AJR AJR-based Continuing Ed for Technologists
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Colletti, P. M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Colletti, P. M.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Complore   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati  
What's this?
Hotlight (NEW!)
Right arrow
What's Hotlight?
DOI:10.2214/AJR.07.3274
AJR 2007; 189:1271
© American Roentgen Ray Society

Cardiac Imaging: Radiologists Prepare, Participate, and Publish

Patrick M. Colletti, Associate Editor



 
colletti{at}usc.edu


Introduction
Top
 Introduction
Preparation
 Participation
 Publication
 References
 
With the development, maturity, and expanded availability of cardiac MRI and cardiac CT, remarkable changes have occurred in cardiac imaging. Radiologists and radiology organizations recognize this and are responding accordingly.


Preparation
Top
 Introduction
 Preparation
Participation
 Publication
 References
 
"Standing room only" (apologies to the fire marshals) coronary CTA lectures at RSNA and ARRS meetings show radiologists' interest in cardiac imaging. A number of academic centers offer training programs and fellowships in cardiac CT. Of course, major CT vendors sponsor a variety of "level 1" and "level 2" physician training and technologist training programs linked to equipment purchases. The ACR, ARRS, and RSNA have responded to the demand for training and certification in coronary CTA. ACR leadership, in creating reasonable requirements for radiologists to achieve "level 1" certification [1, 2], has encouraged the formation of SAM programs to include 50 monitored cases. The ARRS has offered two very successful coronary CTA courses (at a cost of $75 for ARRS members), with 331 attending in San Diego in February, and with 159 at the recent Minneapolis meeting. RSNA 2007, in conjunction with the North American Society for Cardiac Imaging, will offer a similar course (at no additional cost for RSNA members), with a large number of participants expected. In 2008, the ACR will offer a series of 3-day courses ($4,000 for ACR members) with individual workstation experience at the new ACR Education Center in Reston, Virginia.


Participation
Top
 Introduction
 Preparation
 Participation
Publication
 References
 
Cardiac MRI and CTA–capable equipment is expensive to acquire, house, operate, and maintain. Expanding an outpatient CTA practice is difficult. It is problematic to create a viable business plan for the exclusive cardiac imaging use of such equipment [3]. The great coming application for cardiac imaging is in chest pain triage [4–6]. This will be driven by emergency medicine physicians. It is likely that radiologists currently offering CTPA will expand their services to include coronary CTA and the "triple-rule-out" examinations. General radiologists, emergency radiologists, and teleradiologists will be required to supply timely CTA interpretations of coronary artery imaging and the routine pulmonary artery and aorta evaluations. Indeed, it is possible, with a relatively small increase in time and radiation exposure, to add delayed contrast-enhanced CT to detect acutely infarcted and nonviable myocardium [7]. Radiologists are the specialists poised for this "quadruple-rule-out" task.


Publication
Top
 Introduction
 Preparation
 Participation
 Publication
References
 
It is gratifying to note the high level of cardiac imaging manuscripts received and published in Radiology and the AJR. An analysis of 807 cardiac MR and CT publications between 1999 and 2004 showed that 399 (49.5%) of 807 had radiologists as the primary author [8]. Indeed, cardiac MRI and CT manuscript submissions and publications are as common in Radiology and AJR as in Circulation and JACC.

Much has changed in cardiac imaging in the past 10 years. In 1998, radiologists performed 16.7% of noninvasive cardiac examinations [9]. Nearly all echocardiology and more than half of cardiac nuclear imaging is performed by cardiologists. That reality is unlikely to change. What will change are the relative use of cardiac MRI and CT and the role of radiologists. The message is clear; radiologists are preparing for, participating in, and publishing on cardiac imaging.


References
Top
 Introduction
 Preparation
 Participation
 Publication
 References
 

  1. Budoff MJ, Cohen MC, Garcia MJJ, et al. ACCF/AHA clinical competence statement on cardiac imaging with computed tomography and magnetic resonance: a report of the American College of Cardiology Foundation/American Heart Association/American College of Physicians Task Force on Clinical Competence and Training. Am Coll Cardiol2005; 46:383 –402[Free Full Text]
  2. Weinreb JC, Larson PA, Woodard PK, et al. American College of Radiology Clinical Practice Statement on noninvasive imaging. Radiology 2005;235 : 723–727[Free Full Text]
  3. Rybicki FJ, Di Carli M. Development and management of a noninvasive cardiovascular imaging service. AJR 2006;187 :1401 –1402[Free Full Text]
  4. White C, Kuo D, Kelemen M, et al. Chest pain evaluation in the emergency department: can MDCT provide a comprehensive evaluation? AJR 2005; 185:533 –540[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  5. Raptopoulos VD, Boiselle PB, Michailidis N, et al. MDCT angiography of acute chest pain: evaluation of ECG-gated and nongated techniques. AJR 2006; 186 [suppl]: S346–S356[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  6. Johnson TRC, Nikolaou K, Wintersperger BJ, et al. ECG-gated 64-MDCT angiography in the differential diagnosis of acute chest pain. AJR 2007; 188:76 –82[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  7. Habis M, Capderou A, Ghostine S, et al. Acute myocardial infarction early viability assessment by 64-slice computed tomography immediately after coronary angiography: comparison with low-dose dobutamine echocardiography. J Am Coll Cardiol 2007;49 :1178 –1185[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  8. Miguel-Dasit A, Martí-Bonmatí L, Sanfeliu P, Aleixandre R. Cardiac MR imaging: balanced publication by radiologists and cardiologists. Radiology 2007;242 : 410–416[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  9. Levin DC, Parker L, Sunshine JH, Pentecost MJ. Cardiovascular imaging: who does it and how important is it to the practice of radiology? AJR 2002; 178:303 –306[Abstract/Free Full Text]

Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Complore Complore   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us   Add to Digg Digg   Add to Reddit Reddit   Add to Technorati Technorati    What's this?



This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Right arrow Citation Map
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Colletti, P. M.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Colletti, P. M.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Complore   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us   Add to Digg   Add to Reddit   Add to Technorati  
What's this?
Hotlight (NEW!)
Right arrow
What's Hotlight?

HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS