A history of radiologic pathology correlation at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology and its evolution into the American Institute for Radiologic Pathology.

The evolution of the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology (AFIP) has played an important role in the history of pathology education and in radiologic pathology correlation in the United States. From its humble beginnings as a museum, showcasing dried and varnished morbid specimens--human relics of the Civil War, the institute became a leader in pathology. Later, it became a center of instruction for radiology residents seeking to understand the pathologic findings that underlay the radiologic appearance of disease.

The 2009 ACR Forum: health care payment models.

The 2009 ACR Forum addressed health care payment models, the strengths and weaknesses of different models under consideration, their implications for radiology, and the role radiologists should play in the debate.

Face of Radiology campaign.

This paper outlines the efforts of the American College of Radiology to understand the public perception of radiologists and to effect change in that perception. Through focus groups, in-depth interviews with Capitol Hill staff members, and national telephone surveys, it was found that the public is unaware of the education and training radiologists receive and does not understand that radiologists are physicians and experts in medical imaging. An internal and external marketing campaign was carried out in test markets, and it was found that awareness and attitudes can be changed.

Radiology practice models: the 2008 ACR Forum.

The 2008 ACR Forum brought together a diverse group of participants from clinical radiology, radiology leadership and practice management, managed care, economics, law, and entrepreneurship in Washington, DC, in January 2008 to discuss current models of radiology practice and anticipate new ones. It addressed what forces shape the practice of radiology, how these forces are changing, and how radiology practices can most effectively respond to them in the future.

Leadership in Radiology: the 2007 ACR Forum.

The 2007 ACR Forum highlighted the importance of cultivating leadership, identified key traits of effective leaders, and outlined a number of practical steps the ACR, radiology leaders, and the field as a whole can take to promote leadership. If we heed this message, we can develop the abilities of people who will provide effective leadership for radiology organizations and assume even wider leadership roles in medicine and health care.

The 2006 ACR Forum: cardiovascular imaging: learning from the past, strategies for the future.

This paper summarizes the 2006 ACR Forum, which explored the history of the relationship between radiology and cardiovascular imaging and sought to explore strategies by which radiology could cope with similar challenges in the future. Key topics include: competition between radiology and other medical specialties, the importance of cardiac imaging, the relative merits of cardiologists and radiologists as cardiovascular imagers, and specific recommendations for radiology leaders in the areas of education, research, clinical practice, and policy.

The future of imaging screening: proceedings of the Fourth Annual ACR FORUM.

The FORUM is an ACR planning activity focused on a specific topic deemed to be of long-range importance to the college. A select panel of multidisciplinary experts met in 2004 to consider the ramifications of imaging screening from diverse perspectives. Considerations included the nature of screening for disease, its technological issues, and biases associated with the perceived success of screening; potential technologies and target diseases; business and economics; insurance coverage; ethics and the law; how imaging screening could be paired with nonimaging screening; and how the lay public perceives screening.

The future quality and safety of medical imaging: proceedings of the third annual ACR FORUM.

The ACR annually engages in a long-range planning activity called the FORUM on a specific issue deemed important to the specialty of radiology over a horizon of 5 to 10 years. The FORUM brings together experts from multiple disciplines to discuss the topic, develop scenarios, and make recommendations to the ACR and the specialty on what courses to take to improve the development of radiology. The Third Annual FORUM, held May 21 to 23, 2003, was on the subject of improving quality and safety.

Radiology 2012: radiology and radiologists a decade hence--a strategic analysis for radiology from the second annual American College of Radiology FORUM.

The American College of Radiology (ACR) FORUM brings together a multidisciplinary group of experts in a subject area that the ACR believes to be of long-term importance to the specialty of radiology. The goals of the FORUM are to develop scenarios about the way the future might develop with respect to the chosen topic and to advise both the ACR and the specialty on steps that should be taken to maximize the value and influence of radiology in the future. In May 2002, the FORUM brought together radiologists, health services researchers, specialists in medical technologies, representatives of the imaging industry, and payers to discuss the key drivers of the way medical imaging will develop over the next 10 years.

Translating molecular imaging research into radiologic practice: summary of the proceedings of the American College of Radiology Colloquium, April 22-24, 2001.

