Scientific Program Overview for the RSNA 2008 Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting.

1. RSNA 2008 PREVIEW
RSNA 2008 Delivers Radiology’s
Present and Future
With increased integration of refresher course material and scientific papers, Emergency Radiology
RSNA 2008 offers attendees myriad opportunities to not only learn about the
Subcommittee Chair Diego B. Nuñez Jr.,
latest breakthroughs in the specialty, but also take home
M.D., M.P.H., noted continuing trends
knowledge to apply immediately in their work settings.
toward validation of current practices,
such as CT utilization and radiation safe-
“Medical imaging informatics, which plays a crucial role in
ty in the emergency setting. He observed
the daily practice of radiology, will be featured in scientific
“particular interest in multidetector CT
and focus sessions, as will quantitative imaging, structured
for abdominal trauma, particularly as it
reporting and molecular imaging,” said RSNA Scientific Pro-
relates to scanning protocols, delayed
gram Committee Chair Robert M. Quencer, M.D., a professor
imaging and multiplanar display.”
and chair of radiology at the University of Miami School of Medicine.
Notable presentations will examine
This year the committee received 10,878 abstracts for consideration—7,052
cumulative data on modality utiliza-
for scientific presentations and 3,826 for education exhibits. Over the summer,
tion, the appropriateness of Prospective
the committee, with its subcommittees, selected 1,803 abstracts as scientific
Investigation of Pulmonary Embolism
papers and 729 as scientific posters. A separate committee accepted 1,606
Diagnosis (PIOPED) II criteria for patients
abstracts for education exhibits.
aged 40 years and younger, the impor-
tance of delayed CT in blunt trauma and
Breast Imaging ment, said subcommittee chair Andre J.
pelvic CT angiography in blunt trauma
Duerinckx, M.D., Ph.D.
Defining breast cancer risk and selecting using 64-slice multidetector CT, said Dr.
patient-specific screening strategies are Cardiac subcommittee members identi- Nuñez.
developing areas this year, said Jennifer fied many great abstracts in two key
Gastrointestinal Radiology
A. Harvey, M.D., subcommittee chair. areas—early population studies about
Presentations examine the cost-effec- clinical acceptance and applications of
CT colonography as a viable screen-
tiveness of MR screening, risk assess- cardiac CT as well as the use of dual-
ing study for polyp detection remains
ment, the role of screening ultrasound source CT, said Dr. Duerinckx.
a popular topic, said Erik K. Paulson,
and how to address the lower sensitivity
M.D., subcommittee chair. “There is also
Other sessions will cover radiation
of mammography in women with denser
continued interest in exploring the ef-
safety, cardiac CT technique improve-
breasts.
ficacy of this technology, applications of
ments, plaque imaging, quantitative
computer-aided detection and develop-
Other presentations examine digital cardiac radiology and comparisons with
ment of novel bowel preparations,” he
tomography, breast-specific gamma im- echocardiography and nuclear stress
said. He also noted increased interest
aging and MR screening for women with testing, he said.
in analyzing the biologic behavior and
prior breast cancer. There is a marked
Chest Radiology treatment response of tumors with
increase in submitted studies on diffu-
quantitative CT and MR techniques,
sion-weighted MR, Dr. Harvey said.
In the chest subspecialty, there is con- including 3T MR applications.
tinued interest in pulmonary emboli and
Notable trends include the application
nodules, said H. Page McAdams, M.D., “Dual-energy CT is now offered on clini-
of cross-sectional and functional imag-
subcommittee chair. cal scanners and the first wave of critical
ing using detectors specifically designed
assessment of this technology will be
for the breast. “This includes positron
Pulmonary embolism presentations will presented,” Dr. Paulson said. “Research-
emission mammography, breast specific
explore dose issues and applications in ers in the subspecialty also continue
gamma imaging, CT, tomosynthesis
pregnancy, while studies in nodule clas- to explore novel methods to reduce
and whole breast ultrasound,” said Dr.
sification will examine computer-aided radiation dose without suffering loss in
Harvey. “These developing applications
detection (CAD), nodule volumes and diagnostic accuracy.”
may play a role in improving diagnostic
screening. Many abstracts focus on CAD
capabilities and provide ancillary screen-
Genitourinary Radiology
applications beyond mere nodule defini-
ing for women at high risk of developing
tion, Dr. McAdams said.
breast cancer.”
