July 7, 2010 – The American College of Radiology (ACR) has released an updated version of its Appropriateness Criteria, which includes more than 30 updated criteria, five additional topics and revised relative radiation level categories for diagnostic imaging exams.
The ACR Appropriateness Criteria are evidence-based guidelines to help healthcare providers choose the most appropriate medical imaging exam for a patient’s given clinical condition.
The five new topics include:
• Treatment of Uterine Leiomyomas (Interventional Radiology panel);
• Treatment of Lower-Extremity Venous Insufficiency (Interventional Radiology panel);
• Cranial Neuropathy (Neurologic Imaging panel);
• Local-Regional Therapy for Resectable Oropharyngeal Squamous Cell Carcinomas (Radiation Oncology – Head and Neck panel); and
• Retreatment of Recurrent Head and Neck Cancer After Prior Definitive Radiation (Radiation Oncology – Head and Neck panel).
This 2010 release is the most collaborative Appropriateness Criteria to date, bringing together 300 expert panelists, including 75 representatives from 20 medical societies. This new release addresses more than 170 clinical topics and more than 800 variants. The Appropriateness Criteria include topics from expert panels in breast, cardiac, gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal, neurologic, thoracic, urologic, pediatric, vascular and women’s imaging, as well as interventional radiology and radiation oncology.
In April 2010, the ACR announced the latest version of the Appropriateness Criteria Anytime, Anywhere application, powered by Skyscape, for mobile devices. The application enables access to all of the topics by downloading the ACR Appropriateness Criteria to nearly any smart phone or other mobile device for a subscription fee.
For more information: http://www.acr.org/ac.
July 31, 2026 
