Cardiac MRI of triathletes; CAD for abdominal CT

Dear AuntMinnie Member,

Extreme physical conditioning of the type employed by triathletes may produce distinct changes in cardiac anatomy that can be detected on MRI scans, according to a new study we're featuring this week in our Cardiac Imaging Digital Community.

German researchers used 1.5-tesla MRI to examine triathletes and found that their hearts developed greater muscle mass and thickness, as well as other changes. The changes are among the first to be detected by cardiac MRI, according to the research group.

Learn why these findings are important by clicking here, or visit the Cardiac Imaging Digital Community at cardiac.auntminnie.com.

CAD for abdominal CT

In other news, in our Advanced Visualization Digital Community we're reporting on a new computer-aided detection (CAD) method for segmenting and labeling abdominal arteries.

Japanese researchers developed the algorithm to save time, reduce errors, and improve clinicians' understanding of the complex anatomy and branching patterns of the abdominal arteries. They believe it's an improvement over previous CAD schemes that were based on position information of organs.

Learn more by clicking here, or visit the Advanced Visualization Digital Community at av.auntminnie.com.