Week in Review: Fallout from ECR postponement | Can AI accurately quantify emphysema? | Board Review proves popular

Mar 12, 2020

Dear AuntMinnieEurope Member,

Postponing a major medical congress like ECR eight days before the opening was always going to have serious ramifications, and sure enough, they've not taken long to emerge.

First, the European Society of Radiology (ESR) feels vindicated in reaching its decision on 3 March, because indoor gatherings of more than 100 people are now illegal in Austria. Find out more in our CT Community.

This development followed an ESR statement that the society was considering taking legal action against the authorities. The society is convinced it was let down badly by what it sees as the indecisiveness and lack of clear guidance on whether ECR 2020 should take place due to concerns over the spread of the coronavirus. Legal precedents look sure to be set in just this sort of area over the weeks ahead.

Meanwhile, a multinational group has published an important analysis about whether artificial intelligence (AI) can accurately quantify emphysema. What were their key findings? Go to the Artificial Intelligence Community.

Acute severe colitis is a life-threatening emergency that requires rapid, aggressive treatment. A novel Italian ultrasound study suggests that features on scans may help predict which patients require second-line therapy, leading to an early discharge or preventing a colectomy. Visit our Ultrasound Community.

Any research conducted at Cambridge University in the U.K. is generally worth a close look, so you won't want to miss an informative report about how a technique that uses hyperpolarized carbon-13 MRI to monitor the metabolism of different types of breast cancer can identify how rapidly a tumor is growing. Head over to the Molecular Imaging Community.

Judged on the impressive traffic figures over the past week or so, many of you have visited our new Board Review section. We've developed this free study tool with the European Board of Radiology, and it features selections of diagnostic images and sample questions that are designed to help you study for your review. Please continue to check it out and let us know what you think.