The show must go on — was the battle cry of RSNA officials just weeks ago when an announcement sought to squelch rumors heard round the world that the show was cancelled due to the terrorist events of Sept. 11th. Not so. With beefed up security in the exhibit halls, educational sessions, in area hotels and on the streets of Chicago, RSNA will go on as usual. In fact, officials are expecting the regular 65,000 attendees.
Since Sept. 11th, everything we do has more meaning. And whether you’re journeying to Chicago for RSNA this month as I am, or have chosen to stay at home, we’ll all be there as part of the radiology community.
RSNA is an annual. A time to catch up on what’s new in medical imaging technology, clinical applications and research. It’s a time to see familiar faces around the educational sessions and exhibit hall floor, to eat in favorite restaurants and remind us that the more things change, the more they stay the same. This will help us as we all strive to find normalcy.
While the sites, sounds and faces will be familiar, there will be a few revved up technologies at RSNA that the medical imaging vendors hope you will think have changed. To save you some steps around McCormick Place, check out our RSNA Preview before you go. Starting on page 44, you’ll get a peek at what the vendors are offering in MRI, CT, ultrasound, information technology, nuclear medicine, X-ray and mammography.
In MRI, new units will debut ranging from open, 0.7 T systems to higher, 3T research oriented scanners. CT is focusing on speed, with vendors highlighting new 16-slice and 32-slice units, CT’s increasing role in cardiology and the merging of CT and PET. Ultrasound vendors will show off systems with more compact footprints that pack great image quality as well as new software the soups up existing units. Information Technology continues to expand and elevate its importance with new offerings in PACS, RIS and image archiving, with a twist on Web accessibility. Nuclear Medicine’s theme is PET, PET and PET, along with hybrid or fusion imaging with CT. X-ray looks to fortify more user-friendly offerings in DR and CR, as well as dependable analog units. And mammography focuses on new digital units, the rising importance of CAD in breast cancer detection and patient comfort features for existing systems. (For full post-show coverage, don’t miss our January issue.)
And this year’s educational sessions, too, promise to wow us with innovation. The topics RSNA deems “hot” include: the use of FDG PET imaging in cancer diagnosis and radiotherapy management; the use of contrast agents in ultrasound; the impact of PACS on radiology and the appropriate utilization of radiology studies; radiation dose safety for pediatrics; new uses for CT and MRI in cardiovascular imaging; improved lung-cancer screening methods via chest radiography; evaluating uterine fibroids; the use of image processing to manipulate massive amounts of data; computer-assisted diagnosis (CAD); functional and ultra-high field MRI in neurology; brachytherapy for breast and prostate cancer; and RF ablation of liver tumors. For a complete listing of sessions, times and locations, visit www.rsna.org or grab a copy of the RSNA 2001 Scientific Program.
With our heightened awareness, we’ll all be a bit more glad to see the twinkling lights of Michigan Avenue, the mammoth, illuminated wreaths donning the Chicago Tribune building and even the snowflakes, should they fall. Safe travels and see you in Chicago.
Mary C. Tierney, Editor
[email protected]
