Dear MRI Insider,
Functional MRI continues to show immense promise in the research laboratory, but realizing its full potential in the clinic is an entirely different matter, it seems. Before this can happen, the greater involvement of clinicians and a closer working relationship with industry are vital, and there must be more basic, exploratory research, according to an important Wellcome Trust report published this week.
Sample sizes in functional brain imaging studies must expand, and there is a need to identify specific research goals and targets, the authors noted. For more details, visit our MRI Digital Community, or alternatively click here.
Cost-effectiveness data about cardiac MRI is a rare commodity, so it's no great surprise that a Swiss presentation on this topic attracted plenty of attention at the European Society of Cardiology's (ESC) annual congress in Paris. This analysis may help to convince insurers and administrators about the technique's true value. Get the story here.
The popularity of breast implants continues to grow rapidly, and MRI now has a pre-eminent role in imaging of these devices. It is more accurate than ultrasound and mammography for assessing implant integrity, Spanish researchers have found. Our report includes some exclusive images, and you can click here to access it.
MR mammography (MRM) is useful for characterizing suspicious clinical or mammographic examinations, and a German research group has shown that a BI-RADS-associated MRM algorithm can accurately diagnose breast tumors. Due to the likelihood of false-negative and false-positive results, however, histology is still necessary. Click here for our article.
The use of intraoperative MRI guidance allows surgeons to visualize tumor remnants that would not otherwise be seen and would remain unresected, and it enables neurosurgeons to reassess neuronavigation during and throughout surgery. Lancet Oncology has just published a new study from Goethe University in Frankfurt, Germany, about the clinical usefulness of intraoperative MRI guidance in oncology. To find out more, click here.
Finally, make sure you check back next week to read about new developments in 7-tesla MRI.
