Dear AuntMinnieEurope Member,
A major dilemma facing radiologists today is how much of their work they should hand over to radiographers. Given the shortage of radiologists in many European countries and the growing clinical workload, they know they must surrender some turf, but deciding which areas to give up is not a simple task.
New research suggests that radiographers can perform particularly well when interpreting chest examinations, provided training is adequate and appropriate. Promising results were obtained for the 40 radiographers who have so far been trained at Canterbury, U.K. For the full story, click here or visit our Digital X-Ray Community.
Attendance was bitterly disappointing at the recent International Symposium on State-of-the-Art Imaging (iSi 2011) in Bordeaux, France, but that certainly wasn't due to the lineup of speakers. Our associate editor Frances Rylands-Monk attended the meeting and was impressed by the excellent quality of the lectures.
Dr. Edwin Oei from Rotterdam, the Netherlands, provided a comprehensive overview of 3-tesla MRI of the knee, and you can read more here. Dr. Daniel Theisen from Munich spoke about MRI advances in analysis of cardiac function, and to learn from his experiences, click here. Dr. Debra Ikeda from Stanford, California, gave an update on breast MRI lexicon. Click here for the report on her presentation.
Mammography image quality varies widely across the globe, according to a 17-country study by Serbian researchers published in the European Journal of Radiology. The authors also found that simple corrective actions such as cleaning screens can result in substantial improvements. Click here to read more.
In his latest column, maverick radiologist Dr. Peter Rinck returns to the topic of airport security scanners. Recent guidelines have provided some reassurance, but he is still not totally convinced about the safety of these devices and recommends continued vigilance. To read the column, click here.
