For several decades, MRI has been an imaging anchor in radiology departments and imaging centers around the world. Even after all this time, the modality still possesses a resiliency that makes it a solid foundation for groundbreaking research in a variety of clinical applications.
This installment of the Road to RSNA 2015 offers a preview to a plethora of studies that use different MRI techniques, as well as pair the modality with PET to further expand the technology's influence.
Scientific papers scheduled for presentation in Chicago include studies on the efficacy of diffusion-weighted MRI to assess kidney disease and as a way to help detect invasive ductal breast cancer. Diffusion-tensor MRI shows its prowess in helping to determine cognitive outcomes for concussed patients and to open a window on the detrimental effects that soccer players face by repetitively heading a ball.
More than five years have passed since the radiology community was first introduced to the combination of MRI and PET, and more than four years since the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave its clearance for the hybrid modality. Since then, considerable time and effort have been expended to discover its potential benefits, with proponents quick to note that PET/MRI offers considerably less radiation exposure to patients than PET/CT.
At RSNA 2015, PET/MRI will be showcased as a diagnostic tool for pulmonary hypertension and multiple oncological applications that include skeletal diseases, lymphoma, breast cancer staging and diagnosis, and cervical cancer.
A myriad of poster presentations will highlight MRI, including its use for breast applications at the Learning Center in Hall D, beginning Sunday, November 29, through Thursday, December 3. The half-hour sessions begin at various times each day during the noon hour.
Early risers will get quite an education on the safety of gadolinium-based MRI contrast agents and the risk of nephrogenic systemic fibrosis (Tuesday, December 1, 7:15 a.m.-8:15 a.m., SPSC30, Room E451A). This special session will feature presentations from Dr. Emanuel Kanal of the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and Dr. Martin Prince, PhD, of Weill Cornell Medicine/Columbia University.
Refresher courses in MRI also are available throughout the week, including Friday, if you can accommodate an extra day or two in Chicago. The schedule runs from 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. at various locations inside McCormick Place.
Of course, the best way to get a head start on your agenda for RSNA 2015 is by clicking here for a complete rundown on all the scheduled presentations, abstracts, posters, refresher courses, and educational forums.
But, first, peruse the list of the scientific papers below with comments from the presenters on how their findings could affect your radiology practice.
