Imaging Technology News Honored as Jesse H. Neal Awards Finalist

One of the biggest patient safety issues in radiology is the possible link to neurological disorders in some patients who undergo a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scan using a gadolinium contrast agent. A study in 2015 showed small levels of gadolinium, a heavy metal, is permanently retained in the brain. The issue was also fueled by numerous patient groups claiming they suffer from numerous unexplained health issues after gadolinium exams. Movie star Chuck Norris also filed a high-profile lawsuit, alleging gadolinium permanently harmed his wife. ITN editors joined several gadolinium patient groups on Facebook and read through hundreds of posts to gather the patient prospective. These groups were asked what questions they wanted posed to key MRI thought leaders, resulting in hundreds of comments. The responses formed the basis for interviews at the 2017 RSNA meeting. ITN also shot video interviews with thought leaders (linked to the story) and attended several sessions on this topic. The article was published online in February 2018. While written for radiologists, it was also geared it to be a resource for patients. It outlines the chemistry of gadolinium agents, symptoms patients report and regulatory actions taken. Extra SEO helped it on Google to appear on Page 1 of all searches for the topic. The result was was the best performing article ever on ITN, with more than 93,000 pageviewsin 2018. This one article now outperforms ITN's homepage traffic.

 

ITN Contributing Editor Greg Freiherr has covered the medical imaging industry and radiology for more than 35 years. He draws on those years of knowledge when offering opinions in his monthly columns that appear in both the print issues of ITN and online. Greg is able to connect the dots in his writing between everyday analogies everyone can relate to and his knowledge of industry transactions from years ago to tie in issues facing radiology today. The three columns we chose from 2018 focus on highly relevant issues facing the industry. These include a large number of mergers of medical imaging companies, healthcare reform calling for value based medicine to reduce costs and increase care, and adoption of artificial intelligence (AI). AI has by far been the biggest topic in radiology over the past two years. While some AI can detect disease on images as well as humans, many key questions are raised at conferences that are easily overlooked by the AI novice. Greg neatly outlines many of these apprehensions. The Last Read columns submitted for this entry include Why We Have to Pay Attention to AI Right Now, Value-based Imaging: A Model For Future Innovation and M&A Made Radiology What It Is Today.