ECR Today 2010 d aily news from europe’s leading imaging congress SATURDAY, MARCH 6, 2010 ESR meets Teamwork produces MR exhibitors focus InSIDE Poland’s rising best results in PET/CT on elastography and Today stars in radiology cancer imaging patient comfort See page 5 See page 9 See page 19 Polytrauma demands expertly Hypothesis and fact get trained emergency radiologists mixed up in radiation debate By Paula Gould By Philip Ward European radiologists require specialist train- When it comes to the sizzling hot topic of carci- ing in emergency radiology, just as happens in nogenesis and diagnostic radiation, it is crucial the U.S., ECR delegates were told yesterday. to differentiate hypothesis from scientific fact, maintain a sober mind, and separate science The thorny issue of subspecialty training came from politics and economics. up during a packed special focus session on imaging the polytrauma patient. In a straw poll That’s the view of Dr. Michael Brant-Zawadzki, conducted by the moderator, Dr. András Palkó, medical director for neurosciences at Hoag approximately two-thirds of audience members Memorial Hospital in Newport Beach, Califor- indicated that radiologists were included in their nia. During Friday’s W.C. Roentgen honorary hospital’s trauma team. However, just a few del- lecture, he urged ECR attendees to assure the egates raised their hands when asked if they had appropriateness of studies, standardise safe dose access to training in emergency imaging. levels, use the lowest acceptable dose, and int- roduce a quality assurance process, including “My generation trained along modalities. This recording cumulative doses in a patient’s file. then shifted to training in an organ-based man- Gerd Schueller from Vienna/AT. Michael Brant-Zawadzki from Newport Beach, CA/US. ner and now we speak about abdominal radi- “Someone who comes in with a stroke could die ologists and chest radiologists. But in the last today, but if they are worried about a cancer 30 few years we have recognised that we may want to learn the differences,” he said. “It is a very years from now they may refuse a life-saving mSv, SPECT thallium 25 mSv, SPECT sestamibi to have a third approach, the diagnosis- or the important point. Just as we have special training scan,” noted Brant-Zawadzki, repeating the 12 mSv, and coronary CT angiogram 6-13mSv. Opening Ceremony patient-based approach, and I am speaking here for the lung in radiology, we should have trauma statement made this week by Dr. James Thrall, of oncologic imaging and emergency imag- training. This is not taught well in Europe.” chief radiologist at Massachusetts General “In CT, the science of diagnostic radiation and ing,” said Palkó, radiologist at the University of Hospital in Boston, in Tuesday’s edition of The carcinogenesis has recently become very embel- Szeged, Hungary. “This may require a kind of Schueller examined how radiologists can play Washington Post. lished in my country, and I’m sure in Europe subspecialty training not only in the training a central role when patients present with mul- as well, in the politics and economics of over- period for residents, but also in the postgradu- tiple, severe injuries. The polytrauma patient’s The risk to patients of radiation dose is evaluated utilisation of this rather expensive technology,” ate specialisation phase.” condition will be assessed in the first 60 sec- in terms of effective dose, as defined by the Inter- he said. onds by an anaesthesiologist and surgeon, he national Commission on Radiological Protec- The need for dedicated training in emergency said. The radiologist on the trauma team then tion, he said. Effective dose combines the absor- Radiation injury is either deterministic, which imaging was reinforced by Dr. Gerd Schueller, has four minutes to seek out any life-threat- bed dose and a weighting factor related to the occurs only above a threshold dose, or stochas- radiologist at the Medical University of Vienna. ening conditions from plain film x-rays and a radiosensitivity of each organ exposed. Effective tic, which assumes no threshold. In the former, When quizzed directly by the moderator if this FAST (focused assessment with sonography in dose can be calculated for standard body confi- a degree of injury is related to the dose, and in type of subspecialty education should be intro- trauma) scan. gurations, but not easily for individual patients, the latter, the probability of injury increases with duced in European hospitals, his answer was an and it allows for comparison of various sources. dose. Radiation-induced hair loss can result unequivocal ‘Yes’. If the patient can be more or less stabilised, then The unit of effective dose is the Sievert (Sv). from perfusion CT and a prolonged neuro- he or she may be moved to an adjacent CT unit interventional procedure with angiography, “Of