Enhancing clot composition analysis in acute ischemic stroke with non-contrast spectral CT: A phantom-based study.

Acute ischemic stroke (AIS), caused by blood flow obstruction due to a clot, is a leading medical emergency, with mechanical thrombectomy (MT) being the standard of care intervention. The success of MT partly depends on the ability to effectively assess clot composition, as different clot types (e.g.

Percutaneous Robotics in Interventional Radiology.

The accuracy of the robotic device not only relies on a reproducible needle advancement, but also on the possibility to correct target movement at chosen checkpoints and to deviate from a linear to a nonlinear trajectory. We report our experience in using the robotic device for the insertion of trocar needles in CT guided procedures. The majority of procedures were targeted organ biopsies in the chest abdomen or pelvis.

Feasibility and Accuracy of a Novel Hands-Free Robotic System for Percutaneous Needle Insertion and Steering.

Purpose: To assess the performance and accuracy of CT-guided needle insertion for clinical biopsies using a novel, hands-free robotic system that balances accuracy with the duration of the procedure and radiation dose.

Materials And Methods: A prospective, multi-center study was conducted on 60 clinically indicated biopsies of abdominal lesions at two centers (Center 1, n=26; Center 2, n=34). CT datasets were obtained for planning and controlled placement of 17g and 18g needles using a patient-mounted, CT-guided robotic system with 5 degrees of freedom.

Clinical evaluation of a robotic system for precise CT-guided percutaneous procedures.

Purpose: To assess accuracy and compare protocols for CT-guided needle insertion for clinical biopsies using a hands-free robotic system, balancing system accuracy with duration of procedure and radiation dose.

Methods: Thirty-two percutaneous abdominal and pelvic biopsies were performed and analyzed at two centers (Center 1 n = 11; Center 2 n = 21) as part of an ongoing prospective, multi-center study. CT datasets were obtained for planning and controlled placement of 17 g needles using a patient-mounted, CT-guided robotic system.

Towards radiologist-level cancer risk assessment in CT lung screening using deep learning.

Purpose: Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer mortality in the US, responsible for more deaths than breast, prostate, colon and pancreas cancer combined and large population studies have indicated that low-dose computed tomography (CT) screening of the chest can significantly reduce this death rate. Recently, the usefulness of Deep Learning (DL) models for lung cancer risk assessment has been demonstrated. However, in many cases model performances are evaluated on small/medium size test sets, thus not providing strong model generalization and stability guarantees which are necessary for clinical adoption.

Identifying Areas for Operational Improvement and Growth in IR Workflow Using Workflow Modeling, Simulation, and Optimization Techniques.

Identifying areas for workflow improvement and growth is essential for an interventional radiology (IR) department to stay competitive. Deployment of traditional methods such as Lean and Six Sigma helped in reducing the waste in workflows at a strategic level. However, achieving efficient workflow needs both strategic and tactical approaches.

A Novel Technique of Ureteral Stricture Measurement: Impact on Diagnosis and Subsequent Management.

Appropriate surgical management of ureteral strictures is dependent on not only the etiology of the stricture but also its location and characteristics. Stricture length and location play a significant role in potential surgical options, yet accurate evaluation of these features is limited. We present a case of a complex ureteral stricture where employment of an endoscopic tool in a novel manner helped to better evaluate the patient and provide more precise counseling in the preoperative setting.

External Fixation Devices Within the Magnetic Resonance Imaging Bore: A Safety and Radiologic Analysis.

Objectives: To (1) report the thermal changes encountered at the pin/skin interface in a cadaver with a knee-spanning external fixator inside the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) bore and (2) report on the quality of the MRI sequences collected.

Methods: Three commonly used external fixation systems were placed on cadaveric lower extremities to simulate knee external fixation. Fiber optic thermal probes were placed at the pin/skin interface of a femoral and tibial pin.

The Use of Penile Computed Tomography Cavernosogram in the Evaluation of Peyronie's Disease: A Pilot Study.

Background: Clinical assessment of Peyronie disease (PD) is unreliable and difficult to reproduce.

Aim: To assess the utility of the computed tomography cavernosography (CTC) in evaluating the penile functional abnormalities of PD.

Methods: Men were placed in the Philips IQon Spectral CT scanner (Phillips, Cambridge, MA, USA) in the supine position.

Percutaneous Transjejunal Biliary Access in 60 Patients with Bilioenteric Anastomoses.

Purpose: To determine success and complication rates of percutaneous transjejunal biliary access (PTJBA) in patients with bilioenteric anastomoses.

Materials And Methods: In a single-center, retrospective study, 169 PTJBA procedures were performed over a 13.8-y period in 60 subjects (47 male; mean age, 54.

Adherence to Radiology Recommendations in a Clinical CT Lung Screening Program.

Background: Assess patient adherence to radiologist recommendations in a clinical CT lung cancer screening program.

Methods: Patients undergoing CT lung cancer screening between January 12, 2012, and June 12, 2013, were included in this institutional review board-approved retrospective review. Patients referred from outside our institution were excluded.

Automatic Lung-RADS™ classification with a natural language processing system.

