Dear AuntMinnie Insider,
Reduced-prep virtual colonoscopy, tagging agents, and computer-aided detection (CAD) schemes that can handle a challenge are prominent subjects in VC research today.
We explore them from more angles than a cubed display in this issue of the Insider, beginning with a study from Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.
There, researchers have tweaked their work-in-progress VC CAD system to operate under the difficult imaging conditions imposed by reduced-prep virtual colonoscopy. Based on previously developed CAD features and couple of new ones, the team solved several problems associated with minimal-prep VC datasets, achieving statistically equivalent accuracy compared to regular cleansed VC images. You'll find more details in our Insider Exclusive story.
For background on reduced-prep scans and the science required to perform them, don't miss the talk by radiologist and electronic cleansing expert Dr. Michael Zalis, also from Boston, who spoke at last week's International Symposium on Multidetector-Row CT.
Today colorectal cancer screening compliance is low, while screening-age populations are growing. If research succeeds in creating a patient-friendly, easy-to-interpret exam, will more patients avail themselves of it? A new study says they will, though a prominent researcher has doubts.
We invite you to fly through your Virtual Colonoscopy Digital Community for the rest of the news about colon cancer and screening.
![Axial images from unenhanced calcium score cardiac CT (left) and curved planar reformation images from CT angiography (right) show that higher long-term exposure to air pollution is associated with greater coronary artery calcium and more obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD). Top row: Images in a 68-year-old male patient with higher 10-year mean ambient air pollution exposure (7.9 μg/m3 for particulate matter measuring ≤2.5 μm in diameter [PM2.5] and 17.4 parts per billion [ppb] for NO2) with extensive CAD (coronary artery calcium score [CACS] >1,000 and obstructive CAD [≥70% diameter stenosis]). Bottom row: Images in a 57-year-old female patient with lower 10-year mean ambient air pollution exposure (6.3 μg/m3 for PM2.5 and 4.6 ppb for NO2) with no CAD (CACS = 0 and no obstructive stenosis).](https://img.auntminnie.com/mindful/smg/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/06/hanneman.r6SMLzkezo.png?auto=format%2Ccompress&dpr=2&fit=crop&h=167&q=70&w=250)
