Radiation dose and imaging optimization stay a hot topic in CT, and contrast agent safety is no exception. When a patient has a hypersensitivity reaction to iodinated contrast media, choosing the next agent is still often trial and error.
A forthcoming review (LINK TBP) led by Dr. Aart van der Molen of LUMC Leiden argues that side-chain chemistry can guide that choice more reliably, against updated ESUR guidance that has moved away from routine premedication.
Muscle, not just plaque, is turning out to matter on cardiac CT. A SCOT-HEART substudy found that lower skeletal muscle attenuation on coronary CTA independently predicts 10-year mortality and MI risk, even after adjusting for calcium score.
Meanwhile, SCCT and SCAI have jointly published new guidance on using fractional flow reserve derived from CCTA, developed by a King's College London-led team and now endorsed by the ACC.
Germany's national lung cancer screening program is now three months in. Our RöKo 2026 coverage from Leipzig found reimbursement and workflow gaps still unresolved, building on the earlier signals we reported after the program's 1 April launch.
Spain, meanwhile, is confronting its own infrastructure gap. SERAM's new Technology Renewal Guide says the country needs to buy roughly 80 CT scanners a year to keep pace with demand, a new procurement framework covers barely a third of that.
AI in CT keeps posting mixed results. A meta-analysis found AI lung nodule classifiers are highly sensitive but only moderately specific, suggesting a rule-out role rather than definitive diagnosis. A separate review of CE-marked software found similar gaps in high-level clinical evidence, even as Germany makes AI nodule detection mandatory for its screening program.
On a more promising note, Mayo Clinic researchers reported an AI framework that spotted pancreatic cancer signatures an average of 475 days before clinical diagnosis.
Elsewhere in CT, a review of post-radiotherapy lung imaging laid out CT features that help distinguish radiation injury from tumor recurrence, and researchers linked distinct lung CT patterns to welding fume exposure, separate from smoking-related changes. A French meta-analysis also identified four CT signs that help predict bowel ischemia in small bowel obstruction.
The articles above are just a glimpse. Explore our full CT content area for everything we've published.
Claudia Tschabuschnig
Associate Editor
AuntMinnieEurope.com