Critical Issues Facing Radiology.
Critical Issues Facing Radiology

The landscape of the healthcare industry is poised for dramatic change in 2015 and the years ahead, and radiologists need to be ready to adapt if they’re going to thrive. This was the overarching message from the plenary session “Critical Issues Facing the Practice of Radiology in 2015 and Beyond” at RSNA 2014, presented by Bibb Allen, Jr., M.D., FACR; Geraldine McGinty, M.D., FACR; and James A. Brink, M.D., FACR, all members of the American College of Radiology (ACR) Board of Chancellors. 

 

Sharing — it’s a quality we all learned at a young age to aspire toward. Our parents, our teachers, our friends and our siblings (OK, maybe not our siblings!) all challenged us to learn to share. Over the past few years with implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), even our federal government has created an impetus to share — to share information, to share patients, to share revenues, to share responsibility. With the scramble toward Meaningful Use (MU), which inherently requires exchange (sharing), we are finally seeing that the theory is much easier than the execution of that idea.1 Many large organizations are still struggling to share information

As radiation therapy becomes more sophisticated and new methods are devised for treating cancer, treatment planning systems have become an essential tool for physicians and physicists. While new features are being added to improve the functionality of various radiotherapy systems, the end goal is still the same — contouring the radiation beam to treat the cancerous tissue while minimizing exposure to any surrounding healthy tissue.
Monitoring Radiation Dose

Radiation dose continues to be one of the hottest topics in radiology, as government mandates and public concern are forcing healthcare teams to find ways to achieve the same high image quality while reducing dose. The 2014 annual meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) in December reflected those concerns, featuring sessions on the latest metrics for measuring dose and ways to keep dose down. 

It’s funny how terms catch on. Sometimes it’s the result of an innovator’s brand. No one goes out to play flying disc — we play Frisbee. Sometimes it’s the result of simplification. Everyone in healthcare knows about PACS — even when many (if not most) don’t know what exactly PACS (picture archiving and communication system) means. Then there is that instance when a term is generally used but doesn’t necessarily fit — either by innovation or by general adoption.

It’s been a busy year in women’s health, and the topic of breast density remains on the forefront. To date, 21 states have enacted the breast density inform law, which requires healthcare providers to inform women if they have dense breast tissue. Several other states have also either endorsed the bill, or are currently working on it.  

Carestream is partnering with leading orthopedic and sports medicine specialists to develop a new three-dimensional medical imaging system for capturing images of patient extremities. Initial clinical studies will focus on the advantages of using cone beam CT (CBCT) technology in the diagnosis and treatment of knee injuries. This system is designed for use by orthopedic surgeons.

iCAD Inc. researchers presented three e-posters highlighting results of up to four years of follow-up with the Xoft Axxent electronic brachytherapy (eBx) system at The American Academy of Dermatology 73rd Annual Meeting in San Francisco. The Xoft System is used in the treatment of non-melanoma skin cancer (NMSC).

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