Dear AuntMinnieEurope Member,
It's easy to underestimate a patient's fear of an MRI scanner. One person's description of it as "a living coffin" seems melodramatic, but the reality is many people are terrified by the experience, particularly children, whom we tend to shield from pain and hardship for as long as possible.
In view of such anxieties and the growing pressure on radiology departments to achieve efficiencies in MRI, any initiative to shorten examination times is welcome. Artificial intelligence has a central role to play here, and also in CT dose reduction, writes Dr. Hugh Harvey. Read his new column in the Imaging Informatics Community, or by clicking here.
Precise measurement of the dimensions and volume of lung nodules is essential for the assessment and follow-up of oncological patients and for lung-cancer screening studies. The arrival of 3D volumetry has brought improvements here, but practical issues remain, according to a group from Liverpool in the U.K. Visit our Advanced Visualization Community, or click here.
The Swiss are quietly building up a growing reputation in 3D printing, as highlighted by Dr. Philipp Brantner's RSNA 2017 lecture about the use of 3D-printed stenosis models to assist with surgical training. Click here for the full story.
Additionally, progress is being made in 3D printing's capacity to produce structures that mimic the properties of the softest tissues in the body, and these structures may serve as templates for tissue regeneration. To learn more, click here.
Breast screening was rarely out of the news during 2017, and that's likely to be the case in 2018 too. Researchers from the University of Copenhagen have studied the short-term outcomes of the Danish national breast screening program to determine its effectiveness. Get their findings in the Women's Imaging Community, or click here.
Finally, don't miss the fascinating case of a man who injured his throat by stifling a powerful sneeze. Click here for the details.
