The practice of emergency radiology throughout Europe: a survey from the European Society of Emergency Radiology on volume, staffing, equipment, and scheduling.

Objectives: To obtain information from radiology departments throughout Europe regarding the practice of emergency radiology METHODS: A survey which comprised of 24 questions was developed and made available online. The questionnaire was sent to 1097 chairs of radiology departments throughout Europe using the ESR database. All data were collected and analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics software, version 20 (IBM).

Subspecialisation in Emergency Radiology: Proposal for a harmonised European curriculum.

Radiology plays a crucial role in the emergency care setting by delivering early and precise diagnoses under pressure of time, right at the beginning of patient treatment. Although there is a need for postgraduate education in emergency radiology, most of the national bodies responsible do not offer it in a uniform fashion and a general proof of qualification is missing in Europe. Therefore, the European Society of Radiology (ESR) has founded the (Sub-)Society of Emergency Radiology (ESER), prompting them to develop a European curriculum.

The key role of the radiologist in the management of polytrauma patients: indications for MDCT imaging in emergency radiology.

Trauma causes greater losses of life years and it is the most common cause of death for people under the age of 45. Time is one of the most relevant factors for the survival of injured patients, particularly the time elapsed from trauma until the resuscitation procedures. As a member of the trauma team, the radiologist contributes to the rapid diagnosis of traumatic disorders, with appropriate imaging modalities.

[Spinal trauma: first aid from cross-sectional imaging].

The diagnosis of the traumatized spine is one of the key issues for trauma radiologists. The cross-sectional imaging procedures, computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are the essential methods in spinal trauma radiology. These modalities are of great help in accurately assessing injury patterns and extent and in providing indications of patient outcome.

The traumatized vertebral spine reloaded: injury mechanisms and their radiologic patterns.

The ideal classification of spinal trauma does not yet exist, primarily because the implementation of morphological, biomechanical, and clinical parameters in a single nomenclature is a difficult task. For radiologists and surgeons, who are partners in trauma teams, only a few classifications of injury patterns have been shown to be useful enough to provide rapid and stable therapy decisions in daily practice. From a didactic point of view, however, simplifications of injury mechanisms are of help to become aware of the most important radiologic injury patterns of vertebral trauma.

Reliability-based optimization of maintenance scheduling of mechanical components under fatigue.

This study presents the optimization of the maintenance scheduling of mechanical components under fatigue loading. The cracks of damaged structures may be detected during non-destructive inspection and subsequently repaired. Fatigue crack initiation and growth show inherent variability, and as well the outcome of inspection activities.

Contrast-enhanced MR imaging of hand and finger joints in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis: do we really need a full dose of gadobenate dimeglumine for assessing synovial enhancement at 3 T?

Purpose: To investigate the diagnostic value of a half dose compared with a full dose of gadobenate dimeglumine in the assessment of synovitis or tenosynovitis in the wrist and finger joints in patients with early rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and a disease activity score greater than 3.2.

Materials And Methods: With institutional review board approval and informed consent, 57 patients with early RA underwent 3-T magnetic resonance (MR) imaging with two different doses of contrast media.

Intracranial hematomas at a glance: advanced visualization for fast and easy detection.

Purpose: To retrospectively assess the detection rate for intracranial hematomas achieved with use of curved maximum intensity projections (MIPs) that parallel the inner table of the skull compared with the rate achieved by reading transverse sections of computed tomography (CT) only.

Materials And Methods: This retrospective study was approved by the institutional review board, which waived informed consent. A total of 314 consecutive patients who underwent CT for cranial trauma (155 male, 159 female; mean age ± standard deviation, 58 years ± 24 [range, 2-98 years]) were included.

[Not Available].

The aim of this paper is to demonstrate that stochastic analyses can be performed on large and complex models within affordable costs. Stochastic analyses offer a much more realistic approach for analysis and design of components and systems although generally computationally demanding. Hence, resorting to efficient approaches and high performance computing is required in order to reduce the execution time.

[Coxarthrosis - a radiological approach and guidelines].

Clinical/methodical Issue: Coxarthrosis is one of the most frequent indications in radiological practice with a prevalence as high as 8%.

Standard Radiological Methods: Radiography, sonography, computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging.

Methodical Innovations: Magnetic resonance arthrography for detection of early stages of labral and chondral pathologies as well as detection of osteonecrosis at an early stage.

Investigation of model uncertainties in Bayesian structural model updating.

Model updating procedures are applied in order to improve the matching between experimental data and corresponding model output. The updated, i.e.

[Sacroiliitis or pseudosacroiliitis?].

Clinical/methodical Issue: When the presence of seronegative spondyloarthropathy is unrecognized there can be a delay in achieving an accurate diagnosis, as the typical inflammatory low back pain is similar to that found in degenerative diseases of the lumbosacral spine and the sacroiliac joints. Thus, seronegative spondyloarthropathy is often misinterpreted as a degenerative disease. The initial radiography of the sacroiliac joints is often normal which results in a delay in diagnosis of sacroiliitis of approximately 3-7 years.

Modeling of the variability of fatigue crack growth using cohesive zone elements.

