Spectral Computed Tomography-Derived Iodine Content and Tumor Response in the Follow-Up of Neuroendocrine Tumors-A Single-Center Experience.

Spectral computed tomography (SCT) allows iodine content (IC) calculation for characterization of hypervascularized neoplasms and thus might help in the staging of neuroendocrine tumors (NETs). This single-center prospective study analyzed the association between SCT-derived IC and tumor response in the follow-up of metastasized NETs. Twenty-six patients with a median age of 70 years (range 51-85) with histologically proven NETs and a total of 78 lesions underwent SCT for staging. Because NETS are rare, no primary NET types were excluded. Lesions and intralesional hotspots were measured in virtual images and iodine maps. Tumor response was classified as progressive or nonprogressive at study endpoint. Generalized estimating equations served to estimate associations between IC and tumor response, additionally stratified by lesion location. Most commonly affected sites were the lymph nodes, liver, pancreas, and bones. Median time between SCT and endpoint was 64 weeks (range 5-260). Despite statistical imprecision in the estimate, patients with higher IC in lymphonodular metastases had lower odds for disease progression (adjusted OR = 0.21, 95% CI: 0.02-2.02). Opposite tendencies were observed in hepatic and pancreatic metastases in unadjusted analyses, which vanished after adjusting for therapy and primary tumor grade.

Tablets as an Option for Telemedicine-Evaluation of Diagnostic Performance and Efficiency in Intracranial Arterial Aneurysm Detection.

Purpose: To evaluate a commercially available mobile device for the highly specialized task of detection of intracranial arterial aneurysm in telemedicine. Methods: Six radiologists with three different levels of experience retrospectively interpreted 60 computed tomography (CT) angiographies for the presence of intracranial arterial aneurysm, among them 30 cases with confirmed positive findings. Each radiologist reviewed the angiography datasets twice: once on a dedicated medical-grade workstation and on a commercially available mobile consumer-grade tablet with an interval of 3 months. Diagnostic performance, reading efficiency and subjective scorings including diagnostic confidence were analyzed and compared. Results: Diagnostic performance was comparable on both devices regardless of readers' experience, and no significant differences in sensitivity (66-87.5%) and specificity (79.4-87%) were found. Results obtained with tablets and medical workstations were also comparable in terms of subjective assessment across all reader groups. Conclusions: There was no significant difference between tablet and workstation readings of angiography datasets for the presence of intracranial arterial aneurysm. Sensitivity, specificity, efficiency and subjective scorings were similar with the two devices for all three reader groups. While medical workstations are 10 times more expensive, tablets allow higher mobility especially for radiologists on call.