Meet the Minnies 2021 semifinal candidates

Below is a list of the candidates for the 2021 edition of the Minnies, AuntMinnie.com's campaign to recognize the best and brightest in medical imaging. This year's campaign includes over 200 candidates in 14 categories, ranging from Most Influential Radiology Researcher to Best Educational Mobile App.

Minnies winners will be selected by our expert panel in two rounds of voting. The finalists will be announced in late September, with the final winners announced in October.

Most Influential Radiology Researcher
Dr. Peter Chang, University of California, Irvine
Dr. Heike Elisabeth Daldrup-Link, Stanford University
Dr. Judy Gichoya, Emory University
Dr. Maxim Itkin, University of Pennsylvania
Dr. Christoph Lee, University of Washington
Dr. Constance Lehman, PhD, Massachusetts General Hospital
Dr. Alan Matsumoto, University of Virginia
Dr. Randy Miles, Massachusetts General Hospital
Dr. Elizabeth Morris, University of California, Davis
Dr. Shabnam Mortazavi, University of California, Los Angeles
Dr. Toma Omofoye, University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center
Dr. Etta Pisano, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center
Dr. Martin Pomper, PhD, Johns Hopkins University
Dr. Carl Sabottke, University of Arizona
Ehsan Samei, PhD, Duke University
Matthew Schabath, PhD, Moffitt Cancer Center
Brian Sprague, PhD, University of Vermont
Dr. Alyssa Watanabe, University of Southern California
Dr. Pamela Woodard, Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology

Most Effective Radiology Educator
Dr. Ryan Avery, Northwestern University
Dr. Tessa Cook, PhD, University of Pennsylvania
Dr. Carolynn DeBenedectis, University of Massachusetts
Dr. Christine Glastonbury, University of California, San Francisco
Dr. Paula Gordon, University of British Columbia
Dr. David Kim, University of Wisconsin
Dr. Nicholas Koontz, Indiana University
Dr. Christine Menias, Mayo Clinic Arizona
Dr. Rendon Nelson, Duke University
Dr. Alexander Norbash, University of California, San Diego
Dr. Reed Omary, Vanderbilt University
Dr. Amy Patel, University of Missouri-Kansas City
Dr. Victor Pizzitola, Mayo Clinic Arizona
Dr. Kevin Rice, Valley Presbyterian Hospital
Dr. Bradley Spieler, Louisiana State University
Dr. Richard Wiggins, University of Utah
Dr. Jeremy Wortman, Lahey Hospital & Medical Center
Dr. Stephanie Yen, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health
Dr. Greg Zaharchuk, Stanford University

Most Effective Radiologic Sciences Educator
Meena Amlani, EdD, British Columbia Institute of Technology
Donna Caldwell, Arkansas State University
Daniel DeMaio, University of Hartford
Kristan Harrington, William Faulkner and Associates
Jeff Legg, PhD, Virginia Commonwealth University
Sharon Mohammed, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Lior Molvin, Duke University
Rebecca Peterson, Community College of Philadelphia
Amy Yarshen, College of DuPage

Most Effective Radiology Administrator/Manager
Tom Cappas, Midstate Radiology Associates
Bradley Clemente, Montefiore Health System
Dr. Wanda Marfori, University of Florida Health Jacksonville
Carol Melvin, Miami Cardiac & Vascular Institute
Patricia Richards, Mayo Clinic Arizona
Tim Scalise, Intermountain Healthcare
Wendy Stirnkorb, Summit Pacific Medical Center
Kernesha Weatherly, University of Alabama at Birmingham

Best Radiologist Training Program
Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA
Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA
Brown University, Providence, RI
Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH
Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH
Dartmouth-Hitchcock Health, Lebanon, NH
Duke University, Durham, NC
Emory University, Atlanta, GA
Indiana University, Indianapolis, IN
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, St. Louis, MO
Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, MA
Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN
Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, AZ
Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC
New York University, New York, NY
NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Radiology, New York, NY
Northwestern University, Chicago, IL
Stanford University, Stanford, CA
Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA
University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA
University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
University of Florida, Gainesville, FL
University of Maryland, Baltimore, MD
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA
University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
University of Texas Southwestern, Dallas, TX
University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT
University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA
University of Washington, Seattle, WA
University of Wisconsin-Madison, Madison, WI
Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC
Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY
Yale University, New Haven, CT

