AAPM medical physics practice guideline 10.a.: Scope of practice for clinical medical physics.

The American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) is a nonprofit professional society whose primary purposes are to advance the science, education, and professional practice of medical physics. The AAPM has more than 8000 members and is the principal organization of medical physicists in the United States. The AAPM will periodically define new practice guidelines for medical physics practice to help advance the science of medical physics and to improve the quality of service to patients throughout the United States.

Development and validation of HIV-related dyadic measures for men who have sex with men.

The purpose of this study was to develop and assess the psychometric properties of several scales that measure dyadic constructs derived from an integrated model of interdependence theory and communal coping perspectives. The scales are specific to HIV risk and men who have sex with men who are in an intimate relationship. These scales are newly developed measures of perceived severity of HIV, preferences for sexual health outcomes, outcome and couple efficacy to avoid HIV, and communal coping strategies.

Informing patients about risks and benefits of radiology examinations: a review article.

Communicating the risks, benefits, and alternatives to a planned medical intervention is integral to high-quality patient care. When effective, such communication promotes patient autonomy, alleviates unfounded patient apprehension, and mitigates medicolegal liability. The topic of medical radiation adds to the usual challenges of effective medical communication some special challenges of its own.

Workers with Libby amphibole exposure: retrospective identification and progression of radiographic changes.

Purpose: To assess how early pleural and/or parenchymal abnormalities consistent with asbestos exposure could be ascertained and to identify factors associated with progression.

Materials And Methods: Informed consent was obtained under an institutional review board-approved protocol. Multiple sequential chest radiographs obtained between 1955 and 2004 in 84 workers exposed to amphiboles associated with vermiculite in the town of Libby, Montana, were studied.

Routine isotropic computed tomography scanning of chest: value of coronal and sagittal reformations.

Objective: We sought to evaluate the usefulness of coronal and sagittal reformations from isotropic chest computed tomography (CT) examinations.

Methods: A total of 30 chest CT examinations were reconstructed into 2 sets of axial source images: 0.9-mm slice width with 0.

Isotropic chest CT examination: diagnostic quality of reformats.

Aim: To evaluate the image quality of axial and coronal reformats obtained from isotropic resolution 40-channel chest computed tomography (CT) examinations.

Methods And Materials: Thirty consecutive patients with intravenous contrast-enhanced chest CT examinations using a 40-channel CT machine were enrolled for the study. The raw data were reconstructed into two sets of source axial images: 0.

Radiology of community-acquired pneumonia.

This article reviews the radiographic appearance of common community-acquired pneumonia. Included are the common bacterial pneumonias, tuberculosis, fungal pneumonia, pneumocystis pneumonia, and viral pneumonias. The various radiographic appearances and the clues for differentiating the pneumonias are discussed.

Suspected acute pulmonary embolism: evaluation with multi-detector row CT versus digital subtraction pulmonary arteriography.

Purpose: To determine diagnostic accuracy of four-channel multi-detector row computed tomography (CT) in emergency room and inpatient populations suspected of having acute pulmonary embolism (PE) who prospectively underwent both CT and pulmonary arteriography (PA).

Materials And Methods: Patients referred for PA to assess suspected PE were eligible. Institutional review board approval and written informed consent were obtained.

Current practices in evaluating radiology residents, faculty, and programs: results of a survey of radiology residency program directors.

Rationale And Objectives: We surveyed program directors to determine current radiology program practices in evaluating their residents, faculty, and program.

Materials And Methods: In January 2003, a 52-item Web-based survey was made available to program directors of accredited core radiology programs. Responses to the items were tabulated to determine relative frequency distribution.

Lung tumor growth: assessment with CT--comparison of diameter and cross-sectional area with volume measurements.

Purpose: To compare diameter and cross-sectional area measurements with volume measurements in the assessment of lung tumor growth with serial computed tomography (CT).

Materials And Methods: Patients with lung cancer who underwent at least one pair of chest CT examinations 25 or more days apart before treatment and with a tumor size of T1 (< or =3-cm diameter) at the initial CT examination were identified. A total of 63 patients (62 men, one woman) who underwent 93 pairs of CT examinations were included.

Effect of varying CT section width on volumetric measurement of lung tumors and application of compensatory equations.

Purpose: To determine how volume measurements of simulated and clinical lung tumors at standard computed tomographic (CT) lung window and level settings vary with section width and to derive and apply compensatory equations.

Materials And Methods: Spherical simulated tumors of varying diameters were imaged with varying CT section widths, the images were displayed on a workstation, the cross-sectional area of the tumor on each section was measured by using elliptical and perimeter methods, and the areas were integrated to compute tumor volume. The actual and measured tumor volumes for differing section widths and tumor diameters were compared, and compensatory equations were derived.

Evaluation of post-plan dosimetry using TRUS and CT after transperineal prostate seed implant.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the variability in dosimetry due to the change in prostate volume for permanent transperineal brachytherapy seed implant. This research is the beginning of an in-house quality assessment program. Nineteen cases were retrospectively evaluated.

Assessing radiology resident reporting skills.

Purpose: To develop an Objective Structured Clinical Examination for assessing the reporting skills of radiology residents.

Materials And Methods: The approach used in this study derives from performance-based assessment, that is, tests in which actual performance of a skill is observed and measured. For this task, 29 radiology residents and five faculty members (n = 34) independently dictated reports regarding a set of 20 cases with radiographs in 1 hour.

Fat-containing lesions of the chest.

Although most lesions that occur in the chest have a nonspecific soft-tissue appearance, fat-containing lesions are occasionally encountered at cross-sectional computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging. The various fat-containing lesions of the chest include parenchymal and endobronchial lesions such as hamartoma, lipoid pneumonia, and lipoma. Endobronchial hamartoma usually appears at CT as a lesion with a smooth edge, focal collections of fat, or fat collections that alternate with foci of calcification.

Volumetric growth rate of stage I lung cancer prior to treatment: serial CT scanning.

Purpose: To determine the range of growth rates of stage I lung cancers prior to treatment by using volumetric measurement at serial chest computed tomographic (CT) examinations.

Materials And Methods: The study population comprised 50 patients who underwent two CT examinations at 25-day or greater intervals. Tumor craniocaudal length and cross-sectional diameters and perimeters were used to volumetrically model each tumor in three ways (spherical, elliptical, perimeter).

Unilateral bronchiectasis and esophageal dysmotility in congenital adult tracheoesophageal fistula.

Tracheoesophageal fistulas (TEF) in adults are most commonly neoplastic, and very rarely congenital in nature. We report a 45-year-old Hispanic male with TEF and initial presentation of minimal hemoptysis. The patient had radiographic evidence of unilateral upper lobe (RUL) bronchiectasis, massive esophageal dilatation, and dysmotility.

The value of good medical student teaching: increasing the number of radiology residency applicants.

Rationale And Objectives: The authors attempted to define the value of good medical student teaching to the profession of radiology by examining the effect of radiology course improvements on the number of 4th-year students applying to radiology residencies.

Materials And Methods: Course evaluation and residency application data were obtained from six consecutive classes of 4th-year medical students at the study institution, and these data were compared with national data.

Results: Between 1995 and 2000, the number of 4th-year U.