Background: Our aim was to train a natural language processing (NLP) algorithm to capture imaging characteristics of lung nodules reported in a structured CT report and suggest the applicable Lung-RADS™ (LR) category.

Methods: Our study included structured, clinical reports of consecutive CT lung screening (CTLS) exams performed from 08/2014 to 08/2015 at an ACR accredited Lung Cancer Screening Center. All patients screened were at high-risk for lung cancer according to the NCCN Guidelines.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Trauma Patients Treated With Contemporary External Fixation Devices: A Multicenter Case Series.

Objectives: To report the safety and clinical outcomes of placing current magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) components inside and outside the MRI bore during MRIs.

Design: Retrospective case series.

Setting: Four trauma centers (3 Level I and 1 Level II), from January 2005 to January 2015.

Inpatient Complexity in Radiology-a Practical Application of the Case Mix Index Metric.

With ongoing healthcare payment reforms in the USA, radiology is moving from its current state of a revenue generating department to a new reality of a cost-center. Under bundled payment methods, radiology does not get reimbursed for each and every inpatient procedure, but rather, the hospital gets reimbursed for the entire hospital stay under an applicable diagnosis-related group code. The hospital case mix index (CMI) metric, as defined by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, has a significant impact on how much hospitals get reimbursed for an inpatient stay.

Smoking cessation results in a clinical lung cancer screening program.

Background: Lung cancer screening may provide a "teachable moment" for promoting smoking cessation. This study assessed smoking cessation and relapse rates among individuals undergoing follow-up low-dose chest computed tomography (CT) in a clinical CT lung screening program and assessed the influence of initial screening results on smoking behavior.

Methods: Self-reported smoking status for individuals enrolled in a clinical CT lung screening program undergoing a follow-up CT lung screening exam between 1st February, 2014 and 31st March, 2015 was retrospectively reviewed and compared to self-reported smoking status using a standardized questionnaire at program entry.

Experience With a CT Screening Program for Individuals at High Risk for Developing Lung Cancer.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare results of National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) high-risk group 2 with those of NCCN high-risk group 1 in a clinical CT lung screening program.

Methods: The results of consecutive clinical CT lung screening examinations performed from January 2012 through December 2013 were retrospectively reviewed. All examinations were interpreted by radiologists credentialed in structured CT lung screening reporting, following the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology: Lung Cancer Screening (version 1.

Performance of ACR Lung-RADS in a Clinical CT Lung Screening Program.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess the effect of applying ACR Lung-RADS in a clinical CT lung screening program on the frequency of positive and false-negative findings.

Methods: Consecutive, clinical CT lung screening examinations performed from January 2012 through May 2014 were retroactively reclassified using the new ACR Lung-RADS structured reporting system. All examinations had initially been interpreted by radiologists credentialed in structured CT lung screening reporting following the National Comprehensive Cancer Network's Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology: Lung Cancer Screening (version 1.

Surgical Outcomes in a Large, Clinical, Low-Dose Computed Tomographic Lung Cancer Screening Program.

Background: Lung cancer screening with low-dose computed tomography is proven to reduce lung cancer mortality among high-risk patients. However, critics raise concern over the potential for unnecessary surgical procedures performed for benign disease as a result of screening. We reviewed our outcomes in a large clinical lung cancer screening program to assess the number of surgical procedures done for benign disease, as we believe this is an important quality metric.

Performance of ACR Lung-RADS in a clinical CT lung screening program.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to assess the effect of applying ACR Lung-RADS in a clinical CT lung screening program on the frequency of positive and false-negative findings.

Methods: Consecutive, clinical CT lung screening examinations performed from January 2012 through May 2014 were retroactively reclassified using the new ACR Lung-RADS structured reporting system. All examinations had initially been interpreted by radiologists credentialed in structured CT lung screening reporting following the National Comprehensive Cancer Network's Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology: Lung Cancer Screening (version 1.

Experience with a CT screening program for individuals at high risk for developing lung cancer.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to compare results of National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) high-risk group 2 with those of NCCN high-risk group 1 in a clinical CT lung screening program.

Methods: The results of consecutive clinical CT lung screening examinations performed from January 2012 through December 2013 were retrospectively reviewed. All examinations were interpreted by radiologists credentialed in structured CT lung screening reporting, following the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology: Lung Cancer Screening (version 1.

Purposeful creation of a pneumothorax and chest tube placement to facilitate CT-guided coil localization of lung nodules before video-assisted thoracoscopic surgical wedge resection.

Purpose: To evaluate the feasibility and efficacy of pneumothorax creation and chest tube insertion before computed tomography (CT)-guided coil localization of small peripheral lung nodules for video-assisted thoracoscopic surgical (VATS) wedge resection.

Materials And Methods: From May 2011 to October 2013, 21 consecutive patients (seven men; mean age, 62 y; range, 42-76 y) scheduled for VATS wedge resection required CT-guided coil localization for small, likely nonpalpable peripheral lung lesions at a single institution. Outcomes were evaluated retrospectively for technical success and complications.

Coronary sinus to left atrium communication.

Coronary sinus anomalies are rare. They can be associated with other vascular anomalies such as persistent left superior vena cava or can occur in isolation. We present a rare case of an isolated coronary sinus communication to the left atrium.