The American College of Radiology (ACR) convened a "think tank" of experts on aspects of molecular imaging. The purposes of the colloquium were to develop scenarios about how molecular imaging would develop in the future and to make recommendations to the ACR about how to prepare radiologists for this important set of technologies. The ACR provided participants with background materials, as well as a set of possible questions to keep in mind while reading the materials, prior to the meeting.

Power Doppler imaging: initial evaluation as a screening examination for carotid artery stenosis.

Purpose: To evaluate power Doppler imaging as a possible screening examination for carotid artery stenosis.

Materials And Methods: In the principal pilot study, a prospective, blinded comparison of power Doppler imaging with duplex Doppler imaging, the reference-standard method, was conducted in 100 consecutive patients routinely referred for carotid artery imaging at a large, private multispecialty clinic. In the validation pilot study, a prospective, blinded comparison of power Doppler imaging with digital subtraction angiography, the reference-standard method, was conducted in 20 consecutive patients routinely referred at a teaching hospital.

Implementation of a radiology electronic imaging network: the community teaching hospital experience.

Because of their typically small in-house computer and network staff, non-university hospitals often hesitate to consider picture archiving and communication system (PACS) as a solution to the very demanding financial, clinical, and technological needs of today's Radiology Department. This article presents the experiences of the 3-year process for the design and implementation of the Radiology Electronic Imaging Network (REIN) in the Department of Radiology at The Western Pennsylvania Hospital (WPH). WPH embarked on this project in late 1994 to find a solution to the very pressing demands to reduce operating costs and improve service to primary care clinicians, both on-site and at WPH-affiliated clinics.

Percutaneous retrieval of foreign bodies: experience with the nitinol Goose Neck snare.

Purpose: The authors present their experience with the nitinol Goose Neck snare system in the retrieval of retained foreign bodies in 20 patients.

Patients And Methods: Foreign bodies were located in the vascular system in 13 patients, urinary tract in four, biliary system in one, gastrointestinal tract in one, and the peritoneal space in one. All retrievals were performed with use of standard angiographic/interventional techniques.

Gynecologic imaging: comparison of transabdominal and transvaginal sonography.

The sonographic findings in 200 patients who underwent concurrent transabdominal and transvaginal pelvic ultrasound were reviewed. The sonographic techniques were compared for image quality, completeness of anatomic detail depicted, and unique diagnostic information. Transvaginal image quality was better in 79%-87% of scans; transabdominal image quality was better in 3%-5% of scans; images of both techniques were equally good in 10%-18% of scans.

Endometrial abnormalities: evaluation with transvaginal sonography.

The value of transvaginal sonography in detecting gynecologic disease currently is being defined. To evaluate transvaginal depiction of the endometrium, transvaginal sonograms were compared with conventional transabdominal scans in 29 patients whose sonograms revealed endometrial abnormalities. The two techniques were compared for image quality and ability to provide unique diagnostic information.

Ergotism presenting as restenosis following angioplasty.

Ergotism may cause isolated lower-extremity arterial stenoses that appear amenable to angioplasty but that will recur if the causative agent is not withdrawn. A case of femoral-popliteal stenosis caused by surreptitious ergot ingestion is presented. The lesion initially responded to angioplasty but quickly recurred, whereupon discovery of ergot use and withdrawal of the compound led to the disappearance of symptoms.

Primary sclerosing cholangitis in the presence of a lupus anticoagulant.

Lupus anticoagulant, an immunoglobulin that prolongs the partial thromboplastin time, has been associated with thrombotic events, including deep venous thrombosis, pulmonary emboli, and Budd-Chiari syndrome. In this report, primary sclerosing cholangitis was diagnosed in a man with a 10-year history of multiple thrombotic events related to a circulating lupus anticoagulant. Progressive jaundice and pruritus developed, and sclerosing cholangitis was confirmed by direct cholangiography.

The natural history of simple renal cysts: a preliminary study.

We examined the natural history of simple renal cysts in 59 patients followed periodically with renal ultrasonography. Using the parameters of cyst diameter and number we grouped the patients according to the differing natural history of the cystic lesions. The results indicate that simple cysts tend to progress in number rather than size.