course emergency radiology is a subspe- for whole-body imaging. This can reveal key He gave some ball-park figures for the effective for example. The top of Brant-Zawadzki’s own cialty, of course there are specific findings of dose of selected examinations: head CT 1-2 mSv, trauma. A haemangioma of the liver does not chest CT 5-7 mSv, abdominal and pelvic CT look like a haematoma of the liver. We have continued on page 3 8-11 mSv, diagnostic coronary angiogram 3-30 continued on page 5 myESR.org Can I have my images automatically opened in 2D, 3D, and 4D? Depending on the case complexity? Welcome to syngo.plaza. Reading, any dimension. Withsyngo®.plaza our isinnovative the first Siemens technologies, PACS to offer 2D, 3D,we and help 4D reading industry in one reduceplace. Let itfresh boost your reading speed in watercombination consumption. with syngo.via. See Thus your imagessustainably open automatically conserving in the applications natural that resources. fit your case. Enjoy your preferred working environment thanks to easy adaption of tools and layouts. And experience flexibility in hardware and storage, which makes syngo.plaza your solution – today and tomorrow. www.siemens.com/ReadingAnyDimension +49 69 797 6420 AnswersLorem ipsum for dolor life. sit am. A91IKM-9083-A1-7600 90640_A91IKM-9083-A1-7600_260x405.indd 1 18.01.10 10:41 Saturday, March 6, 2010 HIGHLIGHTS ECR TODAY 2010 3 Interactivity and personal touch can bring success in the classroom By Philip Ward PACS, we are more reachable and people know we are doing different things,” said Nyhsen, add- Teaching came under the microscope during ing that the primary motivation of these young Friday’s professional challenges session, at which people is to learn about radiology to become a speakers gave practical tips on how to engage radi- good doctor, not just to pass an exam. ology trainees and prepare them for the future. Of the newly qualified doctors, 22% said they The essential skills are to practise, use a variety would be interested in pursuing a career in radi- of methods, be engaged and enthusiastic, get ology, whereas 77% said they would not do so involved, seek feedback, and make a life-long and one person was undecided. Some trainees commitment, noted Prof. Robert Greif, director said they felt lost in the radiology department, of medical education at Bern University Hospital and they did not know what to ask and do. They in Switzerland. also wanted to learn more about techniques, pre- paring patients, and choosing the correct inves- “There is a lot of science behind the art of teach- tigation. ing,” he said. “And you should always remember Robert Greif from Bern/CH. Christiane Nyhsen from Sunderland/UK. that teaching is not so well-paid, and usually stu- Dr. Dick Fowler, consultant radiologist from dents don’t say thanks!” Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, U.K., believes that e-learning represents the future, Teachers should avoid conventional lectures of and will become the major source of core radi- more than 10 to 12 minutes because people’s ology knowledge, as didactic lectures become minds wonder, and they should use interactive obsolete. He explained that with e-learning, discussions, practical exercises, and anything interactions between teachers and learners else that forces students to engage their brains, should improve, the focus should be more clini- he advised. They should also be aware of several cal, and training should become more produc- myths in medical education: if you know your tive and cost-effective. topic, you can teach; a brilliant researcher is a good teacher; a failing student is either lazy or “e-Learning is a web-based learning episode or lacks intelligence; who knows, practises it, and experience, and I prefer the word ‘experience’ who does not know, teaches it; and good teach- because it should be something that they’re ers are born, not made. involved in.” he said. “It should be part of a wider educational design and it must have structure. To The time spent with an experienced senior have structure, it must be curriculum-mapped, doctor who inspires a trainee is still the great- Dick Fowler from Leeds/UK. Joachim Wildberger from Maastricht/NL. otherwise it’s like saying: ‘Here’s a lovely, large est and most valuable experience, according to library, go and enjoy it.’ That’s hopeless.” Dr. Christiane Nyhsen, consultant radiologist at the Sunderland Royal Hospital, U.K., and 59% were female, 85% were between 22 and 27 During the current academic year, 7% of Two important questions still need to be immediate past chair of the Radiology Trainees years old, and 10% were aged over 31. respondents said they received radiology train- addressed, according to session moderator, Forum. Whether it’s a one-to-one discussion of ing on a daily basis, while 48% had weekly radi- Dr.