Best Radiologic Sciences Program
British Columbia Institute of Technology, Burnaby, British Columbia
California State University, Northridge, Northridge, CA
City College of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
College of DuPage, Glen Ellyn, IL
Community College of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
Emory University, Atlanta, GA
Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD
Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, PA
University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC
Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA
Wayne State University, Detroit, MI
Weber State University, Ogden, UT

Most Significant News Event in Radiology
COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on radiology
Establishment of Medical Imaging and Data Resource Center (MIDRC) database
Fujifilm completes acquisition of Hitachi's diagnostic imaging business
Medicare proposes revisions to payment criteria for CT lung cancer screening
Radiologist salaries hold up despite COVID-19 pandemic
RSNA plans to hold in-person annual meeting in 2021
Siemens Healthineers completes acquisition of Varian Medical Systems
U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves Aduhelm treatment for Alzheimer's disease
U.S. Preventive Services Task Force announces plans to update breast screening guidelines

Biggest Threat to Radiology
Burnout of physicians
Commoditization of radiology services
Competition to local practices from teleradiology and national radiology groups
Corporate takeovers of independent radiology practices
COVID-19 pandemic and its effect on radiology volumes
Decline in Medicare and third-party reimbursement rates
Encroachment of advanced practice staff on radiologist tasks
Increased use of medical imaging by physicians in other specialties (turf battles)
Overutilization of medical imaging
Use of artificial intelligence to interpret medical images

Hottest Clinical Procedure
7-tesla MRI
3D printing of internal anatomical structures
Cardiac MRI
Contrast-guided breast biopsy
CT lung cancer screening
CT to detect COVID-19 disease
Digital breast tomosynthesis
Digital tomosynthesis with digital radiography
Dual-energy CT
PET/MRI
Photon-counting CT
Radionuclide therapy with Lutathera
Thoracic duct angioplasty
Ultrasound elastography

Scientific Paper of the Year
Artificial intelligence-based breast density classifier improves mammography reporting reliability. Watanabe et al, 2021 European Congress of Radiology. To learn more about this study, click here.

The concept of gaslighting in the radiology workplace: Concepts and implications. Ballane B et al, 2021 American Roentgen Ray Society annual meeting. To learn more about this study, click here. COVID-19 vaccination-associated axillary adenopathy: Imaging findings and follow-up recommendations in 23 women. Mortazavi S, American Journal of Roentgenology, February 24, 2021. To learn more about this study, click here. Deep learning enables 60% accelerated volumetric brain MRI while preserving quantitative performance: A prospective multicentre multireader trial. Bash et al, 2021 European Congress of Radiology. To learn more about this study, click here. Evolution of the interventional radiology (IR) pathway -- various changes and interrelation to diagnostic radiology (DR). Spieler et al, Academic Radiology, April 24, 2021. Frequency and characteristics of nodal and deltoid FDG and 11C-choline uptake on PET imaging performed after COVID-19 vaccination. Schroeder D et al, American Journal of Roentgenology, May 19, 2021. To learn more about this study, click here. Geographic distribution of U.S. cohorts used to train deep learning algorithms. Kaushal et al, JAMA, September 22/29, 2020. Gifsplanation via latent shift: A simple autoencoder approach to counterfactual generation for chest x-rays. Cohen et al, arXiv.org, April 24, 2021. Lipophilic statins in subjects with early mild cognitive impairment: Associations with conversion to dementia and decline in posterior cingulate brain metabolism in a long-term prospective longitudinal multi-center study. Padmanabham P et al, 2021 Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging annual meeting. To learn more about this study, click here. MRI in patients with a cerebral aneurysm clip; Guideline in the Netherlands. Hofman MBM et al, 2021 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine annual meeting. To learn more about this study, click here. MRI-targeted or standard biopsy in prostate cancer screening. Eklund M et al, New England Journal of Medicine, July 9, 2021. To learn more about this study, click here. Multidisciplinary recommendations regarding post-vaccine adenopathy and radiologic imaging: Radiology scientific expert panel. Becker A et al, Radiology, February 24, 2021. To learn more about this study, click here. Postacute sequelae of COVID-19 pneumonia: 6-month chest CT follow-up. Caruso D et al, Radiology, July 27, 2021. To learn more about this study, click here. Reading race: AI recognizes patient's racial identity in medical images. Banerjee I et al, arXiv.org, July 21, 2021. To learn more about this study, click here.