By its nature, metal fatigue has random characteristics, leading to extensive scatter in the results. Both initiation and propagation of a fatigue crack can be seen as random processes. This manuscript develops a numerical analysis using cohesive zone elements allowing the use of one single model in the finite element simulation of the complete fatigue life.

[Who is who revisited: spinal trauma].

The ideal classification of spinal trauma does not yet exist, primarily because the combination of morphological, biomechanical and clinical parameters in one single nomenclature has proved impossible. For radiologists and surgeons who work closely together, only a few classifications of injury patterns have been shown to be useful enough to provide rapid and stable therapy decisions. Many classifications are too complex to be practical for day-to-day practice, such as the Magerl classification, which has been adopted by the Arbeitsgemeinschaft für Osteosynthesefragen (AO).

[Imaging of molecular structures of breasts with new sonography techniques].

Sonography has become one of the most important imaging methods in breast diagnostics. Through the development of high-frequency transducers and the use of ultrasound contrast agents, the number of indications for sonography of the breast has continued to increase in recent years. Visualization of very small vessels under 100 µm enables sensitive detection and quantification of tissue perfusion.

[Mountain biking : Breezy ups and traumatic downs].

For more than two decades the popularity of mountain biking as a national pastime as well as a competitive sport has been undiminished. However, its related risks are not monitored as closely as those, for example, of skiing. The injuries caused by mountain biking are specific and cannot be compared with those caused by other cycling sports.

The skull unfolded: a cranial CT visualization algorithm for fast and easy detection of skull fractures.

Purpose: To retrospectively assess the rate of detection of skull fractures at cranial computed tomography (CT) achieved with the use of curved maximum intensity projections (MIPs) compared with that achieved by reading transverse sections only.

Materials And Methods: The institutional review board approved this research and waived informed consent. A curved thin (3-mm) MIP of the skull cap and a curved thick (50-mm) MIP of the skull base were obtained from the cranial CT data in 200 consecutive patients with head trauma.

[Who is who in the fractures of the upper and lower limb].

The precision is a major factor in the communication of medical facts and data. Predominantly, it is reached by the use of classification systems. However, many of our classifications do not provide an unlimited use in the day-to-day practice.

Comparison of 5-megapixel cathode ray tube monitors and 5-megapixel liquid crystal monitors for soft-copy reading in full-field digital mammography.

Purpose: To retrospectively compare the image quality, lesion detection, and the diagnostic efficacy of 5-megapixel (MP) cathode ray tube monitors (CRTs) and 5-MP liquid crystal display monitors (LCDs) for soft-copy reading in full-field digital mammography (FFDM).

Materials And Methods: Informed consent was waived by the Institutional Review Board for the data analysis. A total of 220 cases were compared with two 5-MP (2048×2560 pixels) CRTs and two 5-MP (2048×2560 pixels) LCDs.

Quantification of synovitis in rheumatoid arthritis: do we really need quantitative measurement of contrast-enhanced ultrasound?

Objective: The quantification of synovitis is of great significance for adequate therapy management and follow-up in patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA). The purpose of this study was to validate a semi-quantitative Power Doppler (PD) scoring system by comparing the PD scores to the objective measurement of the synovial inflammation using dynamic contrast-enhanced Pulse-Inversion Harmonic Imaging (PIHI).

Materials And Methods: In 27 patients with RA, two radiologists performed semi-quantitative scoring of a PD examination, using a four-point scale from 0 to 3, in the metacarpophalangeal joints, proximal interphalangeal joints, and the wrists.

Diagnostic value of sonography, ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration cytology, and diffusion-weighted MRI in the characterization of cold thyroid nodules.

Introduction: The purpose of this prospective study was to assess the diagnostic value of different modalities for the characterization of cold thyroid nodules.

Methods: In 35 patients with cold nodules, thyroid carcinoma was suspected on scintigraphy. These patients were prospectively investigated with sonography, ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration (USgFNA), and quantitative diffusion-weighted imaging magnetic resonance imaging (DWI) (navigated echo-planar imaging; maximum b-value 800s/mm(2)) prior to surgery.

Can quantitative diffusion-weighted MR imaging differentiate benign and malignant cold thyroid nodules? Initial results in 25 patients.

Background And Purpose: The characterization of cold nodules of the thyroid gland is mandatory because approximately 20% of these nodules are of malignant origin. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the distinction of cold thyroid nodules by using quantitative diffusion-weighted MR imaging (DWI).

Materials And Methods: In 25 patients with cold nodules on scintigraphy and suggestive findings at fine-needle aspiration, thyroid carcinoma was suggested.

US-guided 14-gauge core-needle breast biopsy: results of a validation study in 1352 cases.

Purpose: To retrospectively determine the false-negative rate and the underestimation rate of ultrasonography (US)-guided 14-gauge core-needle breast biopsy (CNB) in nonpalpable lesions, with validation at surgical excision histologic examination and with stability during clinical and imaging follow-up.

Materials And Methods: Informed consent was waived by the institutional review board for this retrospective review of 1352 cases. In 1061 cases, patients underwent surgical excision of lesions visible at US subsequent to US-guided 14-gauge CNB.