Dear CT Insider,
A confluence of anatomy and technology inextricably ties CT to lung cancer imaging, and increasingly to computer-aided detection (CAD) of lung nodules, which can be biopsied and resected successfully when found to represent early lung cancer. Of course, the sensitivity of CT and CAD for nodule detection is also linked to the reading behavior of radiologists, an area that is poorly understood.
To date, few have honed in on the radiologist/CAD interaction as intently as radiologists at California's Stanford University, who seek to optimize CAD's benefits by understanding how radiologists use it. Their latest study examines radiologists' interactions with lung CAD as a second reader. Who benefits -- and how -- when radiologists use lung CAD? Some of the answers revealed in this issue's Insider Exclusive story may surprise you.
We also invite you to read about ground-glass opacities, a lung cancer "epidemic" in Asia that needs more screening, and the results of early aggressive treatment of non-small cell lung cancers. For evaluating and following up nodules detected at CT, nothing beats automated measurements, according to a report from Germany.
Also in this issue, surgeons are doing better preplanning for pancreatic surgery with the virtual Whipple, which offers a much-needed practice run before the complex and risky procedure.
Finally, don't miss the treasure trove of abdominal CT images in our series of excerpts from the new Atlas of Gastrointestinal Imaging, all in your CT Digital Community. For more articles on MDCT, just scroll down.
![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)
