Dear AuntMinnieEurope Member,
It's been a decidedly rough couple of weeks for anybody in the MRI contrast agent business. Major market turbulence and uncertainty have hit the sector since a European Medicines Agency (EMA) committee recommended that four linear gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs) be pulled from the market.
Interestingly, the four companies affected most by the EMA recommendation have reacted quite differently. Only one vendor has vowed to appeal the decision, while another has merely reaffirmed its confidence in its own product. A third manufacturer has accepted the recommendation, while the fourth has remained silent.
Our regular columnist Stephen Holloway has assessed the financial fallout. Go to our MRI Community, or click here.
Any new study about GBCAs looks certain to be scrutinized closely over the coming weeks. Earlier this month, researchers from Heidelberg, Germany, published their results on the use of macrocyclic agents in children. Get the full story here.
Dr. Philip E.S. Palmer, a pioneer in promoting radiology in developing countries, always liked to remind people that two-thirds of the world's population have no access to medical imaging. An Australian-based charity, Radiology Across Borders, is doing its best to improve global outreach, and it's urging Europeans to get involved. Click here to learn more.
The clinical potential of deep learning was one of the overriding themes during ECR 2017, and we've got a report about important new research findings presented in Vienna. The study involved over 170 patients who had more than 2,600 prostate MR images. For the details, visit the Imaging Informatics Community, or click here.
Also from ECR 2017, we have an article about how the addition of digital breast tomosynthesis to digital mammography can help radiologists categorize lesions more accurately. The investigators came from the University of Rome, and you can learn more about their analysis here.