Best New Radiology Device
AeroDR X90 digital radiography system, Konica Minolta Healthcare Americas
Aquilion Exceed LB CT scanner for radiation therapy, Canon Medical Systems
BBX-PET portable PET scanner, Prescient Imaging
Green DR line of digital radiography panels, Rayence
Imagio breast imaging optoacoustic ultrasound system, Seno Medical Instruments
IZOview breast CT scanner, Izotropic
Lux 35 digital radiography detector, Carestream Health
Magnetom Free.Max MRI scanner, Siemens Healthineers
Nanox.ARC multisource x-ray system, Nanox
Persona RF Premium radiography/fluoroscopy system, Fujifilm Medical Systems USA
Resona I9 ultrasound scanner, Mindray
Reveal 35C portable dual-energy x-ray detector, KA Imaging
Smart-C surgical mini C-arm, Turner Imaging Systems
SmartMSU with OmniTom Elite CT scanner, Samsung NeuroLogica
Spectral CT 7500 spectral CT scanner, Philips Healthcare
StarGuide SPECT/CT system, GE Healthcare
SuperSonic Mach 20 ultrasound scanner, Hologic
uCT Atlas CT scanner, United Imaging
UV-C LED bore sanitization system, PDC Facilities

Best New Radiology Software
AI bone measurement software, Zebra Medical Vision
AI computer-assisted triage software for pulmonary embolism, Aidoc
AIR Recon DL deep-learning image reconstruction for 7-tesla MRI, GE Healthcare
Automated bone scan index software, Lantheus Medical Imaging
BoneView AI software for bone trauma x-rays, Gleamer
Cina Chest AI software, Avicenna.AI
CloudVue mobile 3D cinematic rendering software, International Medical Solutions
Deep-learning spectral CT software, Canon Medical Systems USA
Deep Resolve AI-based MRI reconstruction software, Siemens Healthineers
DENISE dense breast analysis software, MICA AI Medical
DL Precise AI segmentation software, DeepLook
Essence BI cloud-based business intelligence software, RamSoft
Exa Gateway remote reading software platform, Konica Minolta Healthcare Americas
Genius AI software for breast tomosynthesis, Hologic
Icobrain cva AI software for ischemic stroke, Icometrix
Intuition Titanium enterprise AI software subscription, TeraRecon
LVivo Seamless cardiac ultrasound AI software, DiA Imaging Analysis
mdbrain 3.0 AI software for diagnosing dementia on MRI, Mediaire
Medical Open Network for AI (MONAI), Nvidia and King's College London
Medo-Thyroid AI thyroid ultrasound software, Medo.ai
NinesMeasure AI software for measuring lung nodules on CT, Nines
ProFound AI version 3.0 for digital breast tomosynthesis, iCAD
Project Thumb breast density communication software tool, Volpara Solutions
qER-Quant head CT quantification software, Qure.ai
qp-Prostate AI software for prostate MRI, Quibim
Rad AI Omni automated impression generation software, Rad AI
RadioReport, Neo Q Quality in Imaging
RSViP AI software for breast screening programs, Kheiron Medical Technologies
SmartCT software for image-guided therapy, Philips Healthcare
SmartXR Assistant productivity hardware and software for radiologic technologists, Agfa HealthCare
SubtleMR 2.0 AI-based MRI enhancement software, Subtle Medical
Virtual Nodule Clinic clinical decision-support software for lung cancer, Optellum
XV Technology Lung Ventilation Analysis Software (LVAS), 4DMedical

Best New Radiology Vendor
Gleamer
Neuro42
Prescient Imaging
Q Bio
Rad AI
ScanLabMR
Sirona Medical
SpectronRx

Best Educational Mobile App
A k-Space Odyssey, Eltjo Haselhoff, PhD (iOS)
CTisus Chest Atlas 3D CRT, Dr. Elliot Fishman (iOS)
IMAIOS e-Anatomy, IMAIOS (iOS, Android)
iRadTech, Ballinger and Bruckner (iOS, Android)
MagnetVision, Dr. Emanuel Kanal (iOS)
RadDiscord, a server on Discord, Dr. Grace Zhu (iOS, Android) (note: these links are for the Discord app)
RadioAnatomy, Ahmad Tfaily (iOS, Android)
RadioGyan (web app)
Radiology 2.0: A Night in the ER, Daniel Cornfeld (iOS)
Radiology Assistant 2.0, BestApps (iOS)
Radiology Rounds, Neuroglia Health (iOS, Android)
Radiology Signs, Androidmedics (Android)
Stroke Guidelines Bern, Inselspital Bern (iOS, Android)