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I have tried to give a little history, discuss some current topics: PACS, inappropriate image utilization, CT screening, Night Hawk, molecular imaging, sonoscope, CAD, and LBBH. I hope these issues are more familiar to you now. The articles that follow from the faculty of the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine and Saint Luke's Hospital will bring you up to date regarding the current status of CT, MRI, ultrasound, nuclear medicine, mammography, and interventional radiology.

Screening mammography is the primary method used for the detection of breast cancer. Computer assisted detection (CAD) systems, magnetic resonance imaging of the breast, and breast lymphoscintigraphy with sentinel lymph node biopsy are three new imaging techniques developed to assist in the detection and evaluation of breast cancer and will be described and discussed.

This paper reviews the scientific literature on four procedures: Coronary Calcium Scoring (CCS), Lung Cancer Screening (LCS), Computed Tomographic Colonography (CTC), and Whole Body Computed Tomography (WBCT). No published studies demonstrate that these procedures reduce morbidity or mortality when used to screen healthy, asymptomatic patients.

Advertising directly to asymptomatic patients and encouraging self-referral to CT centers for computed tomographic screening is a new phenomenon in radiology. This is not analogous to drug advertising that is directed to symptomatic patients and promotes medication that is FDA approved based on published medical research. CT should ideally be done for specific clinical indications after a thorough history, physical exam, and appropriate laboratory studies. CT screening--at this time--should only be done as part of an IRB-approved study protocol.