaluation of small solid renal masses in dynamic CT images with acceptable diagnostic performance, according to an article published ahead-of-print in the March issue of the American Journal of Roentgenology (AJR). Between 2012 and 2016, researchers at Japan’s Okayama University studied 1807 image sets from 168…
A computer algorithm has been shown to be as effective as human radiologists in spotting breast cancer from x-ray images. The international team behind the study, which includes researchers from Google Health, DeepMind, Imperial College London, the NHS and Northwestern University in the US, designed and trained an artificial intelligence (AI) model on mammography images from almost 29,000 women.…
Whole-body magnetic resonance imaging (WB-MRI) is championed as offering significant benefits, such as improving disease evaluation for prostate cancer patients. During an intense session in genito-urinary cancer at ECR 2019, three key speakers focused on the advantages over conventional imaging modalities as well as discussing new PET (Positron Emission Tomography) tracers.
An enthralling insight into the care that could be offered to cancer patients of the future was presented by cancer imaging expert Professor Regina Beets-Tan during her a keynote presentation at the recent British Institute of Radiology congress. In the session ‘Oncologic imaging: Future perspectives’, the professor outlined what a Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) of the future – a team in…
Complex challenges require interdisciplinary approaches. To find out at first hand which topics are of interest to experts is the key objective of ETIM 2020 (Emerging Technologies in Medicine), which is held from February 28-29 in Essen, Germany. Be there when experienced physicians, engineers and computer scientists talk about future topics in radiology. And after the lectures, take advantage of…
Radiomics is one of the most exciting topics in radiology. It involves data and artificial intelligence (AI) but very few people know or understand the details. In her lecture ‘How does Radiomics work?’, presented at the German Radiology Congress in Leipzig, Professor Ulrike Attenberger outlined how radiomics will advance radiology but also the obstacles faced along the way.
At RSNA 2019, GE Healthcare launches more than 30 new, imaging intelligent applications and smart devices designed to drive efficiency in radiology departments, aiming to double productivity and cost savings for systems by 2025. For healthcare executives, the new offerings help systems to save costs, improve technology utilization, and increase patient volumes. Clinicians also will benefit from…
Agfa announces that it will launch the DR 100s high-productivity, ergonomic, mobile DR imaging solution, at RSNA 2019. With a customer-driven design that meets the needs of today’s healthcare environments, the DR 100s delivers a new force in mobile imaging. It combines agility, excellent DR image quality, fast image preview and a broad range of applications, including Chest, Abdomen, Skeletal…
MRI is now indispensable for diagnosing diseases and monitoring therapies. However, the ongoing discussion on gadolinium deposits in the brain has intensified the search for alternatives. Dr Daniel Paech of the German Cancer Research Centre in Heidelberg, Germany, discussed potential solutions to acquire high-quality images without contrast agents.
Fujifilm Medical Systems U.S.A., Inc. will present research and development advancements in Artificial Intelligence (AI) for digital radiography at McCormick Place in Chicago during the 105th scientific assembly and annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) from December 1 – 6, 2019. "AI has the potential to bring a wealth of advancements to the medical imaging…
Curious about how intelligent imaging can work with you in CT? Then join us at this year’s RSNA, North Hall, Booth #7530, where you can experience our new Somatom X.cite and myExam Companion.