Marcia C. Javitt, M.D., subcommittee
Other remarkable topics are texture- chair, reported more studies on diffu-
Cardiac Radiology
based classification of interstitial pneu- sion-weighted imaging of masses in the
monia, variability in pulmonary nodule kidneys, ovaries and prostate. New data
Overall, there is strong interest in car-
volume software and dual-energy CT of also were submitted reporting long-term
diac CT, with presentations focusing on
radiation dose and technique develop- the peripheral vessels, said Dr. McAdams. follow-up on patients who underwent
14 RSNA NEWS OCTOBER 2008

2. RSNA2008.RSNA.ORG
2008 RSNA Scientific Program Committee
The RSNA Scientific Program Committee met in June at RSNA Headquarters in Oak Brook, Ill.
(front row, from left) Jennifer A. Harvey, M.D., Marcia C. Javitt, M.D., N. Reed Dunnick, M.D., Robert M. Quencer, M.D., Diego B. Nuñez Jr., M.D., M.P.H.,
and Ruth C. Carlos, M.D., M.S.
(back row, from left) H. Page McAdams, M.D., James S. Welsh, M.D., M.S., David A. Rubin, M.D., Keith J. Dreyer, D.O., Ph.D., Lane F. Donnelly, M.D.,
Erik K. Paulson, M.D., Mauricio Castillo, M.D., Andre J. Duerinckx, M.D., Ph.D., and Milton J. Guiberteau, M.D.
(not pictured) John A. Kaufman, M.D., Umar Mahmood, M.D., Ph.D., and Martin J. Yaffe, Ph.D.
renal tumor and fibroid ablation, as well imaging center where radiologists consult Molecular Imaging
as cryotherapy. directly with patients, said Dr. Carlos.
Subcommittee Chair Umar Mahmood,
Other presentations this year will address
A groundbreaking area of study, said M.D., Ph.D., noted an increased variety
resident education, evidence-based medi-
Dr. Javitt, is the linkage of gene expres- of applications and agents in this year’s
cine and guideline development.
sion to tissue characterization. In these submissions. “This is exactly what we
Informatics
studies, she said, the morphology visible want as the field moves more into the
on cross-sectional imaging studies was clinic,” he said.
This year’s submissions indicate that
compared with genetic markers of renal
business intelligence and data analytics Topics of note include new MR mo-
cell cancer. She noted another practical
are being increasingly used for clinical lecular imaging methods, multimodal
study of contrast-induced nephropathy
and operational data mining, said Keith agents, the use of fluorodeoxyglucose
and nephrogenic systemic fibrosis, which
Dreyer, D.O., Ph.D., subcommittee chair. PET to predict cardiovascular risk, a new
reported on the use of glomerular filtra-
He also noted a significant trend in the PET tracer to assess innervation and in-
tion rate measurement techniques.
understanding of natural-language for creased use of MR smart agents. “Human
Health Services Policy and radiology reports. application represents a small minority
Research of abstracts, but I think it has increased
Informatics presentations will cover somewhat compared to previous years,”
topics such as the effects of structured
A broader range of research topics and said Dr. Mahmood.
reporting and decision support, using
some novel submissions will be part of
the iGoogle dashboard to monitor a Musculoskeletal Radiology
the program this year, said Subcommit-
radiology department, the RAD-DASH
tee Chair Ruth C. Carlos, M.D., M.S.
Presentations this year represent more
Web-based graphical business platform
attempts to characterize bone and
Notable topics include disparity in types for managing radiology performance,
soft tissue tumors using advanced MR
of imaging related to socioeconomic quality metrics and the National Cancer
techniques like diffusion imaging and
status or insurance coverage, the effects Institute’s Cancer Biomedical Informatics
spectroscopy, said David A. Rubin, M.D.,
of including a patient photo with a radio- Grid (CaBIG), said Dr. Dreyer.
subcommittee chair.
logic exam, occupational stress in radi-
ologists and evaluation of an outpatient Continued on next page
15
RSNANEWS.ORG RSNA NEWS

3. RSNA 2008 PREVIEW
RSNA 2008 Delivers Radiology’s Present and Future
Continued from previous page
Nuclear Medicine Radiation Oncology/Radiobiology
More emphasis is placed on quantitative
PET imaging techniques with respiratory Subcommittee chair James S. Welsh,
analysis of images and data, as opposed
gating and new hybrid technology such M.D., M.S., said notable topics this year
to qualitative analysis, Dr. Rubin added.
as “gamma ultrasound” will be high- include consolidative radiotherapy for
“This trend is present in tumor charac-
lighted this year, said Milton J. Guiber- non-Hodgkin lymphoma, hepatic arterial
terization, imaging methods for osteo-
teau, M.D., subcommittee chair. embolization with Holmium-166 poly
porosis and even tendon sonography,”
(L-lactic acid) to predict distribution of
he said.
