Watch this session on ECR Live: Thursday, March 5, 16:00–17:30, Room L1
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Imaging large cohorts of people enables scientists to collect information useful for science and emphasises radiology’s role in healthcare. From the most recently available imaging biomarkers to data such as genomics and metabolomics, Thursday’s dedicated Professional Challenges Session will show just how useful population imaging studies have become in the prognosis of countless diseases.

When radiologists follow a cohort of people for 20 or 30 years, the benefits for the patient increase tremendously. If a radiologist performs a CT examination of a patient’s coronary arteries and finds calcification, chances are that the patient will have a heart attack within the next few years. Unfortunately at this stage, the patient is usually out of the radiologist’s reach.

The fluid-attenuated inversion recovery axial image of a 26-year-old female participant shows multiple, bilateral, asymmetric, linear and ovoid hyperintensities that are located perpendicular callososeptal characteristic of multiple sclerosis

However, if patients chose to participate in a population study, they will be checked on a regular basis, and radiologists will be able to access previous information and initiate appropriate treatment earlier, significantly
improving patient outcome.

Securing imaging data is always tricky and population imaging studies are an opportunity for radiologists to access this data. Showing the relevance of imaging findings highlights radiology’s role in the medical continuum, according to Prof. Norbert Hosten, of the Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University in Greifswald, Germany, who will chair
the session Thursday.

“Our way to prove that radiology can make people healthier and happier is to do large population imaging studies. Radiology can develop the kind of data that are necessary to prove that our methods really help the patient,” he said.

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Watch this session on ECR Live: Sunday, March 9, 16:00–17:30, Room F1
Tweet #ECR2014F1 #SF15B

Evidence-based radiology, comparative effectiveness research and health technology assessment all play a role in the radiologist’s decision-making nowadays. Radiologists must ensure that they are imaging patients at the right time using the right test, and they need to justify radiological examinations and imaging-based interventional procedures on the basis of the best available evidence. The dedicated Special Focus session today at ECR 2014 will teach attendees how to use evidence to justify imaging decisions in day-to-day clinical practice.

The case against overtesting

Evidence-based radiology is a relatively new approach designed to inform clinicians of the most appropriate technique to use in a given clinical scenario. It has always been an important topic, but people have recently become more aware of this theme and expect more justification from the physicians, according to Professor Myriam Hunink, who will chair the session. She is a professor of radiology and clinical epidemiology at the Erasmus University Medical Centre in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, and adjunct professor of health decision sciences at Harvard University, Boston, USA.

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This year’s ECR programme features another great selection of sessions aimed at radiographers. ECR Today spoke to Jonathan McNulty, co-chairman of the ECR 2014 radiographers subcommittee, and Prof. Graciano Paulo, president of the European Federation of Radiographer Societies (EFRS), for their views on the sessions taking place on Sunday.

RC 1214: How important are state-of-the-art displays to radiology?
Watch it on ECR Live: Sunday, March 9, 08:30–10:00, room BRA
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Jonathan McNulty: Most of the technology we use now in Europe is digital, so what this session aims to look at is the state-of-the-art displays we are using today in medical imaging. Their quality is essential so that we continue to be able to pick up on the most subtle anatomical and pathological detail in our images, so the resolution and contrast specifications are important, as are design features that help minimise reflection or glare. A lot of research and design goes into the primary class displays that radiologists use to report from, because that report is vital and can change things dramatically for a patient if a pathology is picked up or missed. There has also been a lot of discussion about handheld devices and the appropriateness of using iPads, other tablets, smartphones or PDAs to view radiology images. Dr. Rachel Toomey, one of the speakers in this session, has done quite a lot of research looking at such devices, which can be very good for reviewing certain types of radiological images but are far from suitable for others.

So this session is going to show what the primary class displays are capable of and why we use them; what the advantages of the more portable devices are and when they can be used appropriately; and then the final presentation will look at quality assurance. Whatever display you use, whether it is a primary class display, a smartphone, or a regular PC monitor, what do we need to keep in mind? What are the quality assurance requirements for clinical use? What do we need to do to on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis to make sure that our displays are not dropping below their peak performance level?

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This year’s ECR programme features another great selection of sessions aimed at radiographers. ECR Today spoke to Jonathan McNulty, co-chairman of the ECR 2014 radiographers subcommittee, and Prof. Graciano Paulo, president of the European Federation of Radiographer Societies (EFRS), for their views on the sessions taking place on Saturday.

Read more…