Raw emotion rules in poster hall during RSNA congress

You can really feel the excitement, tension, and eager anticipation in the packed poster hall at the RSNA congress when the much sought after rosettes are pinned up on the prize-winning exhibits during Wednesday afternoon. Many of the posters are now electronic, but this hasn’t detracted from the spectacle. You almost get the feeling that if you don’t watch out, you may get trampled in the stampede as research teams rush to their posters or to the nearest computer terminal.

At the last RSNA meeting, the atmosphere was particularly frenzied because a purple summa cum laude rosette made its first appearance in Chicago since 1998. A modest and unassuming group of German informatics experts were stunned by their success, and when I arrived to interview them, their unbridled joy and immense pride were evident to all.

The team kindly agreed to prepare an overview article about their research, and to find out what impressed the RSNA judges, DI Europe’s readers should turn to the cover story in this issue.

Prof. Oliver Bott and his colleagues have developed new software for simulation- based C-arm fluoroscopy training to help improve image quality and radiation protection. C-arm fluoroscopy is very operator-dependent, but the package enables nonhazardous, lifelike training while providing extra information, such as visualization of scattered radiation, during a simulated procedure. The tool is of great value to technologists and nurses who perform fluoroscopy during trauma procedures and orthopedic surgery and who have traditionally undergone their training on actual patients, Bott said.

The annual Computer Assisted Radiology and Surgery congress takes place in Geneva, Switzerland, in late June, and copies of this issue will be distributed at the meeting. We hope that delegates enjoy reading it and find it valuable.

Finally, please make sure that you visit our Europe microsite on the web. You can access it by going to DiagnosticImaging. com and clicking on the Europe button on the left side of the home page. The new Asia Pacific site will also be of interest.

As you will have noticed, we are facing severe space constraints at present, and we are able to publish only a limited number of articles and news stories in print. This situation has prompted us to post an increasing volume of material online. For instance, Dr. Carla Ribeiro’s article about imaging of the adrenal glands was posted on our Europe site on April 21 and is well worth reading. You can expect to find further original articles on our site over the coming months, and if you have any feedback or comments, please don’t forget to contact me at philipward1@btconnect.com.