Presentations will also represent the therapeutic dose and immunomodula-
emerging literature of correlative clinical
Dr. Rubin also noted a trend toward us- tor therapy to enhance radiotherapy
imaging technologies such as fluorode-
ing CT and ultrasound guidance, rather response. There are also a variety of in-
oxyglucose (FDG) PET, CT and MR, Dr.
than fluoroscopy, to increase the safety teresting radiation biology subjects, said
Guiberteau continued. “In addition to
of risky procedures like cervical spine Dr. Welsh, along with strong submissions
using nuclear medicine to assess and
injections. Other presentations, he said, for the Bolstering Oncoradiologic and
predict lesion response to more estab-
will explore applications of diffusion Oncoradiotherapeutic Skills for Tomor-
lished conventional treatments, impor-
tensor imaging and tractography for row (BOOST) program. (To read more
tant topics will include nuclear medicine
the imaging of peripheral nerves and about BOOST, see Page 18.)
evaluation of the success of emerging
muscles, use of diffusion MR to help
Vascular and Interventional
therapies, such as liposomal-mediated
distinguish benign from malignant
Radiology
oncologic treatments and interventional
musculoskeletal tumors, ultrashort TE
therapy outcomes.”
MR applications, percutaneous tumor
MR-guided galvanotherapy for prostate
and pain management techniques and
cancer, cryotherapy for painful bone
A nuclear medicine quantitative imaging
tendon sonoelasticity.
metastases, drug-coated percutane-
session will address FDG-PET standard-
ous transluminal angioplasty balloons
ized uptake value (SUV) determinations
Neuroradiology/Head and Neck
to improve patency and percutaneous
in a variety of clinical settings, Dr. Guib-
Utilization of advanced imaging tech- recanalization after failed surgery are
erteau said.
niques like diffusion-weighted imaging, remarkable topics this year, said John
Pediatric Radiology
perfusion with MR and CT and spec- A. Kaufman, M.D., subcommittee chair.
troscopy for all masses in the neck are Oncologic interventions constitute the
Subcommittee Chair Lane F. Donnelly,
increasing, said Subcommittee Chair single largest topic, he said.
M.D., said attendees can look forward
Mauricio Castillo, M.D. He noted that
to important presentations on CT dose,
Global Commitment
sonographic elastography for diagno-
helical MR, diffusion tensor imaging for
sis of neck masses is also beginning to
to Quality
body applications and pediatric inter-
emerge as a mature clinical imaging
ventional radiology.
technique.
“The substantial input into the quality
Physics of the meeting by radiologists and
“Diffusion-weighted imaging of the spi-
scientists involved in imaging research
nal cord is being refined and beginning Notable physics abstracts explore non-
throughout the world will make RSNA
to be clinically utilized and helpful,” said contrast MR detection of tumor micro-
2008 an important meeting for all
Dr. Castillo. “Diffusion-weighted imaging vasculature and a four-view CAD system
those involved in radiology and its al-
of the intervertebral disc may be able to for breast masses, said subcommittee
lied fields,” said Dr. Quencer.
identify an abnormal disc before other chair Martin J. Yaffe, Ph.D. Other presen-
techniques. Also, the effects of iron de- tations will address distortion-free MR
position in the brain and its relationship imaging near metallic implants, progno-
to several neurodegenerative disorders sis of breast carcinoma using computer-
are being investigated with susceptibil- extracted morphological and kinetic
ity weighted imaging.” features in dynamic contrast-enhanced
MR and monitoring intrahepatic and
Also presented this year will be several
subcutaneous hepatocellular carcinoma
techniques that may help to distinguish
growth with 23Na and 1H MR.
between symptomatic and asymptomat-
ic atherosclerotic plaques in the internal
carotid arteries, said Dr. Castillo.
16 RSNA NEWS OCTOBER 2008