Balancing High Clinical Volumes and Non-RVU Generating Activities in Radiology, Part ll: Future Directions.

The Radiology Research Alliance (RRA) of the Association of Academic Radiology (AAR) creates task forces to study emerging trends shaping the future of radiology. This article highlights the findings of the AAR-RRA Task Force on Balancing High Clinical Volumes and non-relative value unit (Non-RVU)-Generating Activities. The Task Force's mission was to evaluate and emphasize the value of non-RVU-generating activities that academic radiologists perform.

Prospective Study of PET/MRI Tumor Response During Chemoradiotherapy for Patients With Low-risk and Intermediate-risk p16-positive Oropharynx Cancer.

Objective: The objective of this study was to examine tumor response with positron emission tomography (PET)/magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) during chemoradiotherapy as a predictor of outcome in patients with p16-positive oropharynx cancer.

Materials And Methods: Patients with p16-positive oropharynx cancer were treated with chemoradiotherapy. Low-risk (LR) disease was defined as T1-T3 and N0-2b and ≤10 pack-years and intermediate-risk (IR) disease as T4 or N2c-3 or >10 pack-years.

Anatomic development of the upper airway during the first five years of life: A three-dimensional imaging study.

Purpose: Normative data on the growth and development of the upper airway across the sexes is needed for the diagnosis and treatment of congenital and acquired respiratory anomalies and to gain insight on developmental changes in speech acoustics and disorders with craniofacial anomalies.

Methods: The growth of the upper airway in children ages birth to 5 years, as compared to adults, was quantified using an imaging database with computed tomography studies from typically developing individuals. Methodological criteria for scan inclusion and airway measurements included: head position, histogram-based airway segmentation, anatomic landmark placement, and development of a semi-automatic centerline for data extraction.

Technical Improvements in Head and Neck MR Imaging: At the Cutting Edge.

Head and neck MR imaging is technically challenging because of magnetic field inhomogeneity, respiratory and swallowing motion, and necessity of high-resolution imaging to trace key anatomic structures. These challenges have been answered by advances in MR imaging technology, including isovolumetric three-dimensional imaging, robust fat-water separation techniques, and novel deep learning-based reconstruction algorithms. New applications of MR imaging have been advanced and functional imaging has been improved.

Head position classification of medical imaging studies: an assessment and development of a protocol.

Objectives: To determine the optimal approach to reliably classify head position of head and neck medical imaging studies as or for use in craniofacial and orthodontic research.

Methods And Material: A prospective study scanned six participants in flexed, neutral and extended head positions. Additionally, a retrospective dataset of 46 CT studies were visually classified into six categories: and .

Auriculotemporal Nerve Involvement in Parotid Bed Malignancy.

Objective: To identify and evaluate patients with parotid bed malignancy demonstrating radiographic findings of auriculotemporal (AT) nerve involvement.

Methods: A retrospective review of patients with parotid bed malignancy was performed to identify patients with imaging findings of AT nerve involvement and record associated clinical findings, symptoms, and pathology information. Independent, blinded review of radiographic images by a senior neuroradiologist was performed to identify imaging characteristics and categorize patients into highly likely or possible involvement groups.

Factors predicting the time-length variability of identically protocoled MRI exams.

Background: Clinical variability in MRI exam durations can impede efficient MRI utilization. There is a paucity of data regarding the degree of variability of identically protocoled MRI studies and when nontechnological factors contribute to time-length variations in MRI exams.

Purpose: To measure the magnitude of variation in MRI exam duration for identically protocoled MRI exams and to identify potential contributors to variations in MRI exam times.

A General Framework for Monitoring Image Acquisition Workflow in the Radiology Environment: Timeliness for Acute Stroke CT Imaging.

Many facets of an image acquisition workflow leave a digital footprint, making workflow analysis amenable to an informatics-based solution. This paper describes a detailed framework for analyzing workflow and uses acute stroke response timeliness in CT as a practical demonstration. We review methods for accessing the digital footprints resulting from common technologist/device interactions.

Extent of Endoscopic Resection for Anterior Skull Base Tumors: An MRI-Based Volumetric Analysis.

 To determine the volume of ventral skull base tumor removed following endoscopic endonasal (EEA) resection using MRI-based volumetric analysis and to evaluate the inter-rater reliability of such analysis.  Retrospective case series.  Academic tertiary care hospital.

Imaging of temporal bone trauma.

Temporal bone trauma is commonly seen in patients with craniofacial injury and can be detected using multidetector computed tomography. A thorough understanding of the different types of temporal bone fracture patterns is needed to accurately describe the trajectory of injury as well as anticipated complications. Fractures should be described based on direction, segment of temporal bone involved, as well as involvement of the otic capsule.

NAFLD recurrence in liver transplant recipients.

Background And Aims: Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a common indication for liver transplantation and can recur in the graft. To describe this recurrence, we performed a cohort study of individuals undergoing liver transplantation for NAFLD-related cirrhosis between 1993 and 2007. Predictors of NAFLD recurrence and outcomes in this cohort were also studied.