Dear AuntMinnieEurope Member,
A major anniversary for radiology falls this week: It's exactly 50 years since the first percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA) was performed on 16 January 1964. The event had significant implications for the rapid subsequent growth of interventional radiology.
History expert Dr. Adrian Thomas has written a special column about the work of Dr. Charles Dotter, who carried out the first PTA procedure. Read more in our Digital X-Ray Community, or click here.
Carrying on the interventional theme, we have a report about the U.K.'s new guidelines on uterine artery embolization for the treatment of fibroids. This article discusses both the role and responsibilities of the radiologist and the importance of MRI's diagnostic capabilities. Go to our Women's Imaging Digital Community, or click here.
Digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT) continues to show great promise, but these examinations can be very difficult to interpret. At last month's RSNA meeting in Chicago, Italian researchers presented new evidence about how computer-aided detection (CAD) technology can assist here. To learn more, click here.
During the same congress, German researchers showed that simultaneous PET/MRI for patients with acute myocardial infarction is feasible after finding "good concordance" in a comparison of PET and MR images. Get the story here.
An important position paper was published last week by the European Heart Journal. The European Society of Cardiology urged swift action to reduce radiation doses to patients wherever possible. Find out more in our Cardiac Imaging Digital Community, or click here.
Providing patients with Web-based access to their radiology reports is an appealing idea, but it raises tricky issues. An Israeli hospital has found that a disappointing number of patients did not return to their referring physician, despite having access to their abnormal findings. Click here to read more.
