Dear AuntMinnie Member,
Even as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to smolder, thoughts are beginning to turn to economic recovery. In radiology, that means a return to performing many routine imaging exams that were postponed during the initial weeks of the outbreak.
What will radiology's recovery look like? That question was the focus of a number of articles on AuntMinnie.com this past week. On Monday, Steve Holloway of market intelligence firm Signify Research described what he sees as a "swoosh-shaped" recovery -- a sharp decline followed by a gradual rebound. And Imogen Fitt of Signify sees a significant shift in the x-ray market toward mobile systems that are most useful for imaging COVID-19 patients.
COVID's impact on inpatient imaging
Researchers from a health system in New York have documented the crash and recovery of imaging procedure volume, including a shift in the mix of exams by modality. And steps that imaging practices can take to prepare for the restarting of radiology is the subject of a contribution by Dhruv Chopra, CEO of Collaborative Imaging.
MRI of sports injuries
Meanwhile, we highlighted several sports-related stories that demonstrate the power of MRI for a variety of applications.
In one article, Swiss researchers performed knee MRI scans on young competitive alpine skiers, finding that a type of irregularity found in the distal femur is usually benign. Canadian researchers discovered that female rugby players had long-term changes on their brain MRI scans, even if they had never experienced a concussion. And U.K. researchers described an algorithm they developed for spotting cartilage changes in knee joints on MRI.
In other important MRI news, Austrian researchers found that a breast MRI lesion classification protocol worked well, while a group from France found that there are eight unique neurological findings on MRI scans that can indicate COVID-19.
Get these stories and more in our MRI Community.
![Images show the pectoralis muscles of a healthy male individual who never smoked (age, 66 years; height, 178 cm; body mass index [BMI, calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared], 28.4; number of cigarette pack-years, 0; forced expiratory volume in 1 second [FEV1], 97.6% predicted; FEV1: forced vital capacity [FVC] ratio, 0.71; pectoralis muscle area [PMA], 59.4 cm2; pectoralis muscle volume [PMV], 764 cm3) and a male individual with a smoking history and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) (age, 66 years; height, 178 cm; BMI, 27.5; number of cigarette pack-years, 43.2, FEV1, 48% predicted; FEV1:FVC, 0.56; PMA, 35 cm2; PMV, 480.8 cm3) from the Canadian Cohort Obstructive Lung Disease (i.e., CanCOLD) study. The CT image is shown in the axial plane. The PMV is automatically extracted using the developed deep learning model and overlayed onto the lungs for visual clarity.](https://img.auntminnie.com/mindful/smg/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/03/genkin.25LqljVF0y.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=focalpoint&fit=crop&h=100&q=70&w=100)
![Images show the pectoralis muscles of a healthy male individual who never smoked (age, 66 years; height, 178 cm; body mass index [BMI, calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared], 28.4; number of cigarette pack-years, 0; forced expiratory volume in 1 second [FEV1], 97.6% predicted; FEV1: forced vital capacity [FVC] ratio, 0.71; pectoralis muscle area [PMA], 59.4 cm2; pectoralis muscle volume [PMV], 764 cm3) and a male individual with a smoking history and chronic obstructive pulmonary disorder (COPD) (age, 66 years; height, 178 cm; BMI, 27.5; number of cigarette pack-years, 43.2, FEV1, 48% predicted; FEV1:FVC, 0.56; PMA, 35 cm2; PMV, 480.8 cm3) from the Canadian Cohort Obstructive Lung Disease (i.e., CanCOLD) study. The CT image is shown in the axial plane. The PMV is automatically extracted using the developed deep learning model and overlayed onto the lungs for visual clarity.](https://img.auntminnie.com/mindful/smg/workspaces/default/uploads/2026/03/genkin.25LqljVF0y.jpg?auto=format%2Ccompress&crop=focalpoint&dpr=2&fit=crop&h=167&q=70